“Lead us not…”

Have you ever wondered why we pray in the Lord’s Prayer at every Mass, “…and lead us not into temptation…”?

Yet Sacred Scripture makes it clear that “God tempts no one” (James 1:13).

God is about restoration. He has the power to restore even the most disfigured and wretched souls who have done unspeakable evil.

So what does this phrase actually mean?

Well, some say it’s a poor English translation, others–including St. Augustine (354-430 AD)–, take it as a plea to save us rather, from ourselves:

From giving in to our own laxity, the lure of selfish pleasures, and our pride, presuming we are no longer in need of God’s saving help (grace).

Every day, even the most faithful Christians are in danger of falling away from their convictions, and therefore, falling away from their faith.

The devil is about weakening our resolve, either by enticing us with false notions of contentment and fulfillment, or capitalizing on our times of confusion, discouragement and suffering by “twisting the knife” so to speak, with his lies.

So why does God allow us to go through such horrible times in our lives?

Since nothing happens without God’s permission, doesn’t He lead us there through His permissive will?

Well, this part is largely mysterious to us, because we don’t see the entire picture like God does.

But I do know there is a distinction here I’d like to make that has recently helped me with this. And it goes like this:

“God tests, the devil tempts.”

When God tests us, the devil swoops in when we are weak and tempts us to doubt God’s goodness, just as he did with Eve in the Garden of Eden.

So if Jesus was immune to the barbs of temptation by the devil, then why did He have to endure 40 days of testing in the desert–cold, hungry, thirsty and alone? (Notice it was at the end of the 40 days that Satan tempted Jesus when, in His humanity, He was at His weakest).

Well, it was for us–so we can fight temptation–and win the battle!

Before Jesus came, humankind didn’t stand a chance. The whole world was swallowed up in evil and corruption.

With Jesus, His strength becomes our strength because He is our refuge, our shield, our protector, and our help (Ps 33:20).

The fact that God didn’t spare His own Son should tell us something: We’re all going to undergo testing and temptations.

And with each test, I find myself asking this terrifying question: “Did I pass or did I fail?”

Test to trust, tempt to sin

Even when God allows temptations (from our own selfishness, the tantalizing offers of the world, or the devil), He never allows them to be so overwhelming that we can’t choose to opt out or say no.

But He does give us plenty of opportunities for annoyances, hardships and frustrations so we can turn to Him with trust and make us into saints.

If we lived in a “comfort bubble” our entire lives, we would be terrible people. And some of us choose to be anyway. But the bottom line is, it’s our choice.

Get ready

When you make the decision to attempt to follow Jesus, get ready. Some fall into the false idea that things will get easier when, in fact, all kinds of difficulties, painful situations and sudden problems occur.

That is because you have not only acknowledged there is a battle, but you have finally entered into it. You are now a threat to the domain of evil.

So what should we do? Gird your loins (1 Peter 1:13). What does that mean anyway? Arm yourself with the truth and get ready for battle.

If Christ Himself had to undergo trials and testing, why do we think we are exempt?

Victory

Today, with the evermore obvious deterioration of our culture and the exchange of self-discipline for selfishness (dubbed “self-esteem” to make it palatable), it’s also become more obvious that the victory is in the struggle.

Jesus Himself expounds on this to His disciples by specifically calling these out: “For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (Mark 7:21-23, NRSVCE).

It’s only when we’ve struggled with the help of Jesus that we can separate ourselves from these ugly sins that degrade us.

Lent

And Lent is the perfect time to begin (or begin again)! From the Anglo-Saxon word, lencten and lenctentid, literally meaning, “spring” and “springtide”, it’s the commemoration of the 40 days Jesus endured in the desert for our sake.

Since God is outside of time, He still walks through the desert.

Every year, Lent is our chance to renew our commitment to God by walking alongside Him in the eternal “now”, employing the weapons of “cutting the fat”, foregoing certain luxuries, practicing self-discipline, looking for ways to contribute to the needs of others in our lives, and submitting our will to God’s.

And, like springtime, Lent is a time for renewal.

So, why not start this year and celebrate what it means to be Catholic?

Get your ashes (February 14th) and go to Confession. You’ll be glad you did.

Deus vult!