Christian Art | Jesus | Sermon On The Mount
Office Of Readings | Week 11, Saturday, Ordinary Time | A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Cyprian On The Lord’s Prayer | Prayer Both In Word And In Deed
‘We must pray both in word and in deed.’
Simplicity And Universality Of The Lord’s Prayer
Saint Cyprian begins by marvelling at the concise and powerful form of the Lord’s Prayer, a summary of all Christian petitions. He references Isaiah to underscore how God’s message is brief yet filled with justice and truth. This is a significant theological point: God’s wisdom is not obscure or elitist. The Lord’s Prayer, taught by Christ himself, is accessible to all – young and old, educated and uneducated. It reflects a democratic grace in Christian spirituality.
Cyprian notes that Jesus did not wish to burden his followers with memorising long liturgical texts but gave a simple, comprehensive prayer to express all that is essential for salvation. In doing so, he made prayer universally teachable and repeatable, offering a pattern of life that shapes us in the image of Christ.
A Life That Prays | Christ’s Own Example
Cyprian stresses that Jesus did not merely instruct his followers to pray, but modelled prayer by his actions. The Gospels frequently record Jesus withdrawing to pray—whether before calling the disciples, in the Garden of Gethsemane, or after moments of teaching and healing. Cyprian’s focus here is pastoral: prayer must be woven into the whole fabric of Christian life. If Christ himself, the sinless Son of God, found it necessary to pray regularly, how much more must we?
This is not just an example to emulate—it is part of Jesus’ salvific work. When Christ prays, he is not only expressing devotion but interceding on behalf of humanity. The citation from Luke 22 (‘I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail’) reveals prayer as protection, spiritual defence, and communion.
Communion Of Love In Prayer
Cyprian’s meditation reaches a climax when he points to the profound unity between the Father and the Son—a unity into which we are invited. Christ prays not only for his disciples but for all who would come to faith. This section echoes John 17: a prayer of inclusion, divine intimacy, and love. To pray as Christ does is to enter into this oneness with the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit.
Theologically, this ties the doctrine of the Trinity to the life of prayer. Christian prayer is not a solitary act but a participation in the life of God himself. To pray, especially with and through Jesus Christ, is to draw closer to the divine communion that is the Trinity. Prayer becomes not only a petition but a transformation of the self into the likeness of Christ.
Prayer As Action And Unity
The reading concludes with a challenge: prayer must be expressed not only in words but in deeds. Jesus Christ’s own intercession for us is matched by his self-gift on the cross. So too must our prayer be linked to love, forgiveness, and unity in the Church. This reflects Cyprian’s broader ecclesiology—that unity in prayer reflects and strengthens the unity of the Church, the Body of Jesus Christ.
Prayer, then, is not only vertical (to God) but horizontal (towards neighbour). It leads to justice, mercy, and active concern. As Christ’s prayer culminates in sacrificial love, so must ours.
A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Cyprian On The Lord’s Prayer | Prayer Both In Word And In Deed
Dear friends, why does the fact that God has taught us such a prayer as this astonish us? Did he not express all of our prayers in his own words of life? Indeed this was already foretold by Isaiah. Filled with the Holy Spirit, he spoke of the majesty and fidelity of God: The Lord will speak a final brief word of justice, a word throughout the world. Our Lord Jesus Christ came for all mankind. He gathered together male and female, the learned and the unlearned, the old and the young and taught them his saving doctrine. He did not want his disciples to be burdened by memorizing his teaching; he made a complete summary of his commands such as was necessary for a trusting faith, and could be quickly learned.
Thus he summarized his teaching on the mystery of eternal life and its meaning with an admirable, divine brevity: And eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you sent. Again, in quoting the first and the greatest precept of the law and the prophets, he spoke in the same way: Listen, Israel, the Lord your God is one Lord, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. The second is like it: You must love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depends all that is contained in the law and the prophets. On another occasion the Lord said: Always treat others as you would like them to treat you: that is the meaning of the law and the prophets.
God taught us to pray not only by his words, but also by his actions. He taught us by his own example for he often prayed on our behalf. The Scripture says: He withdrew to the wilderness and prayed. And again: He went into the hills to pray and he spent the whole night in prayer to God.
Was the sinless Lord praying for himself? No, he was praying and interceding on our behalf. He explained this to Peter: Behold Satan demanded that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. Later on he prayed to the Father for everyone: I am not praying for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their preaching, that they may be one; just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us. God loves us; for the sake of our salvation he is generous toward us. He is not satisfied with redeeming us by his blood. He also prays to the Father on our behalf. Consider the love exemplified in that prayer. The Father and Son are one; we too are to abide in that oneness.
Glossary Of Christian Terms
- Treatise: A formal and systematic written discourse on a subject.
- Cyprian of Carthage: A third-century bishop and martyr, known for his writings on Church unity, prayer, and persecution.
- Lord’s Prayer: The prayer taught by Jesus to his disciples, found in Matthew 6 and Luke 11.
- Intercession: The act of praying on behalf of others.
- Ecclesiology: The theological study of the nature and structure of the Church.
- Oneness of God: A theological term expressing the unity of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—as one God in three persons.
- Unity of the Church: A central theme in Cyprian’s theology; the Church is to be united in faith, love, and worship.
Prayer With Jesus
O Lord Jesus Christ,
who taught us not only how to pray but also how to live prayer through love and self-gift,
grant us the grace to follow your example in both word and deed.
May our lives echo the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
and may our prayer be pleasing to you, not only from our lips but from our hearts and hands.
Help us to pray for others as you intercede for us,
and to become one with you in love, in obedience, and in communion.
Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
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