We continue our deep dive into THE HEART OF CATHOLIC PRAYER.
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The truth is Jesus is the revelation of who we really are. He, not sin, is the final word about the human person. Therefore, Paul tells us, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). Note that Paul does not say, “If you give in to temptation, that proves you aren’t really a Christian.” That’s why he tells a Corinthian Church that is positively riddled with sinful members, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the Kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor 6:9-11).
Paul, aware of the possibility of the radical misuse of our freedom, warns of the real possibility of damnation for his flock, but does not enter into the stupid game of attempting to claim that baptized people who sin, even gravely, are “not really Christians.” Instead he accepts the reality that they are, at least for the moment, bad Christians, exhorts them to become what they are and reminds them of what that is. He does not say, “You pretended to be washed, sanctified and justified.” He takes it for granted that they were and demands that they conform their lives to the truth of what Christ has revealed in them through the sacraments.
The mystery here is that the sacraments are grace, not magic. They do not cancel our free will. Paul, of course, realizes that we will fail and fall, but that when we do, Christ’s will is to forgive and heal and call us back to repentance once again, because he, not sin, is the final word about who we are. Note as well that, instead of concluding from this that he does not need to bother rebuking the wayward Corinthians because it will all turn out well in the end, Paul sees it as his duty to warn them that if they do not repent, they will not see the Kingdom of God. In short, he understands that just as “give us this day our daily bread” implies a duty to feed the hungry, so “lead us not into temptation” implies a duty to strengthen, encourage and, where necessary, warn and rebuke those who are struggling in the battle with temptation.
One of the great lessons the saints teach us is that the battle with sin is the hardest and longest battle there is. This is not a discovery of the New Testament saints but was already old news in the Old Testament. That’s why Proverbs tells us, “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city” (Proverbs 16:32). This imagery informs the New Testament as well when Paul tells us:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:10-17)
The only weapon that will ultimately carry us through this battle to victory is prayer with our eyes wide open, vigilant and alert. This is how Jesus himself defeated the Tempter and it is why he calls us to “watch and pray” (cf. Matthew 26:41). We are not to live in fear of the Enemy, nor in an endless navel-gazing search for our own faults. We are instead to live as Christ did, with our eyes fixed on the Father and on the prize to which he called us when he prayed for us to the Father, “Keep them in your name.” (John 17:11). Only by such vigilant prayer can we overcome the Enemy of our souls.
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