§5VErrm-r quoque REGNUM TUUM ad id pertinet, quo et fiat uoluntas tua, in nobis scilicet.
"Thy kingdom come" also belongs to that same point, namely that Thy will be done, that is, in us.
nam deus quando non regnat, in cuius manu cor omnium regum est? sed quicquid nobis optamus, in illum auguramur, et illi deputamus quod ab illo expectamus.
For when does God not reign, in whose hand is the heart of all kings? But whatever we wish for ourselves, we augur in Him, and we impute to Him what we expect from Him.
itaque si ad dei uoluntatem et ad nostram suspensionem pertinet regni dominici repraesentatio, quomodo quidam per tractum quendam in saeculo postulant, cum regnum dei, quod ut adueniat oramus, ad consummationem saeculi.
Therefore, if the manifestation of the Lord's kingdom belongs to God's will and to our waiting in expectation, how is it that some pray for some prolongation in this world, when the kingdom of God, which we pray may come, tends toward the consummation of the world?
tendat? optamus maturius regnare et non diutius seruire.
We desire to reign sooner and not to serve longer.
etiamsi praefinitum in oratione non esset de postulando regni aduentu, ultro eam uocem protulissemus festinantes ad spei nostrae complexum.
Even if there had been no prescription in the prayer about petitioning for the coming of the kingdom, we would have uttered that voice of our own accord, hastening to the embrace of our hope.
clamant ad dominum inuidia animae martyrum sub altari: quonam usque non ulcisceris, domine, sanguinem nostrum de incolis terrae? nam utique ultio illorum a saeculi fine dirigitur.
Under the altar, the souls of the martyrs cry out to the Lord in their grievance: "How long, O Lord, dost Thou not avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?" For surely their vengeance is directed from the end of the world.
immo quam celeriter ueniat, domine, regnum tuum, uotum Christianorum, confusio nationum, exultatio angelorum, propter quod conflictamur, immo potius propter quod oramus.
Rather, O Lord, how swiftly may Thy kingdom come—the prayer of Christians, the confusion of the nations, the joy of angels, for which we struggle, or rather, for which we pray.
§6Sed quam eleganter diuina sapientia ordinem orationis instruxit, ut post caelestia, id est post dei nomen, dei uoluntatem et dei regnum terrenis quoque necessitatibus petitioni locum faceret! nam et edixerat\' dominus: quaerite prius regnum, et tunc uobis etiam haec adicientur. quamquam PANEM NOSTRUM QVOTIDIANUM DA NOBIS HODIE spiritaliter potius intellegamus.
But how elegantly divine wisdom set in order the sequence of the prayer, so that after heavenly things—that is, after God's name, God's will, and God's kingdom—it should make a place in the petition for earthly needs as well! For the Lord had also declared: "Seek first the kingdom, and then these things also shall be added unto you." Although we should rather understand "GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD" spiritually.
Christus enim panis noster est, quia uita Christus et uitae panis.
For Christ is our bread, because Christ is life and the bread of life.
ego sum, inquit, panis uitae, et paulo supra: panis est sermo dei uiui, qui descendit de caelis, tunc quod et corpus eius in pane censetur: hoc est corpus meum. itaque petendo panem quotidianum perpetuitatem postulamus in Christo et indiuiduitatem a corpore eius.
He says, "I am the bread of life," and a little above: "The bread is the Word of the living God, which descended from heaven." Then, too, because His body is reckoned in the bread: "This is my body." Therefore, by asking for daily bread, we pray for perpetuity in Christ and indivisibility from His body.
sed et quia carnaliter admittitur ista uox, non sine religione potest fieri et spiritalis disciplinae.
But because that expression is also admitted carnally, it cannot be made without religious feeling and spiritual discipline.
panem enim peti mandat, quod solum fidelibus necessarium est; cetera enim nationes requirunt.
For He commands that bread be asked for, which is the only thing necessary for the faithful; for the other things the nations seek after.
ita et exemplis inculcat et parabolis retractat, cum dicit: numquid panem filiis pater aufert et canibus tradit? item: numquid filio panem poscenti lapidem tradit? ostendit enim, quid a patre filii expectent.
Thus He both inculcates by examples and treats again in parables, when He says: "Does a father take away bread from his children and cast it to dogs?" Likewise: "Does he hand a stone to his son who asks for bread?" For He shows what children expect from a father.
sed et nocturnus ille pulsator panem poscebat.
And that nocturnal knocker also was asking for bread.
merito autem adiecit: da nobis hodie, ut qui praemiserat: nolite de crastino cogitare quid edatis. cui rei parabolam quoque accommodauit illius hominis, qui prouenientibus fructibus ampliationem horreorum et longae securitatis spatia cogitauit, is ipsa nocte moritur.
Moreover, He added with good reason: "Give us today," as one who had previously said: "Take no thought for the morrow, what you shall eat." To which matter He also accommodated the parable of that man who, because of his abundant crops, thought of expanding his barns and of long periods of security, and died on that very night.
§7Consequens erat, ut obseruata dei liberalitate etiam clementiam eius precaremur.
It was a natural consequence that, having observed God's liberality, we should also pray for His clemency.
quid enim alimenta proderunt, si illi reputamur reuera quasi taurus ad uictimam? sciebat dominus se solum sine delicto esse.
For what will food profit us, if we are truly computed by Him as a bull for sacrifice? The Lord knew that He alone was without sin.
docet itaque petamus DI- MITTI NOBIS DEBITA NOSTRA. exomologesis est petitio ueniae, quia qui petit ueniam, delictum confitetur.
He teaches us, therefore, to ask that OUR DEBTS BE FORGIVEN US. A petition for pardon is a confession, because he who asks for pardon confesses his fault.
sic et paenitentia demonstratur acceptabilis deo, quia uult eam quam mortem peccatoris.
Thus repentance also is shown to be acceptable to God, because He wills it rather than the death of a sinner.
debitum autem in scripturis delicti figura est, quod perinde iudicio debeatur et ab eo exigatur nec\' euadat iustitiam exactionis, nisi donetur exactio; sicut illi seruo dominus debitum remisit.
But in the Scriptures, "debt" is a figure of a fault, because it is likewise owed to judgment and demanded from it, nor does it escape the justice of the demand unless the demand is remitted, just as the lord remitted the debt to that servant.
huc enim spectat exemplum parabolae totius.
For the example of the whole parable points to this.
nam et quod idem seruus a domino liberatus non perinde parcit debitori suo ac propterea delatus penes dominum tortori delegatur ad soluendum nouissimum quadrantem, id est modicum usque delictum, eo competit, quod remittere nos quo- \' que profitemur debitoribus nostris.
For also the fact that the same servant, although freed by his lord, does not likewise spare his own debtor, and therefore, being accused before his lord, is delivered to the torturer to pay the very last quadrant—that is, even the smallest fault—corresponds to this: that we also profess to forgive our debtors.
iam et alibi ex hac specie orationis: remittite, inquit, et remittetur uobis. et cum interrogasset Petrus, si septies remittendum esset fratri, immo, inquit, septuagies septies; ut legem in melius reformaret, quod in Genesi de Cain septies, de Lamech autem septuagies septies ultio reputata est.
Already elsewhere too, concerning this species of prayer, He says: "Forgive, and you shall be forgiven." And when Peter had asked whether he should forgive his brother seven times, He said: "Nay, seventy times seven," so that He might reform the law for the better, since in Genesis vengeance was reckoned sevenfold for Cain, but seventy times sevenfold for Lamech.