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Questions / Prayer and the Church year

What is the Our Father?

Church teaching

Answered on video by Dr. Brant Pitre

Video: God Our Father: What 'Abba' Really Means | Dr. Brant Pitre, Catholic Productions, published May 25, 2021. Checked 10 October 2026. Loads from YouTube (privacy-enhanced mode) only when you press play. Watch on YouTube

In short: The prayer Jesus Himself taught. The Church calls it a summary of the whole Gospel. CCC 2761 CCC 2765

The answer, in writing

Church teaching

The Lord’s Prayer “is truly the summary of the whole gospel.” CCC 2761

It is called “the Lord’s Prayer” because Jesus Himself taught it and gave it to us. CCC 2765

Our words

When the disciples asked how to pray, this is what Jesus gave them. You can pray it in thirty seconds and spend a lifetime unpacking it.

Next step: Try Evening Prayer

Honestly? The best answers come from people, not websites. Take the next step: find a parish near you

Related questions

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Sources on this page

How we know · 2 Catechism paragraphs
  1. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 2761, 2765 (official text on vatican.va).

Stone & Incense restates Church teaching in plain words and cites every teaching claim. Our own wording is not an official Church text. Found a mistake? Report an errorCorrections.