Tuesday, February 13, 2018

6th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, 13-02-18

James 1:12-18 / Mark 8:14-21

The Lord's Prayer, or the "Our Father" is a prayer that Jesus taught His disciples when they asked Him to teach them to pray.

It is also a prayer that we pray at Mass and at our devotions e.g. Rosary

When we do a reflection on that prayer, all seems well and good until we come to that part which has "Lead us not into temptation".

It seems that we are asking God our Father not to lead us into temptation. But why would God our Father want to lead us into temptation?

It could be a case of translation, since the original text is in Greek. But the 1st reading would help to clarify this and help us come to a clearer understanding.

It says: Never, when you have been tempted, say, "God sent the temptation". God cannot be tempted to do anything wrong, and He does not tempt anybody. Everyone who is tempted is attracted and seduced by his own wrong desire.

So "Lead us not into temptation" is understood as imploring God our Father to protect and guard us from falling into the temptation of our own desire and from that of the evil one.

In the gospel, Jesus urges us to keep our eyes open and be on our guard. We need to know what our weaknesses are and in what areas we are prone to fall into temptation.

God our Father will not lead us into temptation. It is we who lead ourselves into temptation, and we need to ask God to protect from our evil desires.

Let us draw our hearts nearer to God especially in praying the "Our Father" and may God cleanse us of the evil within us.