1. It seems idle to pray that that may be hallowed which is already

hallowed or holy. But the Name of God is holy: And holy is His Name. Similarly, His kingdom is everlasting: Thy kingdom, O Lord, is a kingdom of all ages. God's Will, too, is always fulfilled: And all My Will shall be done. Hence it is idle to pray that God's Name may be hallowed, that His kingdom may come, and that His Will may be done.

But, as S. Augustine says, when we say, Hallowed be Thy Name, we do not make this petition as though God's Name were not holy, but that It may be held holy by men; in other words, that God's glory may be propagated amongst men. And when we say, Thy kingdom come, it is not as though we meant that God did not reign, but, as S. Augustine says to Proba: "We stir up our desires for that kingdom, that it may come upon us and that we may reign in it." Lastly, when we say, Thy Will be done, this is rightly understood to mean: May Thy precepts be obeyed on earth as in Heaven—that is, as by Angels, so by men. These three petitions, then, will receive their perfect fulfilment in the life to come; but the remaining four, as S. Augustine says, refer to the necessities of the present life.

2. But further, to depart from evil must precede the pursuit of what is good. Hence it hardly seems appropriate to place those petitions which are concerned with the pursuit of what is good before those which refer to the departing from evil.

Yet since prayer is the interpreter of our desires the order of these petitions does not correspond to the order of attainment but of desire or intention; in this order, however, the end precedes the means to the end, the pursuit of good comes before the departure from evil.

3. But once more, we ask for something in order that it may be given us. But the chief gift of God is the Holy Spirit and those things which are given us through Him. Hence these petitions do not seem to be very appropriate since they do not correspond to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

S. Augustine, however, adapts these seven petitions to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and to the Beatitudes; he says: "If we have the fear of God by which the poor in spirit are blessed, we pray that God's Name may be hallowed among men by chaste fear. If we have piety, by which the meek are blessed, we pray that His kingdom may come, that we may be meek, and that we may not withstand It. If we have knowledge, by which they that mourn are blessed, we pray that His will may be done, and that so we may not mourn. If we have fortitude, by which they that hunger are blessed, we pray that our daily bread may be given us. If we have counsel, by which they that are merciful are blessed, let us forgive our debtors that we ourselves may be forgiven. If we have understanding, by which the clean of heart are blessed, let us pray that we may not have a double heart that pursues after temporal things whence temptations come to us. If we have wisdom, whence the peace-makers are blessed—for they shall be called the sons of God—let us pray that we may be delivered from evil, for that very deliverance will make us the free sons of God."