On prayer and the contemplative life · Aquinas, Saint Thomas
4. Again, according to S. Luke, there are only five petitions in
Chapter 38 of 107 · 1 min read
the Lord's Prayer. Hence it would seem superfluous to have seven in S. Matthew.
But, as S. Augustine says: "S. Luke only includes five petitions and not seven in the Lord's Prayer, for he shows that the third petition is, in a sense, only a repetition of the two preceding ones; by omitting it he makes us see that God's will is more especially concerned with our knowledge of His sanctity and with our reigning with Him. But Luke has omitted Matthew's last petition, Deliver us from evil, in order to show us that we are delivered from evil just precisely as we are not led into temptation."
