DRE, Ibadan Archdiocese

Faith Series, Episode 125

 

1. And lead us not into temptation

This petition is asking God to keep us away from the path that leads to sin. It also asks God to let us persevere to the end of our days, when we struggle with our final test; death. To follow Jesus means to pick our crosses daily and to willingly endure suffering in his name. In this petition we pray that God will strengthen us to overcome any difficulties that might steer us away from Christ. This petition also calls us to fight the temptations of a godless society; consumerism, pornography, permissive abortion laws, materialism and the like. Thus, through this petition we are praying for fortitude, watchfulness, perseverance and a discerning heart that can distinguish between trials that strengthen us spiritually and temptations that lead to sin and death.

1. But deliver us from evil. Amen

Finally, in solidarity with the communion of saints, we pray to God to manifest the victory Christ has already won over Satan, the evil one. As individuals and as a community, we ask  the Father to deliver us from the snares of Satan and a sensuous, materialistic, and violent society that ignores God and tempts us to rely solely on ourselves. We pray that God may spare us from the evil of accidents, illness and natural disaster. We pray that God will strengthen us to confront the evil for which we too share some blames – using others, injustice, prejudice. And we pray that no situation arises that might tempt us to deny our loving Creator. This would be the worst evil of all.

One final note: In praying this petition, we are praying with the Holy Spirit and the entire Church for the coming of the Lord. His second coming will deliver all humanity forever from the snares of Satan.

When we end our prayer with ‘Amen’ we are saying, ‘so be it’. We are assenting to our Lord’s Prayer, thus making it our prayer too.