My Translation of the Lord’s Prayer

You may be familiar with this prayer:

Our Father, who art in Heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

I grew up reciting these words in church, but it wasn’t until I read a historical fiction book called The Book of Love that I began to understand this prayer in a new way.

The author’s story is based on two decades of research into original Christianity, Mary Magdalene, and Jesus Christ.

She found that many Gothic churches once held an 11-circuit labyrinth on the floor—many later removed or covered—though some remain today, like the one in Chartres Cathedral outside Paris. This particular style includes a six-petaled rose at the center, a design found around the world.

One practice she described was to walk the labyrinth as a form of moving meditation.

The labyrinth becomes a symbol for the path of salvation—a winding journey mirroring our human lives. “There is one path in, and one path out. We must just keep taking one step forward.”

The idea is to open progressively to Christ consciousness before arriving at the altar—embracing the love Jesus, (or Yeshua as he was known in his lifetime) gave, and cultivating the desire to rise above personal challenges.

Along the way, the labyrinth invites us to re-evaluate our struggles and seek forgiveness to move forward.

At the center, one would stand in each petal of the rose and speak a section of the Lord’s Prayer as an embodied, healing prayer. A ritual to transform the psyche and connect with the Divine.

After learning about this practice on my way home from a pilgrimage to France, I was surprised to discover three Chartres-style labyrinths within 40 minutes of my home in the Bay Area, CA. I began visiting them and exploring the practice for myself.

Over time, the Lord’s Prayer took on a living, personal meaning for me:

Great Spirit, Mother, Father God, all that is Sacred,
May I see this life as a gift.
May I trust in the Mystery.
I offer my will to your will, to divine will.
Allow me to be a sacred chalice for something greater than myself.
May I create Heaven on Earth through aligning with Divine Will, and Becoming a vehicle of the Divine, by uniting with the inner cosmos.
May I trust in the abundance of the universe…
That when I am acting in alignment with divine will, may I trust that I will always be provided for.
May I be humble and ask for forgiveness for where I have caused harm. May I open my heart to forgive others. And most of all, may I forgive myself.
Please God, help me to live in alignment with this prayer and help me stay true amidst all the temptation in this world. May I align myself with your Kingdom, that which is good, holy and true, a path that will lead me beyond suffering and into a state of oneness with all.

I share prayers, rituals, and healing practices like this in The Way of the Priestess Initiation program, which is now open for enrollment. If you feel called, I invite you to learn more or book a time to speak with me about the path.

You’re welcome to use this prayer in your life, and if you feel called, you can try out the practice with a labyrinth.

Warmly,
Meredith

P.S. If you’re curious about the six-petaled rose at the center of the labyrinth, I share the meaning of each petal in my article, The Prayer of the Six-Petaled Rose.

If this practice speaks to you, we explore it—and many other sacred traditions—inside The Way of the Priestess Initiation.