Is the Doxology Part of the Lord’s Prayer?

Question: Why do we say the doxology of the Lord’s Prayer during holy Mass only, and not on a daily basis? Serena Isaacs

Answer: The doxology consists of these words: “For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and forever.” It is generally an integral part of the Lord’s Prayer in use among Protestants, but not among Catholics.

You won’t find the words in Matthew’s rendition of the Lord’s Prayer (Mt 6:9-3) nor in Luke’s (Lk 11:2-4), nor anywhere else in the New Testament.

No reputable modern translation of the Bible – Catholic or Protestant – includes it, except possibly as a footnote. That is why Catholics especially, have recited the Our Father in their daily prayers without the doxology but there is no reason to prevent them from saying it with the doxology, if they wish.

Experts have noted that the words of the doxology are very Jewish in style, and you will find similar kinds of praise texts in 1 Chronicles 29:11 and Psalms 145:11 and 93:1, which were probably sung or recited in liturgical rites.

It is likely, therefore, that Jewish converts to the Church in the earliest years (possibly the Apostles themselves) brought these praise texts with them and introduced them into the Eucharistic liturgy.

This liturgical recitation of the doxology after the Our Father must have been common enough for absent-minded copyists over the centuries, when copying the New Testament, to add it after the prayer, which explains why some older versions of the gospel texts erroneously included it, for instance, the King James Bible of the Church of England, published in 1611.

The great influence of the King James Bible on English-speaking Christians may explain why Protestants favour the doxology when they say the Lord’s Prayer.

You will notice in our current liturgy that there is a break after priest and congregation recite the Our Father. Following the words “deliver us from evil”, the priest expands the theme of deliverance. The doxology follows only then, demonstrating that it is a liturgical response by the congregation, and not a component of the original prayer Jesus taught us.

Without the doxology the Our Father is the prayer Jesus gave us and which we can say at any time we like. With the doxology the Our Father is part of the liturgy of the Eucharist that is prayed in the Church’s public life.