Latin Mass Instructions For The Fifth Sunday After Easter May

17, 2009
In thanks for the redemption the Church sings at the Introit: With the voice of joy make this to be
heard. Alleluia. Publish to the utmost the bounds of the earth: that the Lord hath redeemed his people.
Alleluia. Alleluia (Isaiah 48:20). Shout with joy to God, all the earth: sing a psalm to his name: give
glory to his praise (Psalm 65). Glory be to the Father, &c.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH: O God, from whom all that is good proceeds: grant that Thy people,
by Thy inspiration, may resolve on what is right, and by Thy direction, put it into practice. Through
our Lord Jesus Christ &c.

EPISTLE:
But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
For if a man be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he shall be compared to a man beholding his own
countenance in a glass.
For he beheld himself and went his way and presently forgot what manner of man he was.
But he that hath looked into the perfect law of liberty and hath continued therein, not becoming a
forgetful hearer but a doer of the work: this man shall be blessed in his deed.
And if any man think himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue but deceiving his own heart, this
man's religion is vain.
Religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in
their tribulation and to keep one's self unspotted from this world.

EXPLANATION:
True piety, as St James here says, consists in fulfilling the divine will heard and recognized; in
subduing the tongue, the most dangerous and injurious of all our members; in love and charity towards
the poor and destitute, and in contempt of the world, against the false principals, foolish customs, and
scandalous examples of which we should guard, that we may not become infected and polluted by
them. Test thyself, whether thy life be of this kind. O Jesus! Director of the soul! Give me the grace of
true piety as St James describes its practice.

GOSPEL:
And in that day you shall not ask me any thing. Amen, amen, I say to you: if you ask the Father any
thing in my name, he will give it you.
Hitherto, you have not asked any thing in my name. Ask, and you shall receive; that your joy may be
full.
These things I have spoken to you in proverbs. The hour cometh when I will no longer speak to you in
proverbs, but will shew you plainly of the Father. In that day, you shall ask in my name: and I say not
to you that I will ask the Father for you. For the Father himself loveth you, because you have loved me
and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father and am come into the world:
again I leave the world and I go to the Father. His disciples say to him: Behold, now thou speakest
plainly and speakest no proverb. Now we know that thou knowest all things and thou needest not that
any man should ask thee. By this we believe that thou camest forth from God.

What is meant by asking in the name of Jesus?

By this is meant praying with confidence in the merits of jess, "Who," as St Cyril says, "being God
with the Father, gives us the good, and as mediator carries our petitions to His Father." The Church
therefore ends all her prayers with the words: "Through our Lord, Jesus Christ." It is also meant to
pray for that which Christ Himself wishes to have given us, that is, whatsoever belongs to our soul's
salvation; for to pray for temporal things merely in order to live happily in this world, is not pleasing to
Christ and avails us nothing. "He who prays for what hinders salvation," writes St Augustine, "does
not pray in the name of Jesus." Thus Jesus said to His disciples: Hitherto you have asked nothing in
my name, "because," as St Gregory says, "They did not ask for that which conduces to eternal
salvation."

Why is it that sometimes God does not hear our prayers?

Because we often pray for things that are injurious, and like a good father, God denies them to us, in
order to give us something better; because he wishes to prove our patience and perseverance in prayer;
because we generally do not pray as we ought, for to be pleasing to God, prayer should be made when
in a state of grace and with confidence in Christ's merits, for the prayer of a just man availeth much
with God (James 5:16); we must pray with humility and submission to the will of God, with attention,
fervor, sincerity, and with perseverance.

When should we especially pray?

At morning, noon, and night, before and after meals, and as often as the clock strikes; for as God thinks
every moment of us and overloads us with His grace, it is but right, that we should think often during
the day of Him, with thanks for His blessings. We should also prayer during the Church service, or if
prevented from attending Church, at home; in time of severe temptation; at the reception of the holy
Sacraments; when commencing any important undertaking, and at the hour of death.

How can we in accordance with Christ's teachings (Luke 18:1), pray at all time?

But raising our hearts to God at different times during the day, for which purpose the aspirations, as
they are called, are very useful, these are acts of faith, hope, love, humility, &c., which are aroused in
our hearts; by short ejaculations as: "O Jesus! grant me to love Thee! Thee only do I desire to love! O
be merciful to me! Lord hasten to help me!" and by making the good intention, when commencing our
work, to do all for the love of God, according to His most holy will.

What is the signification of the different ceremonies Catholics use at their prayers?

The general signification is, that God must be served, honored, and adored, not only with the soul but
with the body as well; when we pray aloud, we mean to praise God, not only with the mind but also
with our lips; when we pray with bowed and uncovered head, with folded, uplifted, or outstretched
hands, with bent knees, bowed and prostrate body, we show our reverence and subjection to the
majesty of God, before whom we are but dust and ashes, cannot enough humble ourselves. These
different ceremonies of prayer are frequently mentioned in both the Old and New Testament, and Christ
and His apostles used them, as for instance, the bending of the knees, falling on the face &c.

What is the best prayer?

The "Our Father," which Christ Himself taught us, and commands us to repeat. It is, therefore, when
said with devotion, the most powerful of prayers (Matt 6; Luke 11).
 SHORT EXPLANATION OF THE "OUR FATHER".

Of what does the Our Father consist?

It consists of an address, as an introduction to the prayer, and of seven petitions in which is contained
all that we should ask for the honor of God, and our own salvation. The address is this: "Our Father
who art in heaven."

To what does the word "Father" encourage us?

To the love of God who made us, by His Son, His children, and heirs of his kingdom; to thankfulness
for the immeasurable grace of our creation, preservation, redemption, and sanctification; to confidence
in the infinite goodness and mercy with which God, the best Father, watches over us; and to the firm
resolution of remaining always the good children of this good Father.

What does the word "Our" signify?

That in the communion of saints we should pray for and with all the children of God; that we should be
humble and preserve brotherly love towards all men.

Why, since God is everywhere present, is it said, "Who art in heaven?"

T remind us that we are not yet in our fatherland, and that our true home is heaven; to urge us to long
with all desire for heaven, where our Father is, and where He has prepared us our inheritance.

For what do we ask in the first petition: "Hallowed be Thy name?"

That we and all men may truly know, love, and serve God; thus we ask: that all unbelievers may be
converted to God, and to the knowledge of truth; that all heresies and seducing arts may lose their
power; that all vices may be uprooted, and all sinners brought to true repentance, and the practice of
virtue; that we ourselves may say, think, do nothing which is unbecoming in a child of God; and that all
Christians may become more and more pious and saintly.

For what do we pray in the third petition: "Thy kingdom come?"

That the Church of God, the kingdom of Christ, may reach over the whole earth, and the kingdom of
sin and the devil may be destroyed; that Christ may reign in our hearts and in the hearts of all; and that
God may deign to receive us, having well ended our course on earth, into the kingdom of heaven.

For what do we ask in the third petition: "Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven?"

We ask for heavenly strength, that the will of God ,may be done by us as cheerfully and joyfully as it is
by the angels and saints in heaven, and that we may humbly resign ourselves to it in all things, however
hard it may be to do so. We connect this petition of promise, that we will not only be faithful to God's
commandments, but that we will also accept and bear all that His holy providence may impose upon us
or upon others.

In these three petitions we seek, as taught by Christ, first the kingdom of God, that all the rest may be
added unto us (Lk 12:31).

For what do we ask in the fourth petition: "Give us this day our daily bread?"

For all that we need for the well being of our supernatural and physical life, which is all comprised of
the world "bread": as the necessary daily food, the word of God, the grace to do good, the body of our
Lord in the Blessed Sacrament; herein is included the prayer, that God would prevent lighting and hail,
failure of crops, and other damages, but give, on the contrary, fruitful weather.

Why does it say, "this day" and "daily?"

The words "this day" signify, that we should put away all unnecessary cares, placing our confidence in
God who will each day give us the day's necessary food; by the word "daily" we are taught to avoid all
wast of food, and to eat only as much as is necessary; for he who wastes his food, eats not merely his
daily bread, but the bread of many days.

What do we ask for in the fifth petition: "Forgive us our trespasses?"

We ask forgiveness, as poor sinners, for the debts which we daily make to Bod by our sins, promising
in return not that our debtors, that is, those who have injured us, shall someday be forgiven, but that
they are already forgiven; those who make this petition and yet live in enmity towards their neighbor,
lie in the face of God, and will not receive forgiveness (Mk 11:25-26).

What do we ask for in the sixth petition: "Lead us not into temptation?"

In this it is asked, that God will avert from us all temptations, either entirely or not abandon us in them,
as we too often deserve, but strengthen us that we may not consent to temptations form the world, the
flesh, and the devil; we cannot, indeed, be entirely free from them in this world, they are even
necessary and useful for our salvation: for without temptation there is no combat, without combat no
victory, and without victory no crown.

What do we ask for in the seventh petition: "Deliver us from evil?"

That God will deliver us from the only real evil, sin, and from the occasions of it, also from unprovided
death and from hell, and also that He may keep off temporal evils, such as war, famine, pestilence,
&c.~Excerpted from an EXPLANATION OF THE EPISTLES AND GOSPELS FOR THE SUNDAYS,
HOLY DAYS, AND FESTIVALS OF THE YEAR, by Leonhard Goffine.

The following, including the excerpt from the Catechism of the

Council of Trent is taken from A Parochial Course of Doctrinal
Instruction by Charles Jerome Callan.

INTRODUCTION. In the text of to-day's Gospel our Lord refers

to God as His Father, because He is the natural Son of the
Father. But God is also our Father, inasmuch as we are His
adopted children through grace (see outline for Trinity Sun-
day, No. I). Hence in the Lord's Prayer we address God as
"our Father who art in heaven."
I. God is called Father, 1. He is our Creator, who made us
out of nothing to His own image and likeness. 2. God is our
Ruler and Governor, who with paternal care watches over our
lives and provides for our needs. 3. God has made us in the
Sacrament of Baptism His own sons by adoption: "You have
received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: Abba
(Father)" (Rom. viii. 15).

II. God is called our Father, 1. This shows that God is not
the Father of some particular individuals only, but of all men;
and that consequently we are all brethren one of another and of
Christ. 2. The word our teaches us that we should ask favors
from God for our neighbor as well as ourselves. Hence St. Ambrose
calls the Lord's Prayer the fraternal prayer.

III. God is called our Father who is in heaven, 1. God is

everywhere present. 2. God is said to be especially in heaven,
because there the greatness of His glory is manifested, and be-
cause the words " in heaven " are calculated to raise our minds
and hearts from earthly to spiritual things. 3. As the term
Father is calculated to fill us with confidence, so the words in
heaven are intended to inspire in us awe and reverence for God.
CONCLUSION, 1. We should always pray with filial confidence,
knowing that God loves us as a Father. 2. We should love our
neighbor and pray for him, because God is the Father of all.
3. We should pray with devotion and ask for heavenly things
since our Father is in heaven, and is the source of every good.

From the Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part IV

THE LORD'S PRAYER
Our Father who art in heaven

PREFATORY WORDS TO THE LORD'S PRAYER

As this form of Christian prayer, delivered by Jesus Christ,

is of such importance as to have required the above prefatory
words, which inspire those who approach God piously to
approach Him also more confidently, it becomes the duty of
the pastor to premise a distinct and perspicuous exposition of
them. The pious Christian will thus have recourse to prayer
with increased alacrity, knowing that in prayer he communes
with God as with a father. 1 To consider the words alone which
compose this preface, they are indeed very few in number; but
looking to the matter, they are of the highest importance, and
are replete with mysteries.

GOD, WHY CALLED "FATHER"

Father. The first word which by the command and institution
of our Lord we utter in (the Greek and Latin forms of) this
prayer is " Father." The Redeemer, it is true, might have commenced

this prayer with a word more expressive of majesty, such as “Creator"

or "Lord" ; yet these He omitted, as they might be associated with
ideas of terror, and chose rather an expression which inspires love
and confidence. What name more
tender than that of Father? a name at once expressive of indulgence
and love.

FIRST PROOF OF THE PROPRIETY OF THE APPELLATION

The propriety of the word " Father," as applied to God, the

faithful may be taught from the works of Creation, Government,
and Redemption. God created man to His own image and
likeness, an image and likeness which He impressed not on
other creatures; and on account of this peculiar privilege with
which He adorned man, He is appropriately designated in Scripture the
Father of all men, the Father not alone of the faithful
but of all mankind.

SECOND PROOF

His government of mankind supplies another argument for

the propriety of the appellation. By the exercise of a special
superintending providential care over us and our interests, He
manifests the love of a Father towards us. But to comprehend
more clearly the force of this argument, which is drawn from
His paternal care over us, it may be necessary to say a few
words on the guardianship of those celestial spirits whom He
has appointed to watch over and protect us.

GUARDIAN ANGELS, THEIR MINISTRY

Angels are commissioned by Divine Providence to guard the

human race and be present with every man to protect him from
injury. As parents, when their children have occasion to travel
a dangerous way, infested by robbers, appoint persons to guard
and assist them in case of attack, so has our Heavenly Father
placed angels over each of us, in our journey towards our
heavenly country, that guarded by their vigilant care and assistance
we may escape the ambushes and repel the fierce attacks of
our enemies, proceed directly on our journey, secured by this
guiding protection against the devious paths into which our
treacherous enemy would mislead us, and pursue steadily the
path that leads to heaven.
The important advantages which flow to the human race
from this special superintending Providence, the functions and
the administration of which are entrusted to angels, who hold a
middle place between man and the Divinity, appear from numerous
examples recorded in Scripture. These passages prove that
angels, as the ministers of the divine goodness, have frequently
wrought wonderful things in the sight of men, and they give us
to understand that innumerable other important services are rendered
to us by the invisible ministry of angels, the guardians of
our safety and salvation.

The angel Raphael, who was appointed by God the companion

and guide of Tobias, 1 conducted him and brought him back safe
again. 2 He helped to save him from being devoured by a large
fish, and pointed out to him the singular virtue of its gall and
heart ; 3 he expelled the evil demon, and by fettering and binding
up his power prevented him from injuring Tobias; he taught
the young man the true and legitimate rights of marriage, and
restored to the elder Tobias the use of his sight. 4

The angel who delivered the prince of the Apostles also affords
abundant matter of instruction on the admirable advantages
which flow from the care and guardianship of angels. To
this event, therefore, the pastor will also call the attention of the
faithful. He will point to the angel illuminating the darkness
of the prison, awakening Peter by touching his side, loosing his
chains, bursting his bonds, admonishing, him to rise, to take up
his sandals and other apparel, and to follow him. 5 The pastor
will also direct their attention to the same angel restoring Peter
to liberty, conducting him out of prison through the midst of the
guards, throwing open the door of his prison, and ultimately
placing him in safety without its precincts. The sacred Scriptures,
as we have already observed, abound in examples which
give us an idea of the magnitude of the benefits conferred on us
by the ministry of angels, whose tutelary protection is not confined
to particular occasions or persons, but extends to each individual of
the human race, from the hour of his birth. In the exposition of this
point of doctrine the diligence of the pastor will be rewarded with
one important advantage: the minds of the faithful will be
interested, and excited to acknowledge and
revere the paternal care and providence of God.

UTILITY OF THIS EXPOSITION ; IT SHOWS THE GOODNESS

OF GOD

The pastor will here exalt and proclaim the riches of the
goodness of God to man. Ever since the transgression of our
first parents, who entailed upon us the evil consequences of sin,
we have never ceased to offend Him by innumerable crimes and
enormities, even to the present hour, yet God retains His love
for us, and still continues His special care over us. To imagine
that He is unmindful of His creatures were insanity, and nothing less
than to hurl against the Deity the most blasphemous
insult. God was angry with the people of Israel because they
supposed themselves deserted by His care: tempting the Lord,
they said, "Is the Lord amongst us or not ?" 2 And again, " The
Lord seeth us not, the Lord hath forsaken the earth." 3 The
faithful are therefore to be deterred by these passages from the
impiety of imagining that God can at any time be forgetful of
man. The Israelites, as we read in Isaias, make the complaint
against God; and its unreasonableness God exposes by a similitude
which breathes nought but kindness : "Sion said : the Lord
hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me"; to which
God answers," Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have
pity on the son of her womb ? and if she should forget, yet will
not I forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee in my hands."

Indisputably as these passages establish this truth, yet to

bring home to the minds of the faithful an absolute conviction
that at no time does God forget? man, or withdraw from him the
offices of paternal love, the pastor will add to the evidence of
this truth by introducing the example of our first parents, by
which it is so strikingly illustrated. When you hear them |
sharply reproved for having violated the command of God;
when you hear their condemnation pronounced in this awful sentence,
"Cursed is the earth in thy work ; with labor and toil
shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life. Thorns and
thistles shall it bring' forth to thee ; and thou shalt eat the herbs
of the earth”; when you see them driven out of Paradise;
when, to extinguish all hope of return, you read that a fiery
cherub was stationed at the entrance, brandishing " a flaming
sword, turning every way"; 2 when you know that to avenge
the injury done Him, God consigned them to every affliction of
mind and body; when you see and know all this, would you not
be led to pronounce that man was lost irrecoverably? that he
was not only deprived of all assistance from God, but also abandoned
to every species of misery? But although the storm of
the divine wrath burst over his guilty head, yet the love of God
shot a gleam of consolation across the darkness that enveloped
him. The Sacred Scriptures inform us that "the Lord God made
for Adam and his wife, garments of skins, and clothed them" 3
a convincing proof that at no time does God abandon His creature man.

That no injuries offered to God by man can exhaust the divine

love is a truth contained in these words of David : " Will he
[God] in his anger shut up his mercies?" 4 And Habacuc, ad-
dressing himself to God, distinctly says, " When thou art angry,
thou wilt remember mercy." B "Who is a God like to thee"
says Micheas, "who takest away iniquity, and passest by the sin
of the remnant of thy inheritance? he will send his fury in no
more, because he delighteth in mercy" 6 When, therefore, we
imagine that God has abandoned us, that we are deprived of
His protection, then in an especial manner does He, of his infinite
goodness, seek after and protect us ; for in His anger He
stays the sword of His justice, and ceases not to pour out the
inexhaustible treasures of His mercy.

THIRD PROOF

The creation and government of the world, therefore, display

in an admirable manner the singular love and protecting care
of God; but among these the great work of redemption stands
out so prominently that this God of boundless beneficence, our
Father, has by this third benefit crowned and shed a lustre on
the other invaluable blessings bestowed on us by His bounty.
The pastor, therefore, will announce to his spiritual children,
and will sound continually in their ears, this overwhelming
manifestation of the love of God towards us, in order that they may
know that by redemption they are become, in an admirable manner, the
children of God. "He gave them power," says St. John,
"to be made the sons of God," who are born of God. 1 There-
fore it is that baptism, which we receive as the first pledge and
memorial of redemption, is called "the sacrament of regeneration";
for thereby we are born children of God. "That which
is born of the Spirit," says our Lord, "is spirit." We must be
born again; 2 and the Apostle Peter says, "Being born again,
not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible," by the word of the
living God. 3 By virtue of our redemption we have received the
Holy Spirit, and are dignified with the grace of God, by which
we are adopted sons of God. "You have not received the spirit
of bondage again in fear," says St. Paul," but you have received
the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry : Abba, (Father.)”
Of this adoption, the force and efficacy are explained by St. John
in these words : "Behold what manner of charity the Father
hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called, and should be
the sons of God."

RECIPROCAL AFFECTION DUE TO GOD

These truths explained, the pastor will remind the faithful of

the reciprocal affection which they owe to God, our most loving
Father; because by this means they will comprehend what love
and piety, what obedience and veneration, they should render to
their Creator, Governor, and Redeemer, and with what hope and
confidence they should invoke his name.
GOD LOVES WHILE HE CHASTISES

But to instruct the ignorance and correct the perversity of

such as may imagine that prosperity is the only proof of the
love of God, and that adversity, with which he may please to
visit us, indicates his hostility and the utter alienation of his
love, the pastor will show that when the hand of the Lord
touches us, it is not with hostile purpose, but to heal by striking.
If he chastises the sinner, it is to reclaim him by salutary
severity, and to rescue him from everlasting perdition by the
infliction of present punishment. He visits our iniquities with
a rod, and our sins with stripes ; but his mercy he taketh not
away from us. The faithful, therefore, are to be admonished
to recognize in such chastisements a proof of his paternal love,
to keep in their memory and on their lips these words of the
patient Job : “He woundeth, and cureth : he striketh, and his
hands shall heal"; and to adopt these sentiments, and repeat
these words of the prophet Jeremiah, spoken in the name of the
people of Israel : "Thou hast chastised me, and I was instructed,
as a young bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. Convert me, and
I shall be converted, for thou art the Lord my God." Let
them also keep before their eyes the example of Tobias, who,
when he felt the hand of God upon him, visiting him with blindness,
exclaimed, "I bless thee, O Lord God of Israel, because
thou hast chastised me."

WE ARE NOT TO MURMUR AGAINST HIS WILL

Here the faithful should guard with the utmost caution

against the error of believing that any afflictions or calamities
befall them without the knowledge of God. He Himself assures
us that a hair of our head shall not perish ; they should rather
be cheered by these words, which we read in the Apocalypse:
"Such as love, I rebuke and chastise" ; and all their apprehensions
should be calmed by these words of exhortation ad-
dressed by St. Paul to the Hebrews : "My son, neglect not the
discipline of the Lord; neither be thou wearied whilst thou art
rebuked by him. For whom the Lord loveth, he chastiseth ; and
he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth."

WE ARE ALL BRETHREN OF CHRIST

Our. When, under the name of Father, we all invoke God,

calling him emphatically "our Father," we are taught that as
a necessary consequence of the gift and right of divine adoption we
are brethren, and should love one another as brethren :
"All you are brethren," says the Redeemer, "for one is your
father, who is in heaven " ; and hence, in their Epistles the
Apostles call all the faithful brethren.
Another necessary consequence is, that by the same divine
adoption not only are all the faithful united in one common
brotherhood, but also called, and really are, brethren of the only
begotten Son of God, who assumed our nature. Hence the
Apostle, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, speaking of the Son of
God, says, "He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I
will declare thy name to my brethren." This David had so
many centuries before prophesied of the Redeemer; and our
Lord Himself says to the woman mentioned in the Gospel, "Go,
tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, there they shall see
me." This He said after His resurrection, when He had put
on immortality, lest it should be supposed that this fraternal
relation was dissolved by His resurrection, and ascension into
heaven. So far is the resurrection of Christ from dissolving
this bond of union and love that, from the very throne on which
He will sit on the last day, resplendent with majesty and glory
to judge a congregated world, even the least of the faithful
shall be called by the name of brethren.

But how, possibly, can we be other than brethren of Christ,

called as we are, co-heirs with him? He is the first begotten,
appointed heir of all; but we, begotten in the next place, are
co-heirs with Him, according to the measure of heavenly gifts,
and according to the degree of love with which we prove our-
selves servants and co-operators of the Holy Ghost. By the
inspiration of the Holy Ghost we are animated to virtue, and to
meritorious actions; supported by His grace, we are inflamed
to engage with fortitude in the combat for salvation, the successful
termination of which, and of our earthly career, will be rewarded by
our Heavenly Father with that imperishable crownof justice which is
reserved for all who shall have run the same course; "for God," says
the Apostle, "is not unjust, that he should forget "our work and our
love.

THE WORD "OUR" TO BE UTTERED WITH HEARTFELT PIETY

But with what sentiments of heartfelt piety we should utter

the word "our," these words of St. Chrysostom declare: "God,"
says he, "willingly hears the prayer of a Christian, not only
when offered for himself, but for another. Necessity obliges
us to pray for ourselves; charity exhorts us to pray for others.
“The prayer of fraternal charity," he adds, "is more acceptable
to God than that of necessity."

OUR DEMEANOR TOWARDS OTHERS SHOULD BESPEAK FRATERNAL

REGARD: OUR COMMON BROTHERHOOD

On the subject of prayer, a subject so important, so salutary,

it becomes the duty of the pastor to admonish and exhort all his
hearers, of every age, sex, and rank, to be mindful of this common
brotherhood, and instead of arrogating to themselves an
insolent superiority over others, to exhibit in their conduct the
bearing and the tone of fraternal regard. True, there are many
gradations of office in the Church of God, yet that diversity of
rank is far from severing the bond of this fraternal relationship;
in the same manner as variety of use and diversity of office do
not cause this or that member of the same body to forfeit the
name or functions of a member. The monarch, seated on his
throne and bearing the sceptre of royal authority as one of the
faithful, is the brother of all who are within the communion of
the Christian faith. There is not one God the Creator of the
rich, another of the poor; one of kings, another of subjects;
but there is one God who is common Lord and Father of all.
Considering their spiritual origin, we see that the nobility of all
is the same. For we are all born of the same spirit, through the
same sacrament of faith, children of God, and co-heirs to the
same immortal inheritance. The wealthy and the great have
not one Christ for their God, the poor and the lowly another;
they are not initiated by different sacraments; they do not expect a
different inheritance. No, we are all brethren; in the
language of the Apostle, "We are members of his [Christ's]
body, of his flesh, and of his bones." "You are all the children
of God by faith, in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have
been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ. There is neither Jew
nor Greek: there is neither bond nor free: there is neither male
nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus."

THIS DOCTRINE TO BE FORCIBLY INCULCATED BY THE PASTOR

This is a subject which the pastor should handle with all possible
care. On its consideration he cannot expend too much
knowledge and ability, because it is not less calculated to fortify
and sustain the indigent and the lowly than to restrain and re-
press the arrogance of the rich and the pride of the powerful.
It was to remedy this evil that the Apostle so forcibly pressed
on the attention of the faithful this principle of fraternal charity.

IN WHAT SPIRIT WE SHOULD UTTER THE WORDS "OUR FATHER”

When, therefore, O Christian, you are about to address this

prayer to God, remember that you, as a son, approach God your
Father; and when you begin the prayer and utter the words
"our Father," reflect for a moment how exalted is the dignity to
which the infinite love of God has raised you. He commands
you to approach Him, not with the reluctance and timidity of
a servant approaching his Lord, but with the eagerness and the
security of a child flying to the bosom of his father. Consider
also with what recollection and attention, with what care and
devotion, you should approach Him in prayer. You must approach Him as
becomes a child of God. Your prayers and actions must be such as not
to be unworthy of that divine origin with which it has pleased your
most gracious God to ennoble you, a duty to which the Apostle exhorts
when he says, "Be ye therefore followers of God, as most dear
children"; that of us may be truly said, what the Apostle wrote to
the Thessalonians, "All you are the children of light, and the
children of the day."

IN WHAT SENSE GOD IS EVERYWHERE

Who art in Heaven. All who have a correct idea of the

Divinity agree that God is everywhere present. This, however,
is not to be understood as if he consisted of parts, filling and
governing one place with one part, another place with another;
for God is a spirit, and is therefore indivisible. Who would
presume to circumscribe within the limits of any place, or con-
fine to any particular spot, Him who says of Himself, "Do not
I fill heaven and earth"? Yes, by His power and virtue He
fills heaven and earth, and all things contained therein. He is
present with all things, creating them, or preserving them when
already created; while He Himself is confined to no place, is
circumscribed by no limits, is defined by nothing to prevent His
being present everywhere by His immensity and omnipotence.
"If," says the Psalmist, " I ascend into heaven, thou art there."

WHY SAID TO BE SPECIALLY IN HEAVEN

God, although present in all places and in all things, and, as

we have already observed, circumscribed by no limits, is, how-
ever, frequently said in Scripture to have His dwelling in the
heavens, because the heavens which we see are the noblest part
of the visible world, undecaying in splendor, excelling all other
objects in power, magnitude, and beauty, and moving with uniform and
harmonious revolution. To elevate the soul of man
to the contemplation of His infinite power and majesty, which
shine forth with such splendor in the expanse of heaven, God
therefore declares that His dwelling is in the heavens. He also
frequently declares that there is no part of creation that is not
filled by His divinity and power, which are everywhere present.
In the consideration of this subject the faithful will, however,
propose to themselves not only the image of the universal Father
of mankind, but also that of God reigning in heaven, in order
that when approaching Him in prayer they may recollect that
heart and soul are to be raised to heaven. The transcendent
nature and divine majesty of our Father who is in heaven should
inspire us with as much Christian humility and piety as the name
of father should fill us with love and confidence.
These words also inform us what are to be the objects of our
prayers. All our supplications offered for the useful and necessary
things of this life, unless united to the bliss of heaven
and referred to that end, are to no purpose, and are unworthy
of a Christian. Of this manner of praying the pastor, there-
fore, will admonish his pious hearers, and will strengthen the
admonition with the authority of the Apostle: "If you be risen
with Christ, seek the things that are above; where Christ is sit-
ting at the right hand of God: mind the things that are above,
not the things that are upon the earth."~The Catechism of the Council
of Trent. Continue Reading under the heading: “Hallowed be Thy Name.”

St Augustine on John 16:23-28

1. We have now to consider these words of the Lord, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, If ye shall ask
anything of the Father in my name, He will give it you.” It has already been said in the earlier
portions of this discourse of our Lord’s, on account of those who ask some things of the Father
in Christ’s name and receive them not, that there is nothing asked of the Father in the Saviour’s
name that is asked in contrariety to the method of salvation.1 For it is not the sound of the
letters and syllables, but what the sound itself imports, and what is rightly and truly to be
understood by that sound, that He is to be regarded as declaring, when He says, “in my name.”
Hence, he who has such ideas of Christ as ought not to be entertained of the only Son of God,
asketh not in His name, even though he may not abstain from the mention of Christ in so many
letters and syllables; since it is only in His name he asketh, of whom he is thinking when he
asketh. But he who has such ideas of Him as ought to be entertained, asketh in His name, and
receiveth what he asketh, if he asketh nothing that is contrary to his own everlasting salvation.
And he receiveth it when he ought to receive it. For some things are not refused, but are delayed
till they can be given at a suitable time. In this way, surely, we are to understand His words, “He
will give you,” so that thereby we may know that those benefits are signified which are properly
applicable to those who ask. For all the saints are heard effectively2 in their own behalf, but are
not so heard in behalf of all besides, whether friends or enemies, or any others: for it is not said
in a general kind of way, “He will give;” but, “He will give you.”

2. “Hitherto,” He says, “ye have not asked anything in my name. Ask, and ye shall receive, that
your joy may be full.” This that He calls a full joy is certainly no carnal joy, but a spiritual one;
and when it shall be so great as to be no longer capable of any additions to it, it will then
doubtless be full. Whatever, then, is asked as belonging to the attainment of this joy, is to be
asked in the name of Christ, if we understand the grace of God, and if we are truly in quest of a
blessed life. But if aught different from this is asked, there is nothing asked: not that the thing
itself is nothing at all, but that in comparison with what is so great, anything else that is coveted
is virtually nothing. For, of course, the man is not actually nothing, of whom the apostle says,
“He who thinketh himself to be something, when he is nothing.”3 But surely in comparison
with the spiritual man, who knows that by the grace of God he is what he is, he who makes vain
assumptions is nothing. In this way, then, may the words also be rightly understood, “Verily,
verily, I say unto you, if ye shall ask anything of the Father in my name, He will give [it] you;”
that by the words, “if anything,” should not be understood anything whatever, but anything that
is not really nothing in connection with the life of blessedness. And what follows, “Hitherto ye
have not asked anything in my name,” may be understood in two ways: either, that ye have not
asked in my name, because a name that ye have not known as it is yet to be known; or, ye have
not asked anything, since in comparison with that which ye ought to have asked, what ye have
asked is to be accounted as nothing. In order, then, that, they may ask in His name, not that
which is nothing, but a full joy (since anything different from this that they ask is virtually
nothing), He addresses to them the exhortation, “Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be
full;” that is, ask this in my name, that your joy may be full, and ye shall receive. For His saints,
who persevere in asking such a good thing as this, will in no wise be defrauded by the mercy of
God.
3. “These things,” said He, “have I spoken to you in proverbs: but the hour cometh, when I
shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of my Father.” I might be
disposed to say that this hour, whereof He speaketh, must be understood as that future period
when we shall see openly, as the blessed Paul says, “face to face;” that what He says, “These
things have I spoken to you in proverbs,” is one with what has been said by the same apostle,
“Now we see through a glass, in a riddle:”4 and “I will show you,” because the Father shall be
seen through the instrumentality of the Son, is akin to what He says elsewhere, “Neither
knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and [he] to whom the Son shall be pleased to reveal
Him.”5 But such a sense seems to be interfered with by that which follows: “At that day ye
shall ask in my name.” For in that future world, when we have reached the kingdom where we
shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is,6 what shall we then have to ask, when our
desire shall be satisfied with good things?7 As it is also said in another psalm: “I shall be
satisfied when Thy glory shall be revealed.”8 For petition has to do with some kind of want,
which can have no place there where such abundance shall reign.
4. It remains, therefore, for us, so far as my capacity to apprehend it goes, to understand Jesus
as having promised that He would cause His disciples, from being carnal and natural, to become
spiritual, although not yet such as we shall be, when a spiritual body shall also be ours; but such
as was he who said, “We speak wisdom among them that are perfect;”9 and, “I could not speak
unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal;”10 and, “We have received, not the spirit of the
world, but the Spirit who is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of
God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which
the Spirit teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural11 man perceiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God.” And thus the natural man, perceiving not the things of the
Spirit of God, hears in such a way whatever is told him of the nature of God, that he can
conceive of nothing else but some bodily form, however spacious or immense, however
lustrous and magnificent, yet still a body: and therefore he holds as proverbs all that is said of
the incorporeal and immutable substance of wisdom; not that he accounts them as proverbs, but
that his thoughts follow the same direction as those who habitually listen to proverbs without
understanding them. But when the spiritual man begins to discern all things, and he himself is
discerned by no man, he perceives, even though in this life it still be through a glass and in part,
not by any bodily sense, and not by any imaginative conception which catches at or devises the
likenesses of all sorts of bodies, but by the clearest understanding of the mind, that God is not
material, but spiritual: in such a way does the Son show us openly of the Father, that He, who
thus shows, is also Himself seen to be of the same substance. And then it is that those who ask,
ask in His name; for in the sound of that name they understand nothing else than what the
reality is that is called by that name, and harbor not, in vanity or infirmity of mind, the fiction of
the Father being in one place, and the Son in another, standing before the Father and making
request in our behalf, with the material substances of both occupying each its own place, and
the Word pleading verbally for us with Him whose Word He is, while a definite space interposes
between the mouth of the speaker and the ears of the hearer; and other such absurdities which
 those who are natural, and at the same time carnal, fabricate for themselves in their hearts. For
any such thing, suggested by the experience of bodily habits, as occurs to spiritual men when
thinking of God, they deny and reject, and drive away, like troublesome insects, from the eyes
of their mind; and resign themselves to the purity of that light by whose testimony and
judgment they prove these bodily images that thrust themselves on their inward vision to be
altogether false. These are able to a certain extent to think of our Lord Jesus Christ, in respect of
His manhood, as addressing the Father on our behalf; but in respect to His Godhead, as hearing
[and answering] us along with the Father. And this I am of opinion that He indicated, when He
said, “And I say not that I will pray the Father for you.” But the intuitive perception of this, how
it is that the Son asketh not the Father, but that Father and Son alike listen to those who ask, is a
height that can be reached only by the spiritual eye of the mind.
5. “For the Father Himself,” He says, “loveth you, because ye have loved me.” Is it the case,
then, that He loveth, because we love; or rather, that we love, because He loveth? Let this same
evangelist give us the answer out of his own epistle: “We love Him,” he says, “because He first
loved us.”12 This, then, was the efficient cause of our loving, that we were loved. And certainly
to love God is the gift of God. He it was that gave the grace to love Him, who loved while still
unloved. Even when displeasing Him we were loved, that there might be that in us whereby we
should become pleasing in His sight. For we could not love the Son unless we loved the Father
also. The Father loveth us, because we love the Son; seeing it is of the Father and Son we have
received [the power] to love both the Father and the Son: for love is shed abroad in our hearts
by the Spirit of both,13 by which Spirit we love both the Father and the Son, and whom we love
along with the Father and the Son. God, therefore, it was that wrought this religious love of ours
whereby we worship God; and He saw that it is good, and on that account He Himself loved
that which He had made. But He would not have wrought in us something He could love, were
it not that He loved ourselves before He wrought it.

6.“And ye have believed,” He adds, “that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father,
and am come into the world: again I leave the world, and go to the Father.” Clearly we have
believed. For surely it ought not to be accounted a thing incredible because of this, that in
coming to the world He came forth in such a sense from the Father that He did not leave the
Father behind; and that, on leaving the world, He goes to the Father in such a sense that He does
not actually forsake the world. For He came forth from the Father because He is of the Father;
and He came into the world, in showing to the world His bodily form, which He had received of
the Virgin. He left the world by a bodily withdrawal, He proceeded to the Father by His
ascension as man, but He forsook not the world in the ruling activity of His presence.

LINKS TO ONLINE RESOURCES FOR FURTHER STUDY:

THE LORDS PRAYER: An online booklet written by Peter Kreeft and

published by the Knights of Columbus (copyrighted). Begin on pg. 5.

THE CATECHISM OF ST THOMAS AQUINAS: type the words explanation of the

Lord's prayer into the search box at the top of the document, or
advance to page 92 using the arrow icon.

Treatise on the Lord's Prayer: by St Cyprian of Carthage.