Tractate III, Chapter XX opening

CHAPTER XX.

On the Lord's Prayer itself.

1. Our Father, etc. In this Lord's Prayer two things are said, namely the capturing of benevolence toward him from whom something is sought, the thing which is sought, and the petitions themselves. For the petitions begin where it is said: Hallowed be thy name.

But the capturing of benevolence has two things: for we capture benevolence by alleging the sweetness of the affection of him from whom we seek, and by alleging the worthiness of the things to be sought, because we propose to seek nothing except heavenly things, and good things which the good Father by his own worthiness freely desires to be sought from himself. And we do this by saying: Who art in heaven.

Therefore the first thing is what we say in capturing benevolence from the person from whom we seek: Our Father.

For we say Our Father so that the beginning of the prayer may grow sweet in the name of Father. Wisdom 16:21: For thy substance showed thy sweetness which thou hast toward sons. For the name of father is a most sweet name in the mouth of a son, if the son, in the Spirit who proceeds from the Father into the Son, names and invokes the Father. Galatians 4:6: But because you are sons of God, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying: Abba, Father. Thus in the mouth of the son the name of my father is under the tongue, melody in the ear, and jubilation in the heart. Thus the Son named the Father, Mark 14:36: Abba, Father, all things are possible to thee. Thus the Son invoking the Father in the Spirit of love, who proceeds from the Father into the Son, is made one in spirit and concordant. 1 Corinthians 6:17: He who adheres to God is one spirit, namely with him.

[Marginal label: Father, a name of sweetness and formative virtue.] But father is not only a name of sweetness, but also of formative virtue; for the virtue of a father, even a carnal one, which drips from the sweetness of nature into the mother when she receives the sweetest drop and conceives, has in itself a formative virtue by which it forms the blood of the mother into offspring, and the son of the father, and perfects the human being to the perfect likeness of the father unless the inequality and disobedience of the matter, in which it operates the formation, stands in the way. But since the name father expresses this virtue and is imposed from this virtue, it is certain that no carnal father has this virtue from himself, nor is he the first principle of so notable a virtue; rather this virtue is a certain image and example in human beings, and the exemplar, principle, cause, and archetype is in the first Father, just as every word receives its virtue from what is prior in its own order, which is its principle according to nature. Hence it is said, Ephesians 3:14 and 15: For the sake of this thing I bend my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom all paternity in the heavens and on earth is named. Treating this word, blessed Dionysius says that every paternity from which fathers and sons of gods and of human beings exist is from the patriarchia elevated above all paternities. The wise and pious mother of the seven brothers, praiseworthy beyond measure and worthy of the memory of the good, considered this, 2 Maccabees 7:22 and 23, saying to her sons: I do not know how you appeared in my womb; for I did not give you spirit and soul and life, nor did I myself join together the members of each one, but rather the creator of the world, who formed the nativity of man and found the origin of all things, will restore to you again spirit and life with mercy.

Therefore according to this, God is the first father, having divine immaterial virtue before all and above all, immaterially forming us to his image and likeness; for a virtue is not perfect unless it brings a shaped image to the perfect likeness of the father. For if an image has been drawn very well with suitable lines to the configuration of the father's countenance, and yet the matter is rough and discolored, lacking the due color and life and spirit, it is not said to be perfect formative virtue. But it is perfect when it is fitting both in figure, and in the filling of becoming richness, and in beauty of color, and in cheerfulness of spirit, and in vigor of virtue, and in the acts and movements and pulses of life. Hence it is that it is not said: Let us make man only to our image, but there is added, to likeness ¹, so that just as he bears the image in natural powers, namely memory, intelligence, and will, so he may bear the likeness in this: that memory be without forgetfulness, retaining knowledge of God, like a certain immutability of eternity; and intelligence be full of the light of divine truth kindling and glowing, as is said of it, Wisdom 7:26, that it is the brightness of eternal light, and the spotless mirror of the majesty of God, and the image of his goodness. And above, verse 25, it is also called a certain sincere emanation of the brightness of almighty God; and the will be wholly burning with desire of paternal charity, so that with the Apostle, 2 Corinthians 5:14, we may say: The charity of Christ urges us. And that saying of the same Apostle, Romans 5:5: The charity of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. And in the heart let nothing

pulsate unless the life of God the Father pulsates, as is said, Deuteronomy 4:4: You who adhere to the Lord your God all live unto the present day. For it is shameful if so great a virtue of the Father, from the drop of the sweetness of his heart, should form a dead image. For this is cast away in the sight of men as a useless abortion. The living and natural Son intends this, when he said to all sons in the disciples, John 14:19: You see me, because I live, and you shall live. John 5:26: As the Father has life in himself, so he has given also to the Son to have life in himself.

But the fittingness and grace of color is in the beauty of virtue, so that we may be of one color with the Angels, and with him of whom it is said, Canticles 1:15: Behold, thou art beautiful, my beloved, and comely. For all our glory and comeliness according to the Psalmist, Psalm 44:14, is from within. Judith 10:4: To whom also the Lord gave splendor, since all that adornment depended not on lust, but on virtue.

But the Spirit breathing in us is the Holy Spirit proceeding into us from our Father, just as in every nature the natural spirit of a son proceeds into him from the father. Hence, Genesis 2:7: He breathed into his face the breath of life. Thus the whole Trinity, God, is our father. Isaiah 64:8: Now, O Lord, thou art our father, but we are clay; and thou art our maker, and all we are the works of thy hands. Thus according to the Psalmist, Psalm 32:15: He formed our hearts one by one, and he understands all our works; as is said, Ecclesiasticus 17:1 and 2, that God created man from the earth, and made him according to his image. And according to himself he clothed him with virtue.

This, therefore, we say when we say: Our Father. For he is ours, if we bear his image in the mode which has been stated. Hence of certain persons who do not bear his image it is said in Psalm 17:46: Alien sons have lied to me; alien sons have grown old, and have limped from their paths. For one is alien in an alien countenance, which the concupiscence of the flesh has deformed into the countenance of harlots, of carnal foulness and corruption. Romans 9:8: Not those who are sons of the flesh, these are sons of God, but those who are sons of the promise are reckoned in the seed; supply, the divine seed. Genesis 21:10: Cast out this handmaid and her son, for the son of the handmaid shall not be heir with my son Isaac. Hence it is said, Galatians 4:31: We are not sons of the handmaid, but of the free woman. For the concupiscence and wantonness of the handmaid deforms even the seed of God into an alien and ignoble countenance.

They also are alien who by the cupidity of the age are transformed into the countenance of the world, and are called sons of this age, Luke 16:7: The sons of this age are wiser than the sons of light in their generation. Thus happens what Jeremiah laments, Lamentations 4:2: The renowned sons of Sion, clothed with first gold, how have they been reckoned as earthen vessels, the work of the hands of the potter! For the splendor of divine gold shone in the countenances of the sons of God. But now, conformed to earthly things by cupidity for things and ambition for honor, they display nothing except that they are earthen and clay vessels and the work of the potter's hand, who treads flowing clay and makes vessels of earthly cupidity and capacity. Nahum 2:10: The faces of all are like the blackness of a pot.

There are likewise those who display the countenance of the devil, concerning whom the Truth says, John 7:44: You are of your father the devil, and you wish to do the desires of your father. For these, by the very cruelty of anger and envy and acedia, that is, sluggishness, toward every good have assumed the face of the devil, and are horrible. Job 41:13: Want will go before his face.

Concerning all these alien faces which have deformed the face of the heavenly Father, there is one sentence of God. Job 40:7, where the Father speaks to the true and natural Son, saying: Crush the impious in their place, and hide them in the dust, and sink their faces into the pit, that is, into the abyss of eternal perdition. For all these are alien.

But concerning true sons it is said, 1 Corinthians 15:48 and 49: As the earthly one is, such also are the earthly; and as the heavenly one is, such also are the heavenly. Therefore, as we have borne the image of the earthly one, let us also bear the image of the heavenly one.

Thus, therefore, and by such virtue God the Trinity is called Our Father, if we are formed from virtue, and conformed to his true Son, and are inspired in the Holy Spirit.

[Marginal label: Capturing benevolence from the worthiness of the thing sought.] 2. Who art in heaven. The capturing of benevolence is from the worthiness of the thing sought. For therefore we say, Who art in heaven, although nevertheless we know that he is everywhere, because where the father is, there are the goods which are sought from him. Therefore we signify that we intend to seek from him the heavenly goods in which he himself shines forth in heaven; and all these he gives willingly, because it befits him to give such things to those sons seeking them, and they are things that will remain forever, and they make sons most rich, confer goods upon them, and exalt them.

For that it befits him to give this gift of heaven is clear from this, that to think about small things does not belong to the magnificence of his liberality which he has toward sons. The Son signified this when he says to those seeking earthly things, John 16:24: Until now you have not asked anything in my name. As if he were saying: Like earthly persons you have up to this point sought earthly things, which in comparison with heavenly things are nothing at all. For he is the king of heavenly things, which is what Assuerus is interpreted to mean, concerning whom it is said, Esther 2:18, that he bestowed gifts according to principal magnificence, that is, things which befitted the magnificence of so great and so glorious a prince. But these things that confer are useful to those who seek them. Hence it is said, 1 Corinthians 12:7: To each one is given the manifestation of the spirit unto usefulness. But the manifestation of the spirit is called the gift which the Father manifests to the Spirit in the very usefulness of the gift. Hence he says, Luke 11:13: If therefore you, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your sons, how much more will your Father from heaven give a good spirit, that is, a useful gift of the Spirit, to those who ask him.

These are abiding and eternal goods, because heaven is the incorruptible place of God, as the Philosopher says, even according to the opinion and assertion of all. Hence, 1 Peter 1:3 and 4: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has regenerated us unto a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, unto an incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading inheritance, kept in heaven. Hence it is that the Lord himself says, Matthew 6:20: Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither rust nor moth destroys, and where thieves do not dig through nor steal.

These make sons most rich, as is said, 1 Corinthians 1:5 and 7: In all things you have been made rich in him, in every word and in every knowledge, so that nothing is lacking to you in any grace; as is said, 2 Chronicles 9:22, that Solomon was magnified above all the kings of the earth before riches and glory. Thus it is said of the saints, Ecclesiasticus 44:6: Men rich in virtue, having zeal for beauty.

These are the things promoting and exalting the sons of so great a father to every honor. Genesis 31:1: Jacob took all things which belonged to our father, and enriched from his resources, he has become renowned. For those unhappy persons, exchanging earthly things for heavenly things, neglected this substance in the gifts of the highest Father, which spiritual and wise Jacob merited; and taking it from the hand of his father he was made of renowned honor. For thus he crowns sons with glory and honor, and sets them over the works of his hands, as the Psalmist says, Psalm 8:6. For glory and riches are in the heavenly house, and not in the earthly. Proverbs 6:18: With me are riches and glory, proud riches, that is, supernal, that is, excellent riches, and riches exalting in honor all to whom they are given.

3. Hallowed be thy name. This is the first among the seven petitions.

But the name which we here ask to be sanctified is this which so great a Father generates in us. For a human father generates a human being, and by his very generation gives him this name, that he is called man in truth, just as he also is a man. So God the Father generates God, and by his very generation gives to the one born that he is called God, and is God. For he generates us through grace, by forming his deity in us, and the seed of this generation is the word in the intellect and grace in the affection. But that he would not generate in this way, he himself says, Isaiah 66:9: Shall I, who give generation to others, myself be sterile? says the Lord. As if he were saying: I shall not be sterile. But thus the offspring formed by God the Father according to participation in the divine image and virtue is truly called God. Hence, John 10:35: He called those gods to whom the word of God was made. And the sense of the word is that it is thus in the generation of the sons of God as it is in the generation of a human being according to nature. For when the seed of a man conceived in the womb has now been made, through the effect and operation of good and efficacious seed, then that which has been made is called a human being and is one. Therefore, since the speech of God or Word of God is the seed of God, when the Word in effect and operation has now been made and perfected in the operation of the seminal Word of God, then that which has been made and perfected and constituted by such an effect and operation is called God according to participation in divine virtue. For he is truly God who is called God participatively, as we remember having said in what has gone before. Thus therefore is understood what he says, that he called those gods to whom the speech of God was made, and Scripture cannot be dissolved ². Psalm 81:6: I have said: You are gods, and all sons of the Most High. Thus it is said to Moses, Exodus 7:1: I have established thee as God of Pharaoh. Thus also Christ, arguing against the Jews, said: Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, do you say: Thou blasphemest, because I said: I am the Son of God ³? As if he were saying: You say this irrationally and falsely; for through such a generation we are conformed to the Son whom the Father, having sanctified him, sent into the world, and we have the name of sons of God, and participation in deity, and conformity to the true Son, as is said, Romans 8:29 and 30: Those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to become conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. But those whom he predestined, these he also called; and those whom he called, these he also justified; but those whom he justified, those he also glorified. And a little before he said: Those whom he foreknew to become conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. This is what John says, 1 Canonical Epistle 3:1: See what charity the Father has given us, that we should be named and be sons of God.

4. Therefore this name, that we are named and are gods and sons of God, is sanctified when it is both corrected and confirmed. And this again is taken according to the likeness of the name inborn in us through nature; for this name, man, which is born in us through a human father, first flows in from nature, poured forth from the womb, and is unclean and weak. Unclean indeed, because it has drunk in and had infused into itself the unclean humor of the womb; hence the bodies of those born are moist with a foul humor and become scabby and very soft. On account of this the wise physician has instructed that the bodies of those born be sprinkled with salt, or frequently washed with salty or sulphurous water, for drying. Moisture is also weak in infants; and therefore little by little with more solid food from day to day, as is suitable to the age, they are instructed to be strengthened, until, when the members have been perfected in dryness and quantity, they receive the perfect virtue of man and of their father, the moisture of the foul womb being gradually digested and dried, and the members being brought back to virtue through solid nourishment. In every same mode the name of God, inborn in us from divine generation, is cleansed and strengthened in us. For the foul humor of concupiscence must be dried in us, which we contracted from the foul womb, concerning which the Psalmist says, Psalm 50:7: For behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins my mother conceived me. Hence the Lord reproaches certain persons not cleansed in this way, Ezekiel 16:3 and 4: Thy root and thy generation are from the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother a Hittite. And when thou wast born, on the day of thy birth, thy navel was not cut; and thou wast not washed with water unto salvation, nor salted with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling clothes; for foul seed, flowing with the humor of concupiscence, is from Canaan. Hence, Daniel 13:56: Seed of Canaan, and not of Judah, beauty deceived thee, and concupiscence subverted thy heart. And the worst womb, full of madness, is the womb of the Hittite woman, which is interpreted mad, and those who are poured forth from it. That womb continually pours in madness, unless it is cut off by the sword of most severe strictness. And such an offspring has not been washed by the water of the saving bath, nor salted by the salt of wisdom, nor wrapped in the cloths or bands of discipline; and therefore what is born thus is wholly cursed and unclean, and in no way sanctified or cleansed. But if it is cleansed and washed by the saving water of the sacraments and tears, and salted with the salt of discretion, and cut off from the womb of concupiscence by the sword of most severe strictness, then certainly it is dried and cleansed; therefore it is sanctified, because holy is the same as clean. Hence in figure of this it is said of Mary, Luke 1:35: What will be born from thee as holy will be called the Son of God. And thus the name of God is sanctified when that which is inborn in us from God is cleansed from uncleannesses, as is said, Ezekiel 36:25: I shall pour clean water upon you, and you shall be cleansed from all your defilements. Psalm 50:9: Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.

It is also confirmed from day to day, until what is inborn in us concerning divine form and name is perfected in virtue and operations, because a name follows form, since each thing is denominated from form; and therefore after milk more solid food is ministered, and again after that a still more solid food, and so thereafter until the members are strengthened for perfect operations. And so it is in divine generation. Hence, 1 John 3:2: Dearest ones, now we are sons of God, and it has not yet appeared what we shall be; supply, from the very birth of filiation, because we are not yet perfected. And there follows: We know that when it shall appear, namely this which will be in us from God's begetting and the filiation of God, we shall be like him, namely in perfection of virtue and operation, because we shall see him, namely our Father in us, as he is, that is, as perfect; because then with delight we shall say that word of Deuteronomy 32:3 and 4: Give magnificence to our God; the works of God are perfect. For then Isaac, weaned, is brought to the table of his father ⁴, taking solid food as one perfected. Hebrews 5:14: Solid food belongs to the perfect, to those who by custom have senses exercised for the discernment of good and evil.

Thus the name of God is sanctified in us, because holy is the same as strong or firm. Isaiah 28:9: Whom will he teach knowledge, and whom will he make to understand what is heard? Those weaned from milk, those taken away from the breasts. Thus Paul says, 1 Corinthians 13:11: When I was a little child, I spoke as a little child, I tasted as a little child, I thought as a little child; but when I became a man, I put away the things that belonged to a little child. Therefore when the name of God inborn in us is cleansed from things polluting it, it is sanctified; and when that which is inborn in us from God's begetting is strengthened, the name of God is sanctified. Concerning the first it is said, John 12:28: Father, glorify thy name. Concerning the second it is said, Jeremiah 14:9: Thy name has been invoked over us. Malachi 1:11 and 12: From the rising of the sun even to its setting, my name is great among the nations; and in every place it is sanctified, and a clean oblation is offered to my name. And you have polluted it, namely among the nations.

And this is the literal exposition when it is said: Hallowed be thy name, namely the name which is inborn in us from thy generation, O Father. Thus the Father says to us, Leviticus 19:2: Be holy, because I am holy, the Lord your God, who sanctify you. Thus the mother of the Holy of Holies says, Luke 1:49: Because he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

Thus, therefore, the first petition is to be expounded literally.

5. Thy kingdom come, because the kingdom of God, as I have often said in my other works, is nothing other than the perfected and confirmed power of divine justice, in which God reigns in us and in the whole Church. For in this way kingdom is expounded both by Tully and by Plato and by Dionysius, when they say that kingdom is the distribution of every end of law and order according to the persons belonging to the kingdom. For in this kingdom all civil orders and all forms of rule are perfected and consist in this, that the good of citizens, and the ends intended by legislators, and the observances of laws and offices, are distributed to suitable persons.

But this kingdom is perfected by three things, namely by essential or substantial virtues and operations. The essential things of the kingdom in the king are those things which make the king and perfect the beauty of the kingdom in him, and they are three. One of these is that he have justice for a soul, so that, just as the soul is the principle and cause of all movements and operations of the body, so in the soul justice may be the principle of all movements and operations of the king's soul, and he may feel no other operations in himself; and in sign of this a crown is given to the king. Wisdom 5:17: They shall receive a kingdom of comeliness, and a diadem of beauty from the hand of the Lord.

The second is that the whole intellect of the king shine with the reasons of right and justice. Therefore it is said, Esther 1:13, that Assuerus, who is interpreted blessed king, had with him wise men knowing the laws and the rights of the elders, by whose counsel he did all things. And in sign of this purple is given to the king. Hence the best king said of himself, Job 29:14: I was clothed with justice, and I clothed myself with my judgment as with a garment and a diadem.

The third thing which perfects a king is the tranquility of right judgment. In sign of this a throne and scepter are given to the king. The throne indeed is for the tranquility by which he executes every judgment. But the scepter, because, since judgment is nothing other than the execution of justice, and the execution of justice directs all things, is given in sign of this direction: Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; the rod of direction is the rod of thy kingdom ⁵. The first of these is kingdom in the affection of the king. The second is kingdom in the intellect. The third is kingdom in effect. Therefore this is the substance and perfection of kingdom in the king.

But the virtue of the kingdom consists in three things, namely that there be virtue and power set beneath, not inclinable toward footstools and things to be trampled; and for the perfection and sign of that, nobles are given and ordained for the king, placed above all offices, not inclinable toward servile things, but always remaining in the height of the dignity of justice. But the law of nobles is set down, Isaiah 33:15 and 16: He who walks in justices and speaks truth, who casts away avarice from calumny and shakes his hands free from every gift, who stops his ears lest he hear blood and closes his eyes lest he see evil: this man will dwell in the heights. For nobles are those who from the name are called persons sitting on high seats around the king, and by whose knowledge and judgment all things are discerned.

The second thing by which the virtue of the kingdom is perfected is the invincibility and uncontradictability of fulfilling decrees. And for this legions and leaders are given to the king, as is said, 2 Kings 20:7: There went out with him the men of Joab, and the Cherethites also and the Pelethites; and all the strong men went out from Jerusalem to pursue Sheba. But the Cherethites are interpreted life-givers, who defended the good from the wicked. The Pelethites are interpreted slayers, who killed robbers and wicked persons invading the kingdom. And such legions with their leader compelled all the statutes of the nobles and of the king to be done uncontradictably.

The third thing which perfects the whole virtue of the kingdom was the power of the powers, who from their office punished with free severity, without fury and anger, the wicked existing within the kingdom, lest disturbance should arise within the kingdom for the good citizens. Romans 13:3 and 4: Princes are not for fear to a good work, but to an evil one. Dost thou wish not to fear the power? Do good, and thou shalt have praise from it. For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou doest evil, fear; for he does not bear the sword without cause. For he is the minister of God, an avenger unto wrath against him who does evil.

But the perfection of the work of the kingdom also consists in three things. The first of these is that every public work be ruled by law, and for this princes were established who were said to be jurisconsults. Isaiah 32:8: The prince will think those things which are worthy of a prince, and he himself will stand above the leaders. The second is that every emerging doubt be determined by the counsel of wise men. And for this counselors are given, as Chusi was with David ⁶. On account of this he says reproachfully, Isaiah 19:11: The wise counselors of Pharaoh gave foolish counsel. But the third is that the works of all in the common people and populace be formed by virtue; and thus each one according to his own mode of living is ordered to the blessed life. Isaiah 60:21: Thy people shall all be just; they shall inherit the land forever, the shoot of my planting, the work of my hand for glorifying.

This is the perfect kingdom of God; and such a distribution is ordering of justice and virtue and work, as all who have studied well in civic orders know. Therefore if justice animates us, if the reason of divine justice illuminates us, if God's judgments rest tranquilly in us; if God's high virtue, not inclinable, is in us; if God's will is perfected invincibly and uncontradictably by us; if by free severity without anger and fury whatever does not accord with the will of God is repressed and punished, and that which accords with the law of God is made ready for free persons unto acts; if all our works are measured by the law of God and are lawful; if all our doubtful matters are brought to completion at the counsel of God; if all things are informed by virtue and ordered to divine blessedness, then certainly the kingdom of God comes to us, through which God reigns perfectly in us. And this is what is said, Luke 17:21: The kingdom of God is within you. Luke 11:20: If by the finger of God I cast out demons, which impede God from reigning in men, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Matthew 4:17: Do penance, by punishing in yourselves the things contrary to the kingdom, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near. Romans 14:17: The kingdom of God is not food and drink, but justice, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Apocalypse 5:10: Thou hast made us a kingdom for our God.

6. Thy will be done as in heaven and on earth. The will of God is the will of good pleasure and the will of sign.

But the will of good pleasure is the will which he has in himself, by which he is omnipotent and cannot be hindered from always attaining what is willed. Psalm 134:6: All things whatsoever the Lord willed he has done, in heaven, on earth, in the sea, and in all abysses. Romans 9:19: Who resists his will?

But the will of sign is that which he has expressed by some sign. And this is in five modes, namely of precept, counsel, prohibition, operation, and permission. Hence the verse:

He commands and prohibits, permits, counsels, fulfills.

For what he commands or counsels or prohibits or perfects by the work of example signifies that he wills that thing. But what he permits, in this he wills that to which he orders it; and although he does not will that sin which he permits, nevertheless he wills the good which he draws out from the order of that evil. Thus he did not will the cruelty of Decius and of other tyrants, yet from this he willed the patience of Lawrence and of the other martyrs to shine out and gleam forth for all as an example. Concerning these wills it is said in Psalm 110:2: Great are the works of the Lord, sought out in all his wills, while we fulfill the precept, beware the prohibition, embrace the counsel, follow the operation as an example, and in permission strive to perfect in ourselves the good for the sake of which evil is permitted to happen. For thus we do that saying of the Apostle, Romans 12:2: That you may prove what is the good, and well-pleasing, and perfect will of God. Good indeed in precepts and prohibitions, well-pleasing in counsels and exemplary operations, but perfect in the good which is drawn out in us from permitted evils. This is the will of God concerning which it is said, 1 Thessalonians 4:3: This is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from fornication, etc. By this will he acts kindly with us, when he conforms our will to his will, so that the walls of Jerusalem may be built, which are restored from living stones who do the will of God.

We ask that this will of God be done on earth as in heaven. For God gave to us, as Augustine says in book XII On Genesis to the Letter, two parts of reason: one indeed which, illuminated by faith and aided by the wisdom of God and by understanding and knowledge, adheres in contemplation to heavenly and eternal and divine reasons, and this is the head among the powers of our soul. But he gave another by which it prudently disposes lower things, without which this life is not carried on, as for example by prudence and art and human counsel and things of this kind. But these parts are related to one another in such a way that the first rules and the second is ruled, because lower things must be disposed and ordered toward wisdom and understanding and knowledge of supernal things. Exodus 25:40: Look, and make according to the exemplar which was shown to thee on the mountain.

Therefore we ask that the fivefold will of God be done on earth in this way, that is, in the earthly disposition of our life be disposed in this way, as it is itself ordered to be perfected in heaven and in God's wisdom and understanding and knowledge; because then earthly things descend from the order of heavenly things, and no error, no confusion, no disorder, no perversity will occur in all earthly things in which our life is carried on, and no vanity can insinuate itself into us which could bring it about that our work be emptied of reward. This is signified, Genesis 15:5, where it is said that God led Abraham outside and said to him: Look up at heaven and number the stars, if thou canst. And he said to him: So shall thy seed be. For the fact that he led him out signifies that he removed him from his own cares, so that he might at some time freely be able to contemplate heavenly things. But when he said, Look up, he willed him to turn the whole edge of his mind toward the sublimity of divine things. And when he said, Number the stars, he willed him to contemplate the lights of eternal holiness as much as he could. And when he added: So shall thy seed be, it must be understood that he would always have the seeds of the light of eternal reasons for the disposition of earthly works. Thus the Lord says to Job, 38:33: Dost thou know the order of heaven, and wilt thou set its reason on earth? Thus Paul says, Philippians 3:20, that our conversation is in heaven; because in our whole life nothing but heaven is looked upon, when the whole life is formed, expressed by the reasons of heaven.

7. Give us this day our daily bread. Although this petition has been expounded by us in many ways in our other works on Matthew and on Luke, nevertheless, because on account of this petition the priest, here crying aloud, forewarns the people toward desire for the bread of the Eucharist, here we shall expound it only concerning that bread of which John says, 6:33: The bread of God is he who descends from heaven and gives life to the world. For this is the bread which truly strengthens the heart by refreshing it. Psalm 103:15: Bread confirms the heart of man. This is the noble bread descending from heaven. Psalm 77:25: Man has eaten the bread of Angels. This is useful, serving every desire. Wisdom 16:20 and 21: Thou gavest them prepared bread from heaven without labor, having in itself every delight and the sweetness of every taste. For thy substance showed thy sweetness which thou hast toward sons, and, serving the will of each one, it was changed into what each one willed. This is delightful, seasoned with the richness of deity. Genesis 49:20: Asher, his bread is rich, and he shall furnish delicacies to kings. This provides the strongest virtue and provision for the way, so that the way of merit by which one goes to God may be perfected. 3 Kings 19:8: Elijah ate and drank, and walked in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights, unto Horeb the mountain of God. This was made by the hand of the wisdom of God, cooked under the ash of the humility of human flesh in the womb of the Virgin. Genesis 18:6: Hurry, mix three measures of fine flour, that is, the purity of body and soul and deity, and make unleavened cakes baked under the ash. This is unleavened, without all corruption of sin. 1 Corinthians 5:8: Therefore let us feast, not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened things of sincerity and truth. This is abundant for every blessing. Isaiah 30:23: The bread of the fruits of thy earth will be most abundant and rich. This is holy, which it is not lawful except for holy persons in a holy place to eat. 1 Kings 21:4: I have no common breads at hand, but only holy bread; if the boys are clean, especially from women, let them eat.

Therefore our bread, which is sweet bread to us and to thy special sons. Matthew 15:2: It is not good to take the bread of the sons and cast it to dogs.

Give to us, because what can be valued at no price cannot be sold. Isaiah 55:2: Why do you weigh out your silver not for breads, and your labor not for fullness? Hear, hearing me, and eat the good, and your soul will be delighted in richness.

Today, that is, daily, because daily we need thy refreshment. Daniel 1:5: The king appointed for them an allowance through single days from his foods and from the wine from which he himself drank.

And because infinite things are to be said here about this bread, taking it up again at the end after the exposition of the office of the Mass, we shall treat of it with subtlety.

These, therefore, are the first four petitions which are for obtaining the good. But this good is either according to divine being, or according to power, or according to the perfect divine work, or according to the restoration of what has been lost into divine being, which loss must come about from the continual pressure of temptations and from the necessities of this miserable life. And with respect to divine being in us the first petition is given; but with respect to power the second petition is given; with respect to perfect work the third is given; and with respect to that which restores what has been lost the fourth petition is given. And from this the number and order of those petitions is known, because in obtaining the good we do not need more things for asking.

But the things which follow are deprecations for evils to be removed.

8. And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.

Debts are the things which we ought to pay back through satisfaction to God, both from evil committed, and from good omitted to which we are bound, and from the talent entrusted to us. For all these things we have to pay back according to number and weight and measure. And because we are fragile, we are not strong enough to pay back perfectly. For concerning evil committed it is said, 2 Corinthians 5:10: We must all be manifested before the tribunal of Christ, so that each one may report, by rendering an account, the proper things of the body, that is, the things which he committed in the body, according as he carried them out, namely in the body. But concerning the debt which is from good omitted, it is said, Luke 16:1, that a certain man had a steward, and this man was accused before him as if he had dissipated his goods. And the lord said to him: Render an account of thy stewardship, for now thou wilt not be able to be steward. Concerning the talent entrusted, whether in natural goods, or in gratuitous goods, or in goods of fortune, it is said, Matthew 25:14, that he called his servants and set an account with them. But we know the severity of the Lord to whom we owe, saying: Thou shalt not go out from there, that is, from the prison, until thou payest the last farthing ⁷. And that saying of Matthew 12:36: Every idle word which men have spoken, they shall render an account of it on the day of judgment. We also know the piety of the Lord toward us and his mercy. Matthew 18:27: The lord had mercy on the servant who had fallen down before him, asking that he have patience with him, and forgave him the whole debt. Similarly, Luke 7:42: When they did not have from which they might pay back, he forgave both. And falling down we pray in the same hope of remission, saying: Forgive us our debts, since we have nothing to pay back except, with the sinful woman, the affection of love. Luke 7:47: Many sins are remitted to her, because she loved much. This love drew forth tears toward the offended Father and the tribulation of sorrow in compunction. For this also merited forgiveness in the Publican, who, confounded from humility, cast down his eyes, and in prayer confessed the truth about himself, and in the affliction of satisfaction beat his breast ⁸. But these things restored Manasses ⁹.

Therefore in this confidence, disposed similarly to those who have been mentioned in contrition and love of heart, and in true confession of mouth, and in the labor of satisfaction, we approach the throne of the grace of our Father, saying: Forgive us our debts, and enter not into the judgment of severe strictness, since no man will be justified before thee unless through thee remission of all sins and debts is made.

But knowing that sins are not forgiven except in the communion of saints, and communicating with the saints and all debtors in charity, we add: As we also forgive our debtors. And this in intention and affection, because the Lord himself says, Matthew 6:13: If you do not forgive men, namely their sins, neither will your Father forgive you your sins. Hence, Matthew 18:34, over the man who refused to forgive his fellow-servant, the lord recalled the whole debt. Hence, Ecclesiasticus 28:3 and 4, he says: A man reserves anger against a man, and seeks healing from God. Toward a man like himself he does not have mercy, and concerning his own sins he prays. Since he himself is flesh, he reserves anger and seeks propitiation from God; who will pray for his offenses? As if he were saying: He will never obtain pardon who does not remit to one sinning against himself.

Nevertheless a certain person here distinguishes that one thing is the debt of man, and another the debt of justice. And of the debt of man, one kind is private, of one man alone, and another is the debt of a common privilege. The debt of man is, as some say, what is owed to a fragile, corrupted man, who, when he is provoked by injuries or is wounded by damages, is stirred to inflict similar or greater things, because according to this mode it is said by certain Philosophers, such as Socrates and Plato and Aristotle, that it belongs to the nature of man to do good to friends and to do evil to enemies. And they say that it belongs to the perfection of the grace of Christ also to forgive this debt. But the debt of justice is that which the law has determined for an inflicted injury or an inflicted damage, such as eye for eye, tooth for tooth, and things of this kind ¹⁰. And similarly in damages, that one restore what he has taken away, or as much as he gave occasion to the damage. And this debt, as they say, someone can exact without sin according both to human and divine laws, provided that in injuries and damages he does not proceed beyond the law on account of harm inflicted upon himself. But a private debt is, as they say, what according to law is owed to any person. And because anyone can renounce that right which has been granted for himself alone, therefore someone can forgive this debt. But the debt of common privilege is such as that one striking a cleric falls into major excommunication; and because this has been granted for the peace of the common clergy, therefore one person alone cannot forgive it. But whatever may be the case about this, because certainly what they say in that distinction is true, nevertheless it must be counseled to each one that he forgive both the one and the other debt, so far as it lies in him, to one sinning against himself. But if he does none of these things and reserves rancor toward the wrongdoer, on that account he must not be counseled not to say the Our Father, but rather that he often say it in the person of the Church, which forgives debts to all, and that he say it with groaning, so that the Lord may soften his heart toward remission of the debt and toward the other good things which the Lord is ready to give to those who pray. For frequently it happens that sinners are converted in the very prayer, and then they forgive, so that it may be forgiven to them.

9. And lead us not into temptation. This is the petition concerning caution against future evil, because, as Master Hugh of Saint Victor says: Temptation is the impulse of the tempter toward what is illicit. For although the Lord sometimes tempts, this temptation is said equivocally in relation to that about which we are speaking here; for the Lord tempts so that he may show one proved, as he tempted Abraham ¹¹. Wisdom 3:5: God tested them and found them worthy of himself. But the devil tempts in himself and in the world and in the enticement of the flesh, so that he may drive one deceived toward something illicit. James 1:14: Each one is tempted by his own concupiscence, drawn away and enticed. Drawn away from the intention of the incommutable good, and enticed by the lustful deception of commutable good. But this deception has degrees, as Gregory says, because sometimes it is from the external enemy alone, and sometimes from an intrinsic lustful will and proneness, and sometimes from both. From the external alone it was in Adam and Eve before they sinned, when the devil tempted and overcame them concerning the illicit; it was also from the external in Christ, as is said, Matthew 4:11, when the devil, addressing him concerning the illicit, tempted him and was conquered. But in us it is from the external and intrinsic at once, because when the tempter offers us something illicit, at once the proneness of our corruption tickles us toward doing it. Therefore its degrees through which one enters into the abyss of perdition are these: sense or sight of the illicit; and from sight, silent and polished thought; and from thought, pleasure arisen; and in pleasure, lingering abiding; and from enticing abiding, consent; and from consent, impulse of the will; and from impulse, work and the application of the members so that they are offered as arms of iniquity to sin; and when the work has been perfected, repetition; and from repetition, custom; and from custom, defense of sin; and from defense of sin, despair. Therefore we do not ask that we not be tempted, because to be tempted is human. 1 Corinthians 10:13: Let temptation not seize you except what is human. And in the same place: But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted beyond that which you are able, but with the temptation will also make an outcome, so that you may be able to sustain it. But we ask that we not enter through the degrees and gates of temptation into sin. These things we ask from our Father in this petition; concerning these gates and degrees it is said, Job 38:17: Have the gates of death been opened to thee, and hast thou seen the dark doors?

And the sense is: And lead us not, that is, do not permit us to be led through the worst degrees and gates into temptation, which little by little thrusts into the abyss of perdition. For we have received this form of prayer from the Lord, Matthew 26:41: Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is ready, but the flesh is weak. But if we are to be tested, do thou, Father, test us, and hold us with thy hand lest we fall. Thus we say with the Psalmist, Psalm 25:2: Prove me, O Lord, and test me; burn my reins and my heart. And Psalm 138:23 and 24: Prove me, O God, and know my heart; question me, and know my paths. And see whether the way of iniquity is in me, and lead me in the eternal way.

This, therefore, is what is sought in this temptation.

10. But deliver us from evil. And that evil of punishment which does not promote unto good, but troubles the good, sometimes has its origin from us, such as ignorance of things to be known and weakness in things to be done; but sometimes it has its origin from a neighbor or from the world moving war against us, as the bride complains, Canticles 1:5: The sons of my mother have fought against me. Concerning this he says, Matthew 18:7: Woe to the world because of scandals! And in whatever way the evil may exist, not promoting unto good but impeding the tranquility of the peace of the good, our weakness is taught to seek liberation from this evil. But we received the form of this from the Lord, John 17:15, where he prays for his own, saying: I do not ask that thou take them from the world, but that thou preserve them from evil. Thus the Apostle prayed, Romans 15:30 and 31, saying: Therefore I beseech you, brothers, through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the charity of the Holy Spirit, that you help me in your prayers for me to God, that I may be delivered from unbelievers who are in Judea. Therefore these three petitions are deprecations concerning evils to be removed.

But evil is either of fault, or of punishment that does not promote unto good, because punishment promoting unto good is not to be asked to be removed. But if it is an evil of fault, either it is of fault perpetrated in the past, or of fault which is feared as to be perpetrated in the future. And if it is of fault perpetrated in the past, then against that evil is ordered the fifth petition, which says: Forgive us, etc. But if it is against evil which is feared in the future, then against that is ordered the sixth petition, which says: And lead us not, etc. But if it is an evil of punishment not promoting unto merit, then against that is ordered the seventh petition, which says: But deliver us from evil.

But these petitions are ordered because the good is prior in intention to avoidance of evil; and therefore the four earlier petitions are before the three following. But in avoiding evil, the order is according to the greater evil. The evil of fault is greater than the evil of punishment; and therefore the last petition concerns punishment. But in the evil of fault, what has been done is greater than what is feared as to be done; and therefore the fifth petition is before the sixth.

Let these things, therefore, have been said in gross concerning the Our Father.

When this last petition has been made by the people as by one weak, who fears the evil of punishment, the perfecter of sanctity answers Amen submissively, that is, let it truly be so in this before God, who alone is conscious of secrets, showing the affection of compassion and wishing for them the liberation that has been said. As if he were saying with the Apostle, Romans 10:1 and 2: Brothers, the will indeed of my heart, and supplication to God, is made for them unto salvation. For I give testimony to them that they have zeal for God. And therefore the priest adds in the petition the things which make for the tranquility of the people, saying:

11. Deliver us, we beseech thee, O Lord, from all evils not promoting our weakness to good and merit: past evils, in the faults which we ask to be forgiven to us; present evils, in punishments rising up from the world; and future evils, in temptation toward the illicit, concerning which we pray: And lead us not into temptation. 2 Maccabees 1:5: May he hear your prayers, and be reconciled to you, and not abandon you in the evil time. Psalm 129:8: And he himself will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

And because this is not presumed to be done without the suffrage of the saints, therefore he adds: And by the intercession of the blessed one, whose womb is called blessed because it bore Christ, and glorious, who is the throne of the king of glory, on which he sat clothed with flesh. Jeremiah 14:21: Remember the throne of thy glory. And always Virgin before birth, in birth, and after birth, in mind and body. Genesis 24:16: A most beautiful virgin and unknown to man.

Mother of God, and therefore having a common son with God. Luke 1:39: What will be born from thee as holy will be called the Son of God.

Mary, illuminating heaven and earth. Apocalypse 12:1: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Because Mary is interpreted illuminatrix. Mary, lady of the world, because she is the figure of the Church and mother, conceiving sons of the Church with chaste inward parts through compassion, forming them in charity, and perfecting sons of the Church through adoption as brothers of her Son; thus she is mother and lady of all. Wisdom 7:12: She is the mother of all good things. 2 Maccabees 7:20: A mother wonderful beyond measure, and worthy of the memory of the good. Mary, star of the sea, leader of all the doubtful, and sole hope of penitent guilty persons, way and example of the just. Judith 15:10 and 11: Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, thou the joy of Israel, thou the honor of our people, because thou hast acted manfully, and thy heart has been strengthened, because thou hast loved chastity. Therefore she is deservedly placed first in the intercession.

And with the blessed Apostles, the princes in the uncircumcision and circumcision, from whom the Church has been gathered. Galatians 2:8: He who worked for Peter unto the apostleship of the circumcision worked also for me among the nations.

With Peter and Paul, of whom one is the prince of the Church, the other labored more than all, as he says, 1 Corinthians 15:10.

And Andrew, who is placed there for this reason, because he led Peter to Christ ¹², and thus he himself was the Apostle of the prince of the Apostles. But he was also most kindly; and therefore that is sung concerning him which is read of Jeremiah, 2 Maccabees 15:14: This is the lover of the brothers and of the people Israel; this is he who prays much for the people and the whole holy city.

And with all the saints generally, that with intercessors multiplied thou mayest grant us the desired abundance of thy propitiation.

And when this has been said, the priest takes the paten, which, named from seeking, signifies the breadth of charity. Psalm 118:96: Thy commandment is very broad. And he kisses it in sign of the charity which he has toward all, and makes the sign of the cross on his face with it, in sign that the virtue of communion comes into all through the virtue of the same charity.

And afterward he adds: Graciously give peace in our days, lest the people be troubled in the communion of so great a sacrament by rising evils. Isaiah 39:8: Let peace and truth be in our days.

That by the aid which truly bears aid and resources, we may be helped by thy mercy. Psalm 93:18.

Thy mercy, O Lord, helped me. Because we do not dare to trust in our own merits.

And from sin, past and future, may we always be free, through this, that thou forgive the past and not lead us into the future; and from every disturbance, which is an evil not promoting unto merit, may we be secure, with thee serving and guarding. Psalm 120:4: Behold, he who guards Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

When this has been said, the priest replaces the paten, and while saying the conclusion of the prayer, divides the host into three, saying: Through the same our Lord, etc. Through whom, as mediator and pontiff, we obtain all good things and are freed from all evils. And concluding, he does not say Amen secretly, but raising his voice says: Through all ages of ages, wishing to have from the people consent in the thing sought.