Name_, we do not make this petition as though God's Name were
not holy, but that It may be held holy by men; in other words,
that God's glory may be propagated amongst men. And when we say,
_Thy kingdom come_, it is not as though we meant that God did
not reign, but, as S. Augustine says to Proba[181]: "We stir up
our desires for that kingdom, that it may come upon us and that
we may reign in it." Lastly, when we say, _Thy Will be done_,
this is rightly understood to mean: May Thy precepts be obeyed
_on earth as in Heaven_--that is, as by Angels, so by men. These
three petitions, then, will receive their perfect fulfilment in
the life to come; but the remaining four, as S. Augustine says,
refer to the necessities of the present life.[182]

2. But further, to depart from evil must precede the pursuit of what is
good. Hence it hardly seems appropriate to place those petitions which
are concerned with the pursuit of what is good before those which refer
to the departing from evil.

Yet since prayer is the interpreter of our desires the order of
these petitions does not correspond to the order of attainment
but of desire or intention; in this order, however, the end
precedes the means to the end, the pursuit of good comes before
the departure from evil.

3. But once more, we ask for something in order that it may be given us.
But the chief gift of God is the Holy Spirit and those things which are
given us through Him. Hence these petitions do not seem to be very
appropriate since they do not correspond to the Gifts of the Holy
Spirit.

S. Augustine[183], however, adapts these seven petitions to the
Gifts of the Holy Spirit and to the Beatitudes; he says: "If we
have the _fear of God_ by which the poor in spirit are blessed,
we pray that God's Name may be hallowed among men by chaste
fear. If we have _piety_, by which the meek are blessed, we pray
that His kingdom may come, that we may be meek, and that we may
not withstand It. If we have _knowledge_, by which they that
mourn are blessed, we pray that His will may be done, and that
so we may not mourn. If we have _fortitude_, by which they that
hunger are blessed, we pray that our daily bread may be given
us. If we have _counsel_, by which they that are merciful are
blessed, let us forgive our debtors that we ourselves may be
forgiven. If we have _unders