Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume XIV/Additional Canons 3/The Canons of Carthage/Canons/Canon CXV

Canon CXV.&#160; (Greek cxvi.)

That in the Lord&#8217;s Prayer the Saints say for themselves:&#160; &#8220;Forgive us our trespasses.&#8221;

has seemed good that whoever should say that when in the Lord&#8217;s prayer, the saints say, &#8220;forgive us our trespasses,&#8221; they say this not for themselves, because they have no need of this petition, but for the rest who are sinners of the people; and that therefore no one of the saints can say, &#8220;Forgive me my trespasses,&#8221; but &#8220;Forgive us our trespasses;&#8221; so that the just is understood to seek this for others rather than for himself; let him be anathema.&#160; For holy and just was the Apostle James, when he said, &#8220;For in many things we offend all.&#8221;&#160; For why was it added &#8220;all,&#8221; unless that this sentence might agree also with the psalm, where we read, &#8220;Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified;&#8221; and in the prayer of the most wise Solomon:&#160; &#8220;There is no man that sinneth not;&#8221; and in the book of the holy Job:&#160; &#8220;He sealeth in the hand of every man, that every man may know his own infirmity;&#8221; wherefore even the holy and just Daniel when in prayer said several times:&#160; &#8220;We have sinned, we have done iniquity,&#8221; and other things which there truly and humbly he confessed; nor let it be thought (as some have thought) that this was said not of his own but rather of the people&#8217;s sins, for he said further on:&#160; &#8220;When I shall pray and confess my sins and the sins of my people to the Lord my God;&#8221; he did not wish to say our sins, but he said the sins of his people and his own sins, since he as a prophet foresaw that those who were to come would thus misunderstand his words.

Notes.

Whoso expounds this, &#8220;forgive us our trespasses&#8221; as speaking only of the multitude and not of individuals let him be anathema:&#160; Since Daniel even he can behold saying with the multitude &#8220;I confessed my sins and the sins of my people.&#8221;

This is Canon vij. of Carthage, 418.