Tuesday in the First Week of Lent 2012
A young collegian who has the weight of a parent with cancer draining his emotional reserves noted that the Lord's prayer has become a devotee of that particular prayer. Kevin note that one part of the prayer has always captured his attention: " ... and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil."
What do these words speak to you? What has it meant for me? Well, to be honest, it is a part of the prayer that rarely has grasped my attention. Perhaps this reveals a personal weakness. So, Kevin, thank you for calling me to take these lines, this particular petition to heart more seriously and intently. Perhaps your thoughts might well grab the attention of some who will read this posting.
Like almost every human being, I, too, have had different times in my life when a particular temptation has been difficult to overcome. Indeed these "satanic" attacks have made my life at a true challenge. Where did I turn? Like most, again, I would find myself before a tabernacle or outside in God's sanctuaries (his outdoor cathedrals) or, for sure, speaking to my spiritual director. It is the phrase, however, that can lead me to be present with the Lord in a particularly personal conversation.
When challenges (sin temptations) confront me, this is the precise moment to us the words of the Our Father prayer: "lead me not into temptation but deliver me from evil."
