As we pray in the Our Father, “Lead us not into temptation.” Pope Francis has recently advocated that a better translation of the Greek would be “do not abandon us to temptation.” As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states concerning this petition, “Lead us not into temptation implies a decision of the heart.”
Temptation is a part of our early life that we are called upon to stay on guard against. The devil is prowling about like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. For this reason we must stay on guard and remain open to the gift of God’s grace. It is God’s grace that sustains us and assists us in our struggle with temptation.
It would be improper to state that God is the one who is leading us into temptation. Rather, He is the one to whom we must open our will in order that we may come to not fall into its grasp. There is an alertness that exists concerning temptation. As the Lord stated to His apostles when they fell asleep, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Here we can ascertain the weakness of our flesh and the desire that exists within the depths of our mind. The struggle with sin is something which is real and we must acknowledge this instead of giving into an excuse that allows us to continue to sin. When our struggle has been taking place for a long time it can become easy to give into despair. We cannot lose hope, but must stay close to the Lord.
Through our participation in prayer we open our heart up to God and His grace. When the Lord came to combat the temptations of the devil in the desert we notice that He fasted and prayed. We too ought to turn to such measures in order that we come to be healed. So often we want something quickly, but are unwilling to persevere when it seems that there is no use.
Temptation should not be seen as failure, but as an opportunity for us to grow in virtue. In the words of Saint Ambrose, "When we find ouselves in some grave danger we must not lose courage but firmly trust in God, for where there is the greatest danger, there is also the greatest help from Him who wants to be called our 'Help' in times of peace and in times of tribulation.”
We will never overcome temptation on our own. We must remain open to God in order that we may not fall into its’ grasp. Where we have sinned we must remember the confessional which purifies our soul and restores it to the state of grace. Where we are tempted we must hold fast against the cursed one and use it as an opportunity to grow in virtue.
“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen”
No comments:
New comments are not allowed.