This online independent study course focuses on the scriptural backgrounds of the New Testament versions of the Lord’s Prayer with a view to explaining their relationships to the Gospels in which they occur, and the spiritual truths they encapsulate. By the end of the course, students should be able to contrast the versions of the Lord’s Prayer presented in each of the four Gospels and Pauline letters, the relationship of the Lord’s Prayer to the Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of St. Matthew, the way in which the Prayer maps out the Christian spiritual journey in the Gospel of St. Luke, and the role it accords to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in this journey. This course will be of interest to students of Scripture, liturgy, theology and spirituality.

Students who complete this course should be able to appreciate the amazing wisdom and power of the Our Father and find fresh spiritual sustenance and inspiration in offering this prayer. (Additional objectives can be found at the beginning of each lesson.)