What does it mean to say, "Lead us not into temptation"?
Because every day and every hour we are in danger of falling into sin and saying No to God, we beg God not to leave us defenseless in the power of temptation.
Jesus, who was tempted himself, knows that we are weak human beings, who have little strength of our own with which to oppose the evil one. He graciously gives us the petition from the Our Father, which teaches us to trust in God's assistance in the hour of trial. (YOUCAT question 525)
What does it mean to say, "Deliver us from evil"?
"Evil" in the Our Father does not mean a negative spiritual force or energy, but rather Evil in person, whom Sacred Scripture knows by the name of "the tempter", "the father of lies", Satan, or the devil.
No one can deny that evil in the world is devastating in its power, that we are surrounded by devilish suggestions, that there are often demonic processes at work in history. Only Sacred Scripture calls things by their name: "For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness" (Eph 6:12). The petition from the Our Father "deliver us from evil" brings all the misery of this world before God and begs God Almighty to free us from all evils. (YOUCAT question 526)
Dig Deeper: CCC section (2846-2854) and other references here.
No comments:
Post a Comment