Who Added The Doxology?
Recently a Protestant friend asked me why Catholics do not include, “For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, now and forever, ” at the end of the Our Father. I really do not know. Can you help me?A reader in Alexandria When discussing prayer with His disciples, Our Lord said, “This is how you are to pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive us the wrong we have done as we forgive those who wrong us. Subject us not to the trial but deliver us from the evil one’ ” (Matthew 6:9-13). (The translation cited is from the New American Bible.) A similar version is found in Luke 11:2-4. Both versions do not include the ending sentence, “For thine…” The “For thine…” is technically termed a doxology. In the Bible, we find the practice of concluding prayers with a short, hymn-like verse which exalts the glory of God. An example similar to the doxology in question is f
