Pater Noster

Posted by Bill Hennessy on February 12, 2008 under Latest |

The Lord’s Prayer in Latin intrigues me. I think it’s because it’s so easily understood to speakers of English.

Pater noster	Father of ours
Qui es in Caelis	Who art in Heaven
Santificetur nomen tuum	Sanctified is the name of You
Adveniat regnum tuum	In the Advent of the Reign of You
Fiat voluntas tua	Your will be done
sicut in Caelo et in terra	On Earth as in Heaven
Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie	Bread, give to us our quota today
Et dimitte nobis debita nostra	And diminish debts of ours
Sicut et nos dimittus debitoribus nostris	as we diminish debts to us
Et ne nos inducas in tentationem	And let us not be pursuaded by temptation
Sed libera nos a malo	but liberate us from evil

While the common translation uses more familiar words and syntax, the Latin roots and syntax make the Latin prayer accessible to almost anyone. I’m not fluent in Latin, so I may have made some terrible errors, but I think most readers will understand the Latin prayer by these English words.

This is a prayer to memorize, even if you’re not a Latin Mass type. The rhythm of the language is soothing, and the words begin to take on a higher meaning.

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