Last Word

A Prayer for the 21st Century

The new pray-dialogue now reads: Parent! that may be in the skies, happy designation, the community eventuate, your wish be respected where fitting--outside, as well as inside us. Give us money, now, and pardon us all for not loving creation, as we exculpate those men and institutions which have oppressed us, and do not let us be lured by fundamentalism but preserve us from counter-reforming influences.

Dateline: Las Vegas, 1999: The Council for Liturgical Revision has been asked by the US bishops conference to consider revisions to popular prayers. The Council began its work with one of the earliest works of Christendom, formerly known as the "Our Father.

In their revision of this work, members of the Council broke the prayer down into its constituent elements, thus assisting them to point up the errors and misunderstandings which have crept into the popular perception of this orison over the past 2,000 years.

Following thorough and wide-ranging democratic debate at all levels of church, the new form of the prayer (or interpersonal dialogue) should be introduced into all churches on Unity Sunday--which may be celebrated at any time between Friday morning and Monday afternoon of the fifteenth week of the fourth cycle (new phase). Books containing the old form of the prayer should be destroyed.

Our Father

The beginning of the old form is now clearly seen by all Christians as patriarchal and elitist. The word "Our" expresses a form of possessiveness which was quite alien to all that the Liberator taught. Equally, the word "Father," while suitable to the narrow views of the Judaic mindset of two millennia ago, now reflects an intrinsic sexism unsuited to our more enlightened age.

The new form of the dialogue therefore begins simply "Parent!" The exclamation mark gives an immediacy and strength to the opening term-form. It may be spoken in a low whisper on a rising inflection, or shouted in unison. (The term "Parent!" should not, of course, be taken in any way to exclude the legitimacy of relationships between persons and their offspring which are outside the traditional forms of marriage.)

Who art in Heaven

The pronoun "who" is an exclusionary one, referring simply to human beings and failing to recognize the divine unity of all nature and the environment. It has therefore been replaced by the pronoun "that."

The use of the term "Heaven" reflects another Judeo-Christian concept unsuited to our modern ecumenical age and is replaced by the more poetic and ecologically sound "the skies."

Hallowed be thy name

The word "hallowed" is a medieval anachronism which suggests some sort of esoteric ceremonial. It is replaced by the more understandable and acceptable word "happy." The term "Thy" is excluded altogether to help the flow of the new dialogue-form.

"Name" again tends to personalize the dialogue-form and can lead to guild feelings in those Christians who habitually use the name "Jesus" or "Christ" as expletives. This tendency, while regrettable, is entirely understandable in today's stress-filed social circumstances and, in order to avoid linking the name with the speechform, the word is replaced by "designation."

Thy kingdom come

Of all the phrases in the ongoing dialogue, this was considered to be one of the most sexist, imperialist, and fascist. It contains overtones of all that is unacceptable in an egalitarian, democratic society. Indeed, some members of the Council found this phrase so distressing that they were unable to work on an alternative and proposed to delete it altogether. But following a period of intense group therapy, it was agreed to defer to the majority.

The word "thy" simply becomes "the." "Kingdom", with its sexist use of the word "King" and its reactionary political overtones, becomes "community." "Come" is seen as too short a word and is replaced by "eventuate."

Thy will be done

Here again, antiquated language is joined to outdated authoritarian concepts, producing a word form which alienates marginalized Catholics. This phrase is to be replaced with "Your wish be respected, where fitting."

On earth as it is in heaven

Our knowledge of our universe has been greatly extended since the days of the Enlightened One. Science has proved that "Heaven" is not a geographical or physical entity to be contrasted to the earth, but an inner state of peace and love. This phrase, then, becomes: "outside, as well as inside, us."

Give us this day our daily bread

Bread was a symbol for the Jews of material wealth. Today money has replaced bread as a unit of currency, so, in a spirit of realism, we propose changing this phrase to "Give us money, now."

And forgive us our trespasses

Forgiveness for "trespasses" suggest the outmoded concept that "sin" is somehow a personal, rather than a social, ill. We propose altering this phrase to "pardon us all for not loving creation."

As we forgive those who trespass against us

This phrase should be set in its historical context of centuries of oppression, particularly of women by men, of persons of color by whites, of democrats by authoritarian institutions. To reflect this, we propose it be changed to "as we exculpate those men and institutions which have oppressed us."

And lead us not into temptation

The word "temptation" conjures up images of the myth of the Garden of Eden, a story which is largely responsible for the despotism of men in Judeo-Christian culture. Sadly, some backward societies still cling desperately to such outdated social concepts as male domination and fundamentalist religious beliefs. We suggest, therefore, that this part be changed to "do not let us be lured by fundamentalism."

But deliver us from evil

The concept of evil as a tangible thing, personified in what used to be called the Devil, is quite alien to modern thinking. Everyone now accepts that "evil" consists of sins such as sexism, patriarchy, chauvinism, racism, and imperialism. We recommend, therefore, that this phrase become "preserve us from counter-reforming influences."