TRACK 1

The Lord’s Prayer, the most eminent of prayers among Christians has undoubtedly
been the subject of numerous informal conversations and interpretations, formal
Cathicatical explanations as well as countless homilies and commentaries. To be sure,
many more reflections will be forth coming, if Christians maintain their view that the
prayer which Jesus is regarded to have taught the disciples is truly precious and sacred.
It is precious because it sums up Christian prayer within the framework of God-human
relationship. It is said to contain all possible petitions. Indeed, as one spiritual writer put
it, we cannot conceive of any prayer not already contained in it. It is to prayer, what
Christ is to humanity. Moreover, the Lord’s Prayer can be rightly considered, not only to
distill the substance of the Good News of Jesus Christ, but also to suggest the practice
of the whole gospel. In this sense, the Our Father has been regarded by some as a
school of prayer as well as a school of life. To date, however, one has yet to come
across a commentary on the prayer written specifically from a Filipino cultural
perspective.
In this presentation, well known married Filipino theologian, Dr. Jose De Mesa, reflects
on the Lord’s Prayer precisely as a Filipino. Using as a basis one of his recently
published works, the prayer our Lord taught us, Dr. De Mesa points out and explicates
to his audience the insights embodied in the very first Tagalog translation, made of the
Our Father made in the 16th Century. In doing so, he shows how the first-generation
missionaries to the Philippines were doing theology or how they articulated a culturally
rooted understanding of the Faith. The way the Lord’s prayer was translated exemplifies
what is known in official Church circles as inculturation, the doing of theology with
culture in mind.

TRACK 2
The Ama Namin in the Doctrina Christiana 1593: A Filipino Cultural Theological
Interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer
The largely unknown Tagalog text of the 1593 version of the Ama Namin, The Our
Father, or the Lord’s Prayer provides excellent insight for drawing theology in the
Filipino cultural context. This text illustrates the positive value of the Filipino culture in
general and it shows the capability of the Filipino language to articulate the phase in
particular. The 1593 Doctrina Christiana version of the Our Father is a more
enculturated translation of the text into Tagalog, than the one presently used in the
Roman Catholic liturgy, in pastoral situations, ang Cathecatical instruction. The Doctrina
Christiana of 1593 was the first book ever published in the Philippines. Without
adulterating in any way, the content and spirit of the Lord’s Prayer, this early translation
is, by the way it is worded more able to evoke culturally related themes and elements
than the current official Filipino version.
Its importance is underscored when we bare in mind that language is the reservoir of
tradition and the medium in and through which we exist and pursue the world. The
matter in which the prayer was translated is suggestive of what needs to be done in the
task of enculturation. This early translation is all the more impressive given the
prevalent missionary attitude towards culture during this period. At a time when the
classical understanding of culture was the norm, colonizers and missionaries from the
West were conditioned not only to regard their culture as the only one but also to
consider other peoples and their way of life as inferior. Consequently, the preaching of
Christianity during this era was tantamount to the imposition of Western Christianity.
Western Christianity was seen not as a form of Christianity but as simply as Christianity.
Surprisingly, during the 16th Century, the first generation of foreign missionaries to the
Philippines did regard cultural awareness as indispensable for evangelization. Their
sensitivity to local culture was not unlike that of the Italian Jesuits, Mateo Richie and
Roberto Denoveli. For one reason or another, these preachers of the Gospel realized
the importance of culture in general and of the native language in particular. One might
even say that they made local culture their primary guide rather than the tradition. In this
way, fresh categories for understanding the Gospel became available. These early
missionaries had a wide variety of Tagalog words and concepts at their disposal. The
actual choices they made in translating the Lord’s Prayer into Tagalog is an especially
eloquent testimony, their exceptional respect and appreciation for Philippine culture.
The text of the Lord’s Prayer in the 1593 Doctrina Christiana was written in the nearly
extinct native script as well as in a Romanized form. Transcribed, it reads:
Ama Namin, nasa langit ka. Ipasamba Mo ang ngalan Mo. Mauwi sa amin
ang pagkahari Mo. Ipasunod Mo ang loob Mo dito sa lupa parang sa langit. Bigyan
Mo kami ngayon ng aming kakanin para nang sa araw-araw, at pakaualin Mo ang
aming kasalanan, yang winawalang bahala naming sa loob ang kasalanan nang
nagkasasala sa amin. Huwag mo kaming iwan nang di kami matalo ng tukso.
Datapwat, iadya mo kami sa dilang masama. Amen, Hesus.

The text translated into English, that reflects as closely as possible, the cultural meaning
of the Tagalog words reads:
Our Father, You are in Heaven. Make Your name be worshipped. Make
Your kingdom come home to us. Make your most authentic, relational self be followed
here on earth as in heaven. Give us today in our daily rise and release our sins as we are
completely indifferent with our most authentic relational self to the sins of those who have
sinned against us. Do not leave us so we are not overcome with temptation but deliver
us from every evil. Amen in the name of Jesus.

TRACK 3
In this part of the presentation, Dr. De Mesa highlights the multiple features of the 1593
text of the Lord’s Prayer which are culturally significant for Filipinos. He will indicate how
the translation speaks of God’s initiative in the first part of the Prayer by contrasting it to
the contemporary Tagalog rendering. Next, he will speak of two indigenous relational
themes represented in the text. First, about the most central of concepts in the Filipino
culture, loob, makes possible the different understanding of God’s will. Second, about the
significance of the Filipinos tendency to desire being with others and not being left alone.
Finally, he will elucidate vis-a-vi the petition for daily bread, the importance and meaning
of food, and the sharing of food among Filipinos.

TRACK 4
There are a number of notable features in this text. The first part of the Lord’s Prayer,
which articulates God’s action into divine-human relationship highlights God’s initiative.
That is, God always makes the first move in relating to us.
Sorry…give up ako. Ang haba ng track 4. 14mins sya. I’m gonna focus on the important
parts nalang.

Two important Filipino cultural themes: Relationships and Food.

Relationships. The choice of the essentially relational concept, loob, both to translate
God’s will and to indicate what forgiveness implies was a stroke of genius. Loob which
literally means the inside, or the inner self, is one of the richest concepts, content and
value wise in the Filipino way of thinking. (Image and likeness of God, even the inner self
of God)
We are God’s home. As we are at home with God. (in relation to our Filipino culture of
always going back to our homes in the provinces or wherever our families are)

Food. Food and the sharing of food is a major cultural value of Filipinos. This is probably
why fiestas are so important. Being alive and living with others are more than enough
reason to celebrate. But the sharing of food is more than that. It strengthens existing
bonds and creates new ones. Sharing food is an investment, if you will in human
relationships. The EDSA Revolution involved food. Rice is our staple food. The use of the
word kakanin in the Lord’s Prayer instead of bread, is a derivative of the word of the
Tagalog word kakanin, is kain, gives us a glimpse of the missionaries grasp of the culture.
Many interpretations but one can be certain, to petition God to provide us daily rice is the
most meaningful implication deed.
One important lesson from examining the many notable features of the 1593 Tagalog
translation of the Lord’s Prayer: how culture can throw light on the meaning of our faith,
and how therefore, it can be utilized as guide in creating a truly Filipino understanding of
the faith or theology.

TRACK 5
In concluding this exposition, we can say that the cultural re-appropriation of the tradition,
which is another way of describing the inculturation process, requires fresh categories
and new perspectives that only the local culture can offer, the tradition. This is especially
so, now, when Western theological categories have been so long utilized here on the
accounts of the use of English.
Unless Filipinos re-appropriate that tradition in a culturally relevant manner, the received
interpretation of the tradition will too easily dominate. The 1593 Tagalog translation of the
Lord’s Prayer, exemplifies how inculturation should take place, how Filipinos can
appropriate the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer in their very own way of thinking. Its choice
of words manifests great sensitivity to the culture by allowing it to guide the rendering of
the meaning embodied by the Our Father in the tradition.
One might even say, the culture guided the fresh interpretation. This way, new and
meaningful categories for understanding the Gospel became available. When we allow
local culture to show its wisdom and genus, both the tradition and the local Church will be
all the richer for it. Amen, Hesus.

This concludes the presentation of the Ama Namin in the Doctrina Christiana of 1593: A
Filipino Cultural Theological Reading.

….xxxx tas puro about Dr. De Mesa ung natitira. We don’t really need that na. hehe.