Das Gebet des Herrn.

by Romano Guardini

Here Msgr. Romano Guardini, acclaimed author of The Rosary of Our Lady and The Art of Praying, reveals the holy wisdom of these 55 words of Jesus. Written for persons of all faiths, and with phrase-by-phrase, word-by-word explanations and numerous Scripture references, "The Lord's Prayer" will help all persons to pray better...and to live better.

Genres: Catholic, Religion, Prayer, Christian, Spirituality

Paperback

First published January 1, 1934

About the author

Romano Guardini was a Catholic priest, author, and academic. He was one of the most important figures in Catholic intellectual life in the 20th century.

Guardini was born in Verona, Italy in 1885. His family moved to Mainz when he was one year old and he lived in Germany for the rest of his life. After studying chemistry in Tübingen for two semesters, and economics in Munich and Berlin for three, he decided to become a priest. After studying Theology in Freiburg im Breisgau and Tübingen, he was ordained in Mainz in 1910. He briefly worked in a pastoral position before returning to Freiburg to work on his doctorate in Theology under Engelbert Krebs. He received his doctorate in 1915 for a dissertation on Bonaventure. He completed his “Habilitation” in Dogmatic Theology at the University of Bonn in 1922, again with a dissertation on Bonaventure. Throughout this period he also worked as a chaplain to the Catholic youth movement.

In 1923 he was appointed to a chair in Philosophy of Religion at the University of Berlin. In the 1935 essay “Der Heiland” (The Saviour) he criticized Nazi mythologizing of the person of Jesus and emphasized the Jewishness of Jesus. The Nazis forced him to resign from his Berlin position in 1939. From 1943 to 1945 he retired to Mooshausen, where his friend Josef Weiger had been parish priest since 1917.

In 1945 Guardini was appointed professor in the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Tübingen and resumed lecturing on the Philosophy of Religion. In 1948, he became professor at the University of Munich, where he remained until retiring for health reasons in 1962.

Guardini died in Munich on 1 October 1968. He was buried in the priests’ cemetery of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Munich. His estate was left to the Catholic Academy in Bavaria that he had co-founded.

Reviews

[Audrey Monahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was incredible — my favorite of Guardini’s that I’ve read so far. It has completely changed the way I think about the prayer taught to us by Christ Himself. Guardini’s perspective on what is meant by God’s will was incredible and could have been worth 5 stars on its own.

Each chapter pertained to a separate petition in the Our Father and gave me so much theology to contemplate. There was even an entire chapter on the final word, “Amen.” This was the most “prayer-inducing” book I’ve read in a while and often directly applied to things I was wrestling with or needed to hear. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about Divine Providence, free will, and the Kingdom of God, or for those who feel The Lord’s Prayer falling flat.

A few of my favorite lines:

* “Whether our existence acquires the purpose and reality or becomes a mere semblance depends upon whether God’s will is accomplished in it or not. If God’s will enters into an hour, that hour is valid for an eternity; if it does not, that hour is frittered away to no purpose.”
* “Today’s temptation grows from our doings of yesterday.”
* “That God has given to His creation its essential character of freedom and continued independent existence signifies in itself, at the same time, the call “Come to me!””

#canonizeGuardini

[Terry Austrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes when I have finished reading an author for the first time, I am impressed by the depth of knowledge or grandeur of speech such as St John of the Cross , or Karl Rahner. My first impression of this author was AWESOME. He leads me towards an understanding of God! The ability to communicate in writing is a gift, like that given to Barclay or Nouwen. The ability to touch the heart of the reader on their first reading and leave a thirst for prayer is rare. Romano Guardini has such a gift. When I first found him listed as a spiritual author in A Guide To Catholic Reading by Jack Bernard over 40 years ago, he remained one who should be read. Now that I have been able to spend time with him, the next book I intend to read will be his book entitled The Lord. Thank god for being able to navigate the vast ocean of mediocre books to this island of sanctity through guides such as Bernard’s classic Guide to Catholic Reading, Brophy’s One Hundred Great Catholic Books and Muto’s A Practical Guide To Spiritual Reading.

[Dan Glover · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was excellent. Guardini's meditation/exposition on the Lord's Prayer was written in Germany in the devastation of the Great War and in the turmoil leading up to WWII. However, his reflection is brilliant and timeless.

His reflections on each of the petitions in the Our Father (he sees 7 petitions, following Augustine and the medieval Western tradition pre-Reformation) are spiritually rich and beautifully presented. For example, his reflection on "lead us not into temptation" is a beautiful reflection on the nature of human freedom and divine sovereignty (albeit with a sideways jab at Calvinism), and his meditation on the nature of sin and evil - how it moves from individual to systemic/societal and perpetuates individual sin and evil further - is one of the best things I have ever read on the nature of evil in the world and the human heart.

Reading this book made it evident to me how influential Guardini was on Hans Urs von Balthasar, Pope Benedict/Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, and other more recognizable names. I will return to this regularly. I have rarely come across something rich with theological insight and yet so warm with devotional life.

[Frank R. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Repetitive and not much more than a Sunday sermon. If you’re Catholic, you know this content already. This book may be useful as a devotional or text for reflection but ultimately, it felt dry and uninspired.

[Hans-christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wenn man erst mal hinter die zeitbedingt manchmal etwas heideggernde Sprache kommt ["wesend"], ein erstaunlich klares und erbauendes Buch, das den tiefen Textsinn des Vater Unser mit großer Energie freischaufelt.

[Julie Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

At a time when we feel so many things shaken to their foundations, we have every reason to grope our way back to the very core of the Christian realities wherein the undisturbed omnipotence of the Redemption reigns.

Guardini wrote that in 1932. Here we are almost 100 years later when we too feel foundations are being shaken. This book is timeless and good thing.

This is one of Guardini's glorious short books of meditations where he looks carefully, bit by bit, for the riches of Christ in things we think we already understand. Like the Our Father. In the process, he gives us new ways to look at familiar things while turning our gaze inward to draw us closer to God and outward to look at our fellow man.

Pick up this or his books The Art of Praying, Meditations Before Mass, or The Rosary of Our Lady. Whichever book I'm reading I always think is the best of the bunch. But this might really be the best.