‘and lead us not into temptation’ (CCC2846-2849)
Posted on January 17th 2010 in The catechism explained
Temptation is the root of every sin, and giving in to temptation causes sin. This petition asks us not to yield, and thus implores from the Holy Spirit the power of discernment. This power helps unmask the spurious glamour of evil, and grasp the individual choices necessary for the growth of the inner person. Everyone is open to temptation to evil, but as this comes from elsewhere is in itself is not wrong. This is something rarely grasped, and the continual reality of temptation upsets many believers. However the reality of temptation, which Jesus explained to His disciples when He told them that ‘Satan would sift you like wheat’ is something different to succumbing to temptation, following Eve in the Garden of Eden. The reality of temptation does demonstrate the evil inclinations that lurk within our inner selves, and thus makes the believer aware of his or her interior weaknesses and thus the need for spiritual healing.
Jesus demonstrates that it is only through prayer that temptation, which is a matter of the heart, can be overcome, when He resisted the offers of Satan in the desert, and accepted the cup of sacrifice in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Our Father calls us to vigilance, something for which Jesus prayed in His final prayer on His last night, ‘Keep them in your name’. (Jn 17:11)