525 "AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION"

AVE MARIA

YOUCAT Lesson 525

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

525  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.  [2846-2849]

The Temptation of Jesus in the Desert by Satan.   A work of art by Carl Heinrich Bloch (1834-1890). …..525

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.

 “Someone who is not tempted is not tested; someone who is not tested makes no progress.”  St. Augustine (354-430)

[2846-2849]

“AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION”

2846 This petition goes to the root of the preceding one, for our sins result from our consenting to temptation; we therefore ask our Father not to "lead" us into temptation. It is difficult to translate the Greek verb used by a single English word: the Greek means both "do not allow us to enter into temptation" and "do not let us yield to temptation."( Compare Matthew 26:41.)¹⁵⁰ "God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one";(James 1:13.)¹⁵¹ on the contrary, he wants to set us free from evil. We ask him not to allow us to take the way that leads to sin. We are engaged in the battle "between flesh and spirit"; this petition implores the Spirit of discernment and strength. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

 2847 The Holy Spirit makes us discern between trials, which are necessary for the growth of the inner man,( Compare Luke 8:13-15; Acts of the Apostles 14:22; Romans 5:3-5; 2 Timothy 3:12.)¹⁵² and temptation, which leads to sin and death.( Compare James 1:14-15.)¹⁵³ We must also discern between being tempted and consenting to temptation. Finally, discernment unmasks the lie of temptation, whose object appears to be good, a "delight to the eyes" and desirable,( Compare Genesis 3:6.)¹⁵⁴ when in reality its fruit is death. --CCC

God does not want to impose the good, but wants free beings. . . . There is a certain usefulness to temptation. No one but God knows what our soul has received from him, not even we ourselves. But temptation reveals it in order to teach us to know ourselves, and in this way we discover our evil inclinations and are obliged to give thanks for the goods that temptation has revealed to us.( Origen, De orat. 29:Patrologia Graeca 11,544CD.)¹⁵⁵ –CCC

2848 "Lead us not into temptation" implies a decision of the heart: "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. . . . No one can serve two masters."( Matthew 6:21, 24.)¹⁵⁶ "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit."( Galatians 5:25.)¹⁵⁷ In this assent to the Holy Spirit the Father gives us strength. "No testing has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, so that you may be able to endure it."( 1 Corinthians 10:13.)¹⁵⁸ –CCC

 2849 Such a battle and such a victory become possible only through prayer. It is by his prayer that Jesus vanquishes the tempter, both at the outset of his public mission and in the ultimate struggle of his agony.( Compare Matthew 4:1-11; Mt 26:36-44.)¹⁵⁹ In this petition to our heavenly Father, Christ unites us to his battle and his agony. He urges us to  vigilance of the heart in communion with his own. Vigilance is "custody of the heart," and Jesus prayed for us to the Father: "Keep them in your name."( John 17:11; compare Mark 13:9,23,33-37; Mk 14:38; Luke 12:35-40.)¹⁶⁰ The Holy Spirit constantly seeks to awaken us to keep watch.( Compare 1 Corinthians 16:13; Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:6; 1 Peter 5:8.)¹⁶¹ Finally, this petition takes on all its dramatic meaning in relation to the last temptation of our earthly battle; it asks for final perseverance. "Lo, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is he who is awake."( Revelation 16:15.)¹⁶² –CCC