Pater Noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen. (Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.)
The Great Prayer of Christian Charity
In just 56 words, the Our Father summarizes how we are to approach God. It combines praise and petition. It calls for surrender and understanding. This prayer puts us into a relationship with God, Who reaches down to us as a loving Father. It also unites us with all those who are of the true Faith, as we do not address God as “my” Father but “our” Father, as The Catechism of the Council of Trent reminds us:
“When we invoke the Father and when each one of us calls Him our Father, we are to understand thereby that from the privilege and gift of divine adoption it necessarily follows that all the faithful are brethren and should love each other as such: You are all brethren for one is your Father who is in heaven. [Matt. 23:8] This is why the Apostles in their Epistles address all the faithful as brethren.”
The word “our” also obliges us to work toward the salvation of our fellow man. On this point, and the fraternal charity which it induces, The Catechism of the Council of Trent adds:
“How sincere should be the manner in which we ought to utter the word ‘our,’ we learn from St. Chrysostom. God, he says, listens willingly to the Christian who prays not only for himself but for others; because to pray for ourselves is an inspiration of nature; but to pray for others is an inspiration of grace; necessity compels us to pray for ourselves, whereas fraternal charity calls on us to pray for others. And he adds: That prayer which is inspired by fraternal charity is more agreeable to God than that which is dictated by necessity.”
How and Why the Priest Prays the Pater Noster at Mass
The Pater Noster has been prayed during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass since time immemorial. Surviving written records from the 4th century indicate it was normative in the Mass, but there is no reason to doubt it has always been part of the Church’s liturgical prayer. After all, the Apostles received this prayer from Christ precisely when they asked Him to “teach us how to pray” (cf. Luke 11:1).
We further know that around the year 600 AD,[1] Pope Gregory the Great confirmed the Pater Noster’s place in the liturgy immediately before the fracturing of the Host and Holy Communion. As the Angelus Press Hand Missal further shares, “In the ancient Church it was considered the only preparation worthy of Holy Communion.”
Those familiar with the Tridentine Mass will be aware that every action of the priest at the altar – and his every word – is legislated by the Church and delineated in the Missal. In such a way, it does not matter which ordained priest is offering the Mass as an individual’s own personal characteristics (e.g., manner of speaking or personality) fade away through the rubrics. Even his facial expression is shielded from us since he faces East as he addresses the Father in persona Christi and on our behalf.[2]
But despite all of the rubrics (e.g., look here, do this, say this while making the Sign of the Cross, etc.), the rubrics for how the priest prays the Pater Noster are very simple. The Church prescribes for him that he is to speak these most sacred words to the Sacred Host. The priest, who offers the Holy Sacrifice as an alter Christus, speaks to Our Lord the words which He Himself taught – “Our Father…” In such a way we see the Liturgy bring to life the words of Christ: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). The priest is looking on the face of God when he pronounces those venerable words to the Consecrated Host.
Why Does the Priest Traditionally Recite the Our Father by Himself?
To those who are new to the Tridentine Mass, it may come as a surprise that the priest alone – not the faithful in the pews – recites nearly the entire prayer by himself. It is only the last of the seven petitions (i.e., “Deliver us from evil”) that is recited by the servers and/or schola.
In The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass Dogmatically, Liturgically and Ascetically Explained, published in 1908, Father Nikolas Gihrin explains it as such:
“This last petition is here made in the name of the faithful by the acolyte or choir, after which the priest concludes the Our Father by saying, in a low voice, Amen. This Amen from the lips of the priest, who is mediator between God and man, has in this place a peculiar significance. It expresses not as at other times consent and desire, but is, so to speak, the answer that God has received and heard the petition of the people. The Our Father is recited aloud, or sung, in order that all present may join in the prayer with devout hearts and in childlike confidence, to which they are also incited by the Oremus, previously said.”
The priest has seen the Lord and spoken to Him. We ask for deliverance from evil and the priest says it is done. God has heard our prayer.
Having only the priest pray the Pater Noster is also a strong reminder – in faith – that this entire Sacrifice of the Holy Mass is the prayer of the Son to His Father. You see, the Mass is not primarily ‘the work of the laity’ but rather the ‘work of Christ.’ A terrible error which modernism has seeped into Catholics’ minds is that the liturgy is primarily “the work of the people.” In her wisdom, Holy Mother Church decreed that only the priest prays the Our Father at Mass, and this helps preserve us from such a pernicious error.
Active Participation Does Not Mean Loud Voices or Raised Hands
Many liturgical changes in the past several decades have been based on the incorrect notion that active participation in the Liturgy requires the faithful to pray aloud. But this is not the case. Active participation can be entirely silent as our heartfelt prayer – even in entire silence – can allow us to fully participate in the public worship of God. Another error – raising our hands to pray in the orans position – has also manifested itself often during this prayer.
It is erroneous to suggest that the laity do not pray the Our Father at Mass simply because they are silent. The real issue is: Do you unite yourself to the prayer of Christ when the priest prays the Our Father out loud at Mass? This requires mental concentration and spiritual recollection. Silence does not prohibit our prayer to God; in fact, it can facilitate it.
No one would think to suggest that when we pray the Rosary with the priest leading the first half of each payer and the laity responding with the second half, that a person has only said “half a Rosary.” Rather, it is understood that each person prays the entire Rosary. Yes, they are silent during part of it, but they are mentally contemplating the mysteries and actively engaging their heart and mind in the prayer. We have an analogous situation at Mass when the priest prays the Our Father and the laity (represented by the server) respond vocally at the end.
The Subdeacon During the Pater Noster
While there is much that can be written about the Our Father, one point that bears explaining and is usually entirely overlooked is the role of the subdeacon during this prayer.
For those who have been blessed to attend a Solemn High Mass with three sacred ministers (i.e., a priest, deacon, and subdeacon),[3] you will have noticed that the subdeacon covers and holds up the paten under a humeral veil throughout the sacred Canon of the Mass.[4] But what you may not have noticed is that he removes the paten from blocking his view of the altar at the words “et dimitte nobis” (“and forgive us”), signifying our own worthiness to look on our forgiving Lord. This small and deeply spiritually significant action is found only in the Tridentine Mass in its solemn form.
Conclusion
The next time you assist at Holy Mass and hear the priest pray the Our Father, look at him. See how he looks only at Our Lord in the Sacred Host. Listen to the server respond “sed libera nos a malo,” and hear the priest assure us that we are heard. Resist the need to speak aloud, and know that God hears us so long as we unite our prayers with the priest and trust in Him, the One who taught us the most beautiful 56-word prayer ever composed.
[1] “Previous to the time of St. Gregory the Great it was not recited (as is still the case in the Ambrosian and Mozarabic Rites) until after the breaking of the Host; this Pope gave it its present position immediately after the Canon” (Father Gihrin).
[2] Fr. Joseph Santos of the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island: “…When a general leads his troops into battle does he face them? When a representative of the people approaches the Ruler on their behalf does he face them? When a priest is going to the Lord on behalf of his people should he face them? When the priest is acting as the intermediary between the people and God he faces the Altar. When he is dispensing the gifts of God, or speaking to the people, he faces the people.”
[3] These are the three major orders. Any ordained Catholic priest may fulfill any of these roles during a Solemn High Mass. Stated another way, the rubrics for the Solemn High Mass do not require that a subdeacon on his path to the priesthood fulfill the role of subdeacon.
[4] Father Nikolaus Gihrin explains the mystical significance: “After the offering of the host the paten, when the Mass is not a solemn one, is concealed under the corporal until after the Pater noster (cf. Microl. c. 10). In solemn Masses, however, the subdeacon holds the paten enveloped in the veil that hangs from his shoulders. The original and peculiar reason for keeping it thus covered is, because the paten (as also the chalice), being a blessed and sacred object, should, as far as possible, be withdrawn from profane gaze (cf. Lebrun p. 3, a. 6).”