The Catechism of the Council of Trent/Part 4: And lead us not into temption
"AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION."
WHEN the children of God, having obtained the pardon of their sins, and being now inflamed with the desire of devoting themselves to the divine service, sigh for the coming of the kingdom of heaven; and when, engaged in the performance of all the duties of piety towards God, they depend entirely on his paternal will and providential care; then it is, no doubt, that the enemy of mankind employs all his artifices, and exerts all his powers against them, assailing them with such violence as to justify the apprehension, that, wavering in their good resolutions, they may relapse into sin, and their condition be thus rendered much worse than before their conversion to God. To them may be justly applied these words of the Apostle: " It had been better for them not to have known the way of justice, than, after knowing it, to turn back from that holy commandment which was delivered to them." [1] Therefore does our Lord command us to offer this petition, in order that we may commend ourselves daily to God, and implore his paternal care and assistance, well assured that when destitute of his protection, we must be caught in the ambushes of our crafty enemy. Nor is it in this petition alone that he commands us to beg of God not to suffer us to be led into temptation: addressing his Apostles on the eve of his death, and declaring them " clean," [2] he says: " Watch ye and pray that ye enter not into temptation." [3] This admonition, reiterated by our Lord on so solemn and affecting an occasion, makes it particularly incumbent on the pastor to spare no pains in exciting the faithful to a frequent use of this prayer, that beset, as they all are, on every side and on each day of their lives, by the dangers in which their enemy the devil seeks to involve them, they may unceasingly cry out: "Lead us not into temptation;" thus supplicating the protection of God, whose arm is alone able to crush the efforts of the infernal enemy.
The necessity of the Divine assistance the faithful will understand, if they but reflect on their own weakness and ignorance; if they call to mind these words of Christ our Lord: " The spirit indeed is prompt, but the flesh weak;" [4] and if they consider the heavy calamities and misfortunes that must befall men through the instigation of the devil, if not upheld and assisted by the strong arm of the Omnipotent. Of this our frailty what more striking example than that which the holy choir of the Apostles affords? Evincing, as they had already done, such resolute courage, they however trembled at the first alarm; and abandoning the Saviour, fled from the scene of danger. A more instructive lesson still is presented to us in the conduct of the prince of the Apostles. Loud in professing more than ordinary fortitude, and singular love towards Christ our Lord, and confiding in his own strength, Peter said: " Though I should die with thee, I will not deny thee;" [5] yet in a few moments after, affrighted by the voice of a poor servant maid, he protested with an oath that he knew not the Lord. Doubtless, his strength was unequal to his ardour, when he professed such devotedness to his Lord: but if the confidence, which they reposed in the weakness of human nature, has betrayed men of eminent piety into the most grievous sins, what just cause of serious apprehensions to the mass of mankind, who are so far inferior to them in holiness.
The pastor, therefore, will place before the eyes of the faithful the conflicts in which we have continually to engage, the dangers which we have to brave, assailed, as we are on all sides, by the world, the flesh, and the devil; and this as long as the soul shall dwell in the perishable tabernacle of the body Who has not had melancholy experience of the evil effects of corrupt passion, of anger and concupiscence? Who is not harassed by their assaults? Who does not feel the poignancy of their stings? Who does not burn with these torches that smoulder within him? In truth, so numerous are these assaults, so varied these attacks, that it is extremely difficult to escape unhurt. Besides the enemies that dwell and live within us, there are also other most inveterate foes, of whom it is written: " Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places." [6] The efforts of our domestic enemies are seconded by the attacks of the devils from without, who assail us openly, and also insinuate themselves by secret stratagem into our souls: in so much, that it is not without extreme difficulty that we can elude Note. their malignity. These the Apostle calls " princes" on account of the excellence of their nature: (their nature is superior to that of man, and of every visible creature) he calls them " principalities and powers," because they excel not only by their nature but also by their power: he calls them "rulers of the world of this darkness," because they rule not the world of light and of glory, that is to say, the good and the pious; but the world of darkness and of gloom, that is, those who, blinded by the debasement and darkness of a wicked and flagitious life, are contented to be the slaves of the devil, the prince of darkness. He also calls the evil demons " the spirits of wickedness." There is a wickedness of the flesh and of the spirit: the former inflames to sensual lusts and criminal pleasures: the latter to wickedness of purpose and depravity of desire; and these belong to the superior part of the soul, and are more criminal than the former, in the same proportion that reason is superior to sensual impulse. This wickedness of Satan the Apostle denominates " in the high places," because his chief aim is to deprive us of the inheritance of heaven.
We may hence learn that the power of the infernal enemy is formidable, his courage undaunted, and his hatred cruel and implacable. He wages against us a perpetual war with such immitigable fury, that with him there is no peace, no cessation of hostilities. Of his audacity we may form an idea from the words of Satan recorded by the Prophet; " I will ascend into heaven;" [7] he attacked our first parents in Paradise; he assailed the Prophets; he beset the Apostles, and as our Lord declares, "he would sift them as wheat;" [8] in fine, his audacity was not deterred from aggression on the person of our Lord himself! His insatiable desire, his unwearied perseverance, are thus expressed by St. Peter; "your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about, seeking whom he may devour." [9] Nor are we tempted by one demon only; sometimes a host of infernal spirits combine in the assault. This was avowed by the evil spirit, who, when asked his name by Christ our Lord, replied; "My name is legion," [10] that is a host of demons, which tormented their unhappy victim; and of another it is written, that " he took with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and entering in they dwelt there." [11]
There are many who, because they feel not the impetuous assaults of the devil, may imagine that this picture of his power is more fanciful than true. No wonder that such persons are not attacked by the devil, whereas they surrender to him at discretion. They possess neither piety, nor charity, nor any other Christian virtue; they are entirely subject to the dominion of the devil; and becoming, as they do, the willing abodes of the infernal tyrant, there needs no temptation to ensure their ruin. But those who have dedicated themselves to God, leading a heavenly life upon earth, are the chief objects of the assaults of Satan; against them he harbours the most malignant hatred; for them he is continually laying snares.
The Sacred Scriptures abound in examples of holy men, who, although firm and resolute, fell victims to his open violence or his covert artifice. Adam, David, Solomon, and others, whom it were tedious to enumerate, have experienced the furious assaults and crafty cunning of the spirits of darkness, which human wisdom and human strength are unable to elude or combat. Who then can deem himself sufficiently secure, when abandoned to his own weakness? Hence the necessity of offering up pure and pious prayer to God, imploring him " not to suffer us to be tempted above our strength, but to make issue with temptation, that we may be able to bear it." [12]
But should any of the faithful, through weakness or ignorance, dread the power of the devil, they are to be exhorted to take refuge in the harbour of prayer, whenever they are overtaken by the storm of temptation. The power and pertinacity of Satan, however great, are not, in his unquenchable hatred of mankind, such as to enable him to tempt and torment as much, and as long, as he pleases; all his power is subject to the control and permission of God. Of this we have a conspicuous example in Job; the devil could have touched nothing belong ing to him, if God had not said, " Behold, all that he hath is in thy hand;" whilst, on the other hand, he and his children, and all that he possessed, should have been entirely and at once destroyed by the devil, if God had not said, " Only put not forth thy hand upon his person." [13] Nay, so restricted is the power of the devil, that he could not even enter into the swine mentioned in the Gospel, without the permission of God. [14]
To understand the force of this petition, it is necessary to show the meaning of the word " temptation," as here employed, and also, what it is to be led into temptation. To tempt is to sound, to probe, him who is tempted, that, eliciting from him what we desire, we may extract the truth. In this meaning of the word, God does not tempt; for what is it that is unknown to God? " All things are naked and open to his eyes." [15] Another species of temptation consists in pushing our scrutiny far, having some further object in view, either for a good or a bad purpose; for a good purpose, as when worth is tried, in order that it may be rewarded and honoured, and its example proposed as a model for imitation, and as a motive to give glory to God. This is the only sort of temptation which consists with the divine attributes, and of it we have an illustration in these words of Deuteronomy: " The Lord your God tries you, that it may appear whether you love him or not." [16] In this sense, God is also said to tempt those who are his, when he visits them with want and infirmity and other calamities, with a view to try their patience, and in them to present to others an example of Christian virtue. Thus was Abraham tempted to offer his son in sacrifice, [17] and became a singular example of obedience and patience, worthy of being preserved in the records of all future ages; thus also Tobias, of whom it is written, " Because thou wast acceptable to God, it was necessary that temptation should prove thee." [18]
Man is tempted for a bad purpose, when impelled to sin or destruction. This is the peculiar province of the devil; he tempts mankind, to deceive and precipitate them into ruin; and is, therefore, called, in Scripture, " the tempter." [19] In these temptations, at one time stimulating us from within, he makes use of the agency of the passions; at another time, assailing us from without, he makes use of depraved men as his emissaries; and employs, with a fatal efficiency, the services particularly of heretics, who, " sitting in the chair of pestilence," [20] which, instead of being the chair of truth, is converted into that of error, scatter, with profuse hand, the deadly seeds of false doctrine, unsettling and precipitating into the gulf of perdition their deluded adherents, who draw no line of distinction between vice and virtue, and who are of themselves but too much inclined to evil.
We are said to be led into temptation, when we yield to its wicked suggestions. This takes place in a two-fold manner: first, when, abandoning our position, we rush into the evil to which we are allured by the agency of others. God tempts no man thus: he is the occasion of sin to none; " he hateth all who work iniquity;" [21] and, accordingly, we read in St. James, " Let no man, when he is tempted, say that he is tempted by God; for God is not a tempter of evils." [22] The man, who, although he does not tempt us, nor co-operate in tempting us, has it in his power to prevent us from being tempted, or from yielding to temptation, and does not, is also said to lead us into temptation. God suffers the good and the pious to be thus tempted; but he does not leave them unsupported by his grace. Sometimes, however, we fall, being left to ourselves by the just and rigorous judgments of God, in punishment of our crimes.
God is also said to lead us into temptation, when we abuse, to our own destruction, the blessings which he bestows on us as the means of promoting our eternal salvation, and, like the prodigal child, dissipate in voluptuousness our Father's substance, obedient to the impulse of our bad passions. [23] In such circumstances we may truly say what the Apostle says of the Law: " The commandment that was ordained to life, the same was found unto death to me." [24] Of this Jerusalem, as Ezekiel testifies, affords an apposite exemplification. Enriched and adorned by the Almighty with blessings of every sort, insomuch that God said, by the mouth of his Prophet, " Thou wast perfect through my beauty, which I had put upon thee;" [25] loaded with an accumulation of divine gifts, Jerusalem, far from evincing gratitude to God, from whom she had received, and was still receiving, so many favours; far from making use of those heavenly gifts for the end for which they were bestowed, the attainment of her own happiness, and laying aside all hope and every idea of deriving from them celestial fruit, ungrateful Jerusalem, sunk in luxury and abandonment, looked only to the enjoyment of her present superabundance. This is a subject on which Ezekiel dwells at considerable length, in the chapter to which we have already referred, and to which the pastor may recur. The inference, however, is obvious: it is, that those whom God permits to convert the abundant means, with which his Providence has blessed them, into instruments of vice, are equally guilty of ingratitude with the unhappy Jerusalem.
The Sacred Scriptures sometimes express the permission of God in language, which, if understood literally, would imply a positive act on the part of God; and this scriptural usage also demands attention. In Exodus it is said, " I will harden the heart of Pharaoh;" [26] and in Isaias, " Blind the heart of this people;" [27] and the Apostle, writing to the Romans, says, " God delivered them up to shameful affections, and to a reprobate sense:" [28] but these, and similar passages, we are not to understand as implying any positive act on the part of God; they express his permission only. [29]
These observations premised, it will not be difficult to comprehend the object for which we pray in this petition. We do not ask to be totally exempt from temptation: human life is one continued temptation; and this state of probation is useful and advantageous to man. Temptation teaches us to know ourselves, that is, our own weakness, and to humble ourselves under the powerful hand of God; and by fighting manfully, we expect to receive a never-fading crown of glory; " for he that striveth for the mastery is not crowned, except he strive lawfully." [30] " Blessed is the man," says St. James, " that endureth temptation; for when he hath been proved, he shall receive the crown of life, which God hath promised to them that love him." [31] If we are sometimes hard pressed by the temptation of the enemy, it will also cheer us to reflect, " that we have a High-priest to help us, who can have compassion on our infirmities, tempted himself in all things." [32]
What, then, do we pray for in this petition? We pray that the divine assistance may not forsake us; that we yield not to temptation, deceived by the artifice of the wicked one; that we give not up the victory, worsted in the contest; and that the grace of God may be at hand to succour us when our strength fails, to refresh and invigorate us on the evil day. We should, therefore, implore the divine assistance, in general, under all temptations, and, in particular, when assailed by any particular temptation. This we find to have been the conduct of David, under almost every species of temptation: against lying, he prays in these words: " Take not thou the word of truth utterly out of my mouth:" [33] against covetousness, "Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness:" [34] and against the vanities of this life, and the allurements of concupiscence, he prays thus; " Turn away my eyes, that they may not behold vanity." [35] We pray, therefore, that we yield not to evil desires, and be not wearied in enduring temptation; that we deviate not from the way of the Lord; that in adversity, as in prosperity, we preserve equanimity and fortitude; and that God may never deprive us of his protection. Finally, we pray that God may crush beneath our feet the head of the serpent.
The pastor will next exhort the faithful to those things which, in offering this petition, should constitute the chief objects of their thoughts and reflections. It will, then, be found most efficacious, when offering this prayer, to distrust our own strength, aware of our extreme infirmity; and, placing all our hopes of safety in the divine goodness, and relying on the divine protection, to encounter the greatest dangers with great ness of soul; calling to mind particularly the many instances on record of persons animated with this hope, and thus arming themselves with resolution, who were delivered by Almighty God from the fangs of Satan. When Joseph was assailed by the criminal solicitations of a maddening woman, did not God rescue him from the imminent danger, and exalt him to the highest pitch of glory I [36] Did he not preserve Susannah, when beset by the ministers of Satan, and on the point of being made the victim of an iniquitous sentence? Nor should the divine interposition in her behalf excite our surprise; " her heart," says the Prophet, " trusted in God." [37] How exalted the praise, how great the glory of Job, who triumphed over the world, the flesh, and the devil! There are on record many similar examples, to which the pastor should refer, in order to exhort with earnestness his pious hearers to this hope and confidence.
The faithful should also reflect under whose standard they fight against the temptations of the enemy: they should consider that their leader is no less a person than Christ the Lord, who won the laurels of victory in the same combat. He over came the devil: he is that "stronger man" mentioned in the Gospel, who, " coming upon the strong armed man," over came him, deprived him of his arms, and stripped him of his spoils. Of his victory over the world, we read in St. John: " Have confidence: I have overcome the world:" [38] in the Apocalypse, he is called " the conquering lion;" and it is said that, " conquering, he went forth to conquer:" [39] and by his victory he has given power to others to conquer. The Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews abounds with the victories of holy men, " who by faith conquered kingdoms, stopped the mouths of lions." [40] Whilst we read of such achievements, we should also take into account the victories which are every day won by men eminent for faith, hope, and charity, in their domestic and exterior conflicts with the devil; victories so numerous and so signal, that, were we spectators of them, we should deem no event of more frequent occurrence, none of more glorious issue. Of the discomfiture of the wicked one, St. John says, " I write unto you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and you have overcome the wicked one." [41] We must, however, recollect that Satan is overcome not by Note, indolence, sleep, wine, revelling, or lust; but by prayer, labour, watching, fasting, continence, and chastity: "Watch ye and pray, that ye enter not into temptation," [42] is, as we have already said, the admonition of our Lord. They who make use of these weapons in the conflict are sure to put the enemy to flight: " From them who resist the devil," says St. James, "he will fly." [43]
In these victories, however, which are achieved by holy men, let no one indulge feelings of self-complacency, nor flatter himself that, by his own single unassisted exertions, he is able to withstand the hostile assaults of the devil. This is not within the power of human nature, nor within the competency of human frailty. In order that we may ascribe to God alone the victory, and may thank him alone for its achievement, by whose guidance and assistance alone we can be victorious, the strength by which we lay prostrate the satellites of Satan, comes from God, "who maketh our arms as a bow of brass; by whose aid the bow of the mighty is overcome, and the weak are girt with strength; who giveth us the protection of salvation; whose right hand upholdeth us:" [44] " who teacheth our hands to war, and our fingers to battle." [45] To this we are exhorted by the example of the Apostle: " Thanks to God," says he. " who hath given us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ." [46] The voice from heaven, mentioned in the Apocalypse, also proclaims God to be the author of our victories: " Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ; because the accuser of our brethren is cast forth; and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb." [47] That the victory obtained over the world and the flesh belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ, we learn from the same authority; " They shall fight with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall over come them." [48] On the cause and the manner of conquering temptation, thus much will suffice.
These things explained, the pastor will propose to the faithful the crowns prepared by God, and the eternal and superabundant rewards reserved for those who conquer. To this effect he will cite divine authorities from the same inspired Epistle: " He that shall overcome shall not be hurt by the second death;" and in another place: " He that shall overcome, shall thus be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels." [49] A little after, our divine Lord himself thus addresses John: " He that shall overcome, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God; and he shall go out no more:" [50] and again: " To him that shall overcome, I will give to sit with me in my throne; as I also have overcome, and am set down with my Father in his throne." [51] Finally, having unveiled the glory of the saints, and the never-ending bliss which they shall enjoy in heaven, he adds, " He that shall overcome shall possess these things." [52]
- ↑ 2 Pet. ii. 21.
- ↑ John xiii. 10.
- ↑ Matt. xxvi. 41.
- ↑ Matt. xxvi. 41.
- ↑ Matt. xxvi. 35.
- ↑ Eph. vi. 12.
- ↑ Isa. xiv. 13.
- ↑ Luke xxii. 31.
- ↑ 1 Pet. v. 8.
- ↑ Mark v. 9
- ↑ Matt. xii. 45.
- ↑ 1 Cor. x. 13.
- ↑ Job i. 12.
- ↑ Matt. viii. 31. Mark liv. 12. Luke viii. 32.
- ↑ Heb. iv. 13.
- ↑ Deut. xiii. 3.
- ↑ Gen. xxii. 1.
- ↑ Tob. xii. 13.
- ↑ Matt, iv 3.
- ↑ Ps. i. 1.
- ↑ Ps. v. 5.
- ↑ James i. 13.
- ↑ Luke xv. 12.
- ↑ Rom. vii. 10.
- ↑ Ezek. xvi. 14.
- ↑ Ex. iv. et vii.
- ↑ Isa. vi. 10.
- ↑ Rom. i. 26.
- ↑ Vid. Iraen. lib. 4. contra hseret. cap. 48. Tertull. lib. 2. contra Marc. 14. Aug. lib. de praedest et gratia, c. 1. et de praed. sanct. cap. 9. et lib. de grat. et lib. arbit. cap, 2123. D. Thom 1. p. qusest. 87. art. 2 et 22. qurest. 15.
- ↑ 2 Tim. ii. 5.
- ↑ James i. 12.
- ↑ Heb. iv. 15.
- ↑ Ps. cxviii. 43.
- ↑ Ps. cxviii. 36.
- ↑ Ps. cxviii. 37
- ↑ Gen. xxix. 7.
- ↑ Dan. xiii. 61.
- ↑ John xvi. 33.
- ↑ Apoc. v. 5.
- ↑ Heb xi. 33.
- ↑ 1 John ii. 13.
- ↑ Matt. xxvi. 41.
- ↑ James iv. 7.
- ↑ 1 Kings ii. 4.
- ↑ Ps. xvii. 35.
- ↑ 1 Cor. xv. 57.
- ↑ Apoc. xii. 10.
- ↑ Apoc. xvii. 14.
- ↑ Apoc. iii. 5.
- ↑ Apoc. iii. 12.
- ↑ Apoc. iii. 21
- ↑ Apoc. xxi. 17.