Protestants who attend a Catholic mass for the first time are often surprised by the abrupt ending of the Lord's Prayer often used in the Catholic Church: "...Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen."
What happened to "For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever Amen" they wonder?
The earliest Greek manuscripts of the New Testament do not have this traditional ending. The ending comes along later in varying forms. One manuscript ends the prayer with "For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit forever. Amen."
The traditional ending is found in the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. John was famous pastor in the early church who died in A.D. 407. Some think the ending was adapted from 1 Chronicles 29.11, "Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, And You are exalted as head over all."
Whatever it's origin, this liturgical ending to the Lord's Prayer proclaims a vitally important truth: It's all about Thine! God's relationship with us began and continues because of His love toward us. In the end it is always about Him... His kingdom, power and glory!"
Psalm 115 says it so well: "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth."
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I just came across your blog via Cyberbrethren and have been reading through from your most recent post through to the beginning, hence why I'm commenting on your May 2010 post in late November. (:
When I was a child, I went to Catholic school for three years and was totally confused by the omission of the "For Thine is the kingdom...." from the Lord's Prayer.
I've been to a few Catholic masses over the last four years and at every service, after the "Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil..." the priest said, "Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ."
The people would then respond, "For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever, Amen.".
This site http://catholic-resources.org/ChurchDocs/Mass.htm has the full liturgy; for the Lord's Prayer, scroll down to "Communion Rite".
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