Lord's Prayer in the 1928 BCP Catechism

Lord's Prayer in the 1928 BCP Catechism is the prayer taught to candidates for Confirmation after the explanation of their duties toward God and their neighbors. In the Catechism, learning to pray is joined to the recognition that obedience requires God's grace. The candidate both recites the prayer and explains what is asked for in it.

Prayer and the need for grace

Having rehearsed the commandments and the two duties, the learner hears the catechist's instruction:

My good Child, know this; that thou art not able to do these things of thyself, nor to walk in the Commandments of God, and to serve him, without his special grace; which thou must learn at all times to call for by diligent prayer. Let me hear, therefore, if thou canst say the Lord's Prayer.

The command to pray follows the moral teaching rather than replacing it: the baptized person asks God for the help needed to worship and obey. The earlier baptismal answer already gives thanks for being called into a state of salvation and asks for grace to continue in it. Prayer is thus part of the life of faith and obedience taught throughout the Catechism.

The prayer as recited

The answer given in the Catechism reads:

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 wording follows the prayer Jesus teaches in Matthew 6:9–13; Luke 11:1–4 also records his instruction in response to a disciple's request. In Matthew, Jesus goes on to connect forgiveness received with forgiveness offered to others. The Catechism's “trespasses” wording differs from the King James Version's “debts” in Matthew 6:12, though Matthew 6:14–15 speaks of trespasses.

What the petitions ask

Asked what is desired of God in the prayer, the candidate answers:

I desire my Lord God, our heavenly Father, who is the giver of all goodness, to send his grace unto me, and to all people; that we may worship him, serve him, and obey him, as we ought to do. And I pray unto God, that he will send us all things that are needful both for our souls and bodies; and that he will be merciful unto us, and forgive us our sins; and that it will please him to save and defend us in all dangers both of soul and body; and that he will keep us from all sin and wickedness, and from our spiritual enemy, and from everlasting death. And this I trust he will do of his mercy and goodness, through our Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore I say, Amen, So be it.

“Our Father” places the individual among others who pray to the giver of all goodness: the Catechism asks grace for “me, and to all people.” The petitions for God's name, kingdom, and will are reflected in the desire that all may worship, serve, and obey him. Daily bread directs prayer toward need; the Catechism describes the things requested as necessary for both soul and body. Forgiveness is sought from God's mercy, while the prayer itself binds the petition to the forgiveness of those who trespass against us. The final petitions ask for protection in temptation and danger; the explanation extends this hope to deliverance from sin, the spiritual enemy, and everlasting death. “Amen” expresses trust in God's mercy through Jesus Christ, not confidence in the learner's own power.

The Reformation preacher Hugh Latimer interpreted daily bread broadly in a sermon on the prayer:

This word "bread" signifieth all manner of sustenance for the preservation of this life; all things whereby man should live are contained in this word "bread."

Latimer's reading illuminates the Catechism's concern for bodily needs, while its own answer explicitly includes the needs of the soul as well. He also stresses that “us” makes the request intercession for others. His sermon is a sixteenth-century interpretation preserved in a later edition, not a commentary written for the 1928 book.

Learning and common worship

A rubric at the end of the Catechism links learning the prayer with preparation for Confirmation:

So soon as Children are come to a competent age, and can say the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, and can answer to the other questions of this short Catechism, they shall be brought to the Bishop.

Writing before the 1928 revision, Bishop John Henry Hobart explained the purpose of a similar requirement in his confirmation instruction:

By this order, she evidently designs more than that they should be able merely to say the words of the Catechism. They must have a full knowledge of its meaning.

Hobart's distinction between recitation and understanding helps explain the Catechism's two questions: the learner says the prayer and then describes its meaning. The prayer learned here is also prayed by the congregation. The rubric in Morning Prayer directs:

Then the Minister shall kneel, and say the Lord's Prayer; the People still kneeling, and repeating it with him, both here, and wheresoever else it is used in Divine Service.

The Catechism's form ends “deliver us from evil. Amen”; Morning Prayer adds “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever” before its Amen. The difference should be observed when teaching the particular text appointed in each place.

See Also

• Book of Common Prayer (1928)
• Catechism (1928 BCP)
• Offices of Instruction (1928 BCP)
• Confirmation (1928 BCP)
• Morning Prayer (1928 BCP)

External Links

• The 1928 Catechism, Society of Archbishop Justus