Of the many commentaries on the Our Father among the Fathers of the Church and the holy teachers who followed them, one of the richest and most succinct is that of  the English monk St. Bede (d. 735).  In his commentary on the Gospel of St. Matthew, he writes:

" 'Our Father, who are in heaven'.  That is, among the saints and the just, to whom it is said, 'The temple of God, which you are, is holy.'

" 'May your name by sanctified.'  We might ask, How may the name of The Lord be sanctified by men, since it is always holy?  The name of The Lord is holy in this world inasmuch as we who are sanctified in baptism, persevere in his name.  And this is our daily work: that we who sin every day beg for sanctification.

" 'May your kingdom come.'  Now, when does God not reign? Or, when does his kingdom begin, which always was and shall never cease to be?  We here pray for our kingdom, promised to us by God and obtained for us by the Passion of Christ, so that we who first served in this world may reign afterwards with Christ our King: 'Come, blessed of my Father, into the kingdom prepared for you.'

" 'May your will be done, as in heaven so on earth.'  That is, as your will is done in heaven among the angels, so may it be done on earth among men, so that no wretchedness may impede your will that they attain beatitude with you.  Or: Just as the just do your will, so may sinners be converted to you.  We can also understand 'heaven and earth' as 'soul and body'.  That is, just as we delight in the law of The Lord in our heart according to the interior man, so may the body not resist this delight because of any earthly pleasures.  

" 'Give us this day our daily bread.'  Either this daily bread is that which is necessary for everyone in this life, or it is the Sacrament of the Body of Christ, which we do receive daily."

The rest of the commentary will appear in tomorrow's article.