Several times recently people have asked me why there are two versions of the Our Father. I gave what I thought was the accurate answer. I said, we think the prayer without the ending “for the kingdom, and the power…” is what we think is the actual prayer of the Lord. The ending is certainly a very early prayer of the church—and a very good prayer—-but is likely not the original. I used to say that you can see that the form without the ending is not in the gospel. Until I saw that, in the non-Catholic Bible that I checked, the ending was there.
So my questions are:
1. Why are there two forms of the prayer?
2. Was the ending used in Catholic liturgy before the reform of Vatican II.
3. What reasoning went into including it in the renewed order of Mass after the Council.
Thank you!
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A: I treat this in my book At the Supper of the Lamb. The conclusion commonly in use among other Christian denominations appears in the Didache from around the turn of the second century, and in some manuscripts of Matthew’s gospel—though not the most reliable ones.
The ending “For the kingdom” was not part of Catholic liturgy prior to the postconciliar reforms. However, it was in use in some Christian bodies both East and West. Some objected to adding it, but it is a theologically sound conclusion to that part of the Mass and reaps some ecumenical benefit.