Thursday, October 24, 2019

Robert Bellarmine's Comments On "And Lead Us Not Into Temptation" from his Catechism Mirroring JST Matthew 6:13


In his catechism, Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621) has the following mock dialogue between a student (“S”) and a teacher (“T”) on the meaning of “and lead us not into temptation” in Matt 6:13:

S. I do not sufficiently understand this manner of speaking, “And let us not into temptation.” It seems this phrase means that God usually leads us into temptation, and we ask Him lest we would do that.

T. To lead into temptation, or to send into temptation, or to send one into temptation or to urge one to sin is proper to the devil, but by no means is it proper to God, Who pursues sin with the utmost hatred (Gregory of Nyssa, Or. 5; Cyprian, Serm. 6). Just the same, by speaking according to this phrase of Sacred Scripture, where it is repeatedly attributed to God, to lead into temptation is nothing other than for God to permit someone to be tempted, or to be conquered by temptation. This is why the sense of this petition is what we have said, namely, that since we recognize on the one hand the weakness of our nature, and on the other the deceit and power of the devil, we pray to God that He would not simply prevent us from being conquered by temptation, but also from being beaten by temptation when He sees that we are not going to be victorious.

S. The last petition remains, “But deliver us from evil.” What evil is the word in this petition referring to?

T. This last petition partly confirms a higher petition and partly places next to it whatever you like, therefore He says, “deliver us from evil,” that is, not only do we ask that He would pardon our old sins and preserve us from future ones, but that He might also free us from all present evils. Notice how aptly and wisely Our Lord teaches us that we should ask for freedom from evil in general, but He does not descend to particulars, e.g., poverty, sickness, persecutions and like things; because we frequently think some matter to be good which God sees ahead of time is bad for us, and on the other hand, we might think something bad which God sees is going to be useful for us. For that reason, we ask according to the Lord’s teachings, that He would free us from all of those things which He judges are bad for us, or else what these should be favorable or adverse. (Robert Bellarmine, Doctrina Christiana: The Timeless Catechism of St. Robert Bellarmine [trans. Ryan Grant; Mediatrix Press, 2016], 80-82)

Such is not too far away from the JST of Matt 6:13 (“and suffer us not to be led into temptation”). On this, see: