11th Week in Ord. Time, Thursday – 22nd June 2023 — Gospel: Mt 6,7-15
The tempter is the devil, not God
The Lord’s prayer originates in Matthew 6,9-13 in which Jesus taught his disciples to pray. In this, Pope Francis has approved a change to Matthew 6,13 that replaces “lead us not into temptation” with “do not let us fall into temptation”. Until now when the believers used this prayer, it implied that God induces us into temptation; instead it is the work of Satan to lead us into temptation and not of God. The Pope said, “The original text portrays God in a false light, as Satan is the ‘one who leads you astray’.” The Pontiff explains, “A father does not lead into temptation, a father helps you to get up immediately.” However, “it is me who falls, not the Lord pushing me into temptation to then see how I have fallen.” James 1,13-14 gives better explanation to this temptation saying that God does not persuade or compel any one to sin by any means whatsoever. There is no possibility of temptation that ever remains with God. Instead, it is our own evil desire that lures and entices us to sin and we look for an opportunity to blame God for our own mistakes. In other words, it is the devil that tempts man and because the devil is continually employed in that malicious work, he is called the tempter.
