"...but deliver us from evil. AMEN."

I always enjoy Zenit, particularly Father McNamara's "Liturgy" answers. Today he addresses -- or rather answers a question -- that is near and dear to my heart.

"Why no `Amen' at the end of the Our Father?"

Why not, indeed? I'm not talking about the Lord's Prayer in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. There, as Father McNamara clearly explains, the "Amen" is said...after the Prayer for Peace.

But the reader isn't talking about Mass.

He's referring to the -- in my opinion -- rather awkward omission of the word "Amen" (roughly translated as "so be it") after the Our Father during, for example, the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, in the Liturgy of the Hours, and so forth. This is wacky, although perhaps understandable. As Father McNamara puts it:

Our reader has made a very interesting point and illustrates an example of an unintended consequence of the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council.

Indeed.

Still, omitting the "Amen" after praying the prayer that Jesus taught us isn't a good thing. If you're praying the Our Father with others, please remember to end it with the affirmation:

AMEN.

Thank you.