Faith

This prayer, taught by Jesus to his disciples at their request, is perhaps the most familiar of all Christian prayers.

Father Robert M.
O'Grady

''At the Savior's command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say." With these words and a gesture from the principal celebrant, a simple raising and extending his arms and hands to the praying position -- "orans" in Latin -- we all join him standing without his giving any verbal direction.
There is no other direction regarding our posture or gesture in the assembly. Thus, our imitating the priest's "orans" position or holding hands is not prescribed. The principal celebrant obviously may not hold anyone's hands as he is to pray using that "orans" position.
A parallel situation is in the Liturgy of the Word, when we stand for the singing of the Gospel acclamation and for the proclamation of the Gospel. There are prescribed actions for the priest or deacon, but none for the rest of us. We do not imitate the actions of the priest or deacon nor insert any other gesture. We simply stand and attentively listen. For the Our Father, we stand and pray together. Our participation in the prayer is by the same words and the common gesture -- standing.
It is important not to impose my actions, postures, or gestures on others who may have reasons, whether cultural, medical, or personal, to avoid physical contact. The Roman Missal does not do this, nor should the absence of any other directions for actions, postures, or gestures imply that we may create and insert them.

This prayer, taught by Jesus to his disciples at their request, is perhaps the most familiar of all Christian prayers.
If the principal celebrant and the assembly are able, it is suggested that The Lord's Prayer be chanted or sung by all. There is no provision for the chanting, singing, or saying the Our Father to be replaced by a musical solo or choral composition.
In the past few years, you may have heard about new translations of The Lord's Prayer in languages other than English. There were lots of heated, even overheated, debates and exchanges about these new translations.
A change that did not make a lot of waves was the transition from the formal to the familiar second-person pronoun and adjective. This does not happen in English. We have one second-person pronoun -- you -- for formal or familiar; likewise, the adjective -- your. There is also the possible use of yours, but that is not indicative of singular or plural or formal or familiar.
Some new translations moved from the formal to the informal second person. Something which is in the Latin version, and this can be seen in the Roman Missal to this day.
Interestingly, our English version of the Our Father maintains the old English second-person adjective -- thy.
The greater discussion concerned the seemingly odd phrase, "lead us not into temptation." It seems to imply that we should implore God to stop "leading us" down the wrong path. Those familiar with recent new translations in other languages can testify that a change has been made.
This was widely discussed among biblical and liturgical scholars, and more so among the bishops of English-speaking bishops' conferences. The contemplated change was too controversial, sparking much discussion online. The current translation is the one used not only at Mass but in the Liturgy of the Hours, in other sacramental celebrations outside of Mass, and in our devotional prayers, notably the rosary.
The biblical version (Matt. 6: 9-13) we use is from the Sermon on the Mount. There is a shorter form in Luke's Gospel (11: 2-40).
Matthew's version has seven petitions, the first three direct us to God and our mutual relationship; the final four petitions direct us to one another and our mutual human relationships and personal needs.
Following the prayer, the principal celebrant (alone), maintaining the "orans" posture, either chants, sings, or recites the embolism. It begins "Deliver us, Lord we pray... ." It is both an expansion and a summary of the Our Father. If the Our Father has been chanted or sung by the assembly, it is better if the embolism and the concluding doxology also be chanted or sung. Otherwise, recitation of the three parts is the option.
The embolism concludes with a doxology: "For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever." Right away, you notice we have used the modern English "yours" instead of the Old English "thine."
This sentence, added very late to biblical texts, came to be associated with the Protestant Reformation. Roman Catholics did not add it to the Our Father. In a nod to the ecumenical movement, the Roman Missal concludes the Our Father's embolism with it but notably shifts to the modern English adjective, a subtle but notable distinction to the older translations of other Christian denominations. The principal celebrant joins his hands for the doxology. There is no rubric for the assembly's posture except standing, nor should one be inserted. And so, we move next to the Sign of Peace.

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