Lead Us not into Temptation and the Lord's Prayer

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Since most people scratch their heads about the term "lead us not into temptation," this post will focus on that aspect. But I'll also link and summarize exegesis to all of the Lord's Prayer from various sources. I hope you'll follow those links to gain a deeper appreciation of the "Our Father."

Pope Francis has been controversial. For those of a more conservative political bent, that is an understatement. But controversy needn't be completely negative. In this case, the news of Pope Francis' approval of changes in the translation to the Lord's Prayer has led people into a deeper exploration of the phrase. It has enriched my understanding of the prayer, and I see that as a good thing.

First visit the Catholic Encyclopedia's entry on temptation at New Advent. It gives the Latin word tentare to mean to try or to test. That's useful to keep in mind while reading the rest. The article also distinguishes between external and internal temptations. The external comes outside of us, like Satan tempting Eve. The internal temptations are the ones which we wrestle with internally: our weakness toward sin, or when we struggle to avoid that last piece of chocolate cake.

Scripture abounds with God's tests. God placed the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. God tested Abraham with the sacrifice of Isaac (which was stopped at the last second). Strikingly, after the baptism of Jesus, he "was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil" (Mt 4:1) or "the Spirit immediately drove him into the wilderness" (Mk 1:12). I found the following page which lists scriptural references about being tested (I do not vouch for all the examples given, but it seems to be a starting point one can look into).

Jesus being led by the Spirit to be tempted is in Scripture. In his article Lead Us Not into Temptation, But Deliver Us From Evil, Fr. Thomas Weinandy has a startling thesis, 

A proper understanding of this petition is found in Jesus’ own life.  His life exemplifies, and so becomes the interpretive key, to the authentic meaning of the petition. Moreover, as in Jesus’ life, the petition, “lead us not into temptation,” cannot be understood apart from “deliver us from evil.”  Together they form one complete petition.

That is, we get a deeper appreciation of the Lord's prayer by meditating and contemplating Jesus on the Cross.

Fr Hardon in his History and Theology of Grace spends a significant portion of a chapter discussing the Lord's Prayer (scroll down to The Perfect Prayer subtitle). He writes:

The structure of the Lord’s Prayer, according to St. Thomas, can be schematized in a way that shows each petition as a successive step in the logical process just described. Our destiny may be considered either 1) objectively, as the glory of God, or 2) subjectively, as man’s beatitude in heaven, which is attained positively and 3) directly, by doing the will of God, or 4) instrumentally through the bread of the Eucharist and our bodily sustenance; and negatively by removing the obstacles, which are 5) sin and its prelude, which is 6) temptation, and its just retribution, which is 7) the evil of God’s punishment for sin.

Then he follows St. Robert Bellarmine in a doctrinal and moral interpretation of the Lord's Prayer. Here we find a few paragraphs on "lead us not into temptation":

Two requests are implied in the petition, “lead us not into temptation.” We pray to be delivered, as far as possible, from temptations that God would otherwise permit to assail us; and to be protected from falling under those temptations which He actually allows.

The most important thing about temptations is that we cannot escape them in this life, which is one unremitting temptation, “for the flesh lusts against the spirit.” No matter where we turn, temptations are there to meet us: we are tempted in food and drink, in hunger and sobriety, in riches and poverty. But if temptations are inevitable, are they useful? Yes, and even necessary. Through temptation we become familiar with our weakness, and so enabled to fulfill the maxim, Cognosce te ipsom. Through temptation we are saved from the demon of self-exaltation, our souls are cleansed and enlightened, and we are effectively moved to come to the assistance of others because our sympathy for them has been aroused by the knowledge of ourselves.

Take away temptation and what happens to patience, fortitude and constancy? Without trial how can these and other virtues not only exist, but also be preserved and made to grow? “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus,” says the Apostle, “shall suffer persecution,” which is synonymous with temptation. The more holy were God’s saints, the more severely He tried them in the crucible of temptation.

While temptations are so useful, they are still dangerous. Struggle with them is an uncertain issue. It would be presumption to ask for them. It is a mark of humility to decline them and ask God not to lead us into them, if that be His will.

 And finally, the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains the Lord's Prayer.

Introduction on the Lord's Prayer

Article One: "The Lord's Prayer 'is truly the summary of the whole gospel.'"

Article Two: Our Father Who Art in Heaven

Article Three: The Seven Petitions 

Starting at paragraph 2846, the Catechism explains "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.'"

Paragraph 2847 states:

The Holy Spirit makes us discern between trials, which are necessary for the growth of the inner man, and temptation, which leads to sin and death. 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, when in reality its fruit is death.

 There's more about this in the Catechism.

Article Four: The Final Doxology and conclusion.