Copyright © 2006 By Doug Lawrence. All Rights Reserved.
Catechism Of The Catholic Church Reprinted With Permission.
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God’s Truth From The Catechism Of The Catholic Church – cont.
2843 Thus the Lord's words on forgiveness, the love that loves to the end,
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become a living
reality. The parable of the merciless servant, which crowns the Lord's teaching on ecclesial
communion, ends with these words: "So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you
do not forgive your brother from your heart."
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It is there, in fact, "in the depths of the heart," that
everything is bound and loosed. It is not in our power not to feel or to forget an offense; but the
heart that offers itself to the Holy Spirit turns injury into compassion and purifies the memory in
transforming the hurt into intercession.
2844 Christian prayer extends to the forgiveness of enemies,
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transfiguring the disciple by
configuring him to his Master. Forgiveness is a high-point of Christian prayer; only hearts attuned to
God's compassion can receive the gift of prayer. Forgiveness also bears witness that, in our world,
love is stronger than sin. The martyrs of yesterday and today bear this witness to Jesus.
Forgiveness is the fundamental condition of the reconciliation of the children of God with their
Father and of men with one another.
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2845 There is no limit or measure to this essentially divine forgiveness,
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whether one speaks of
"sins" as in Luke (11:4), "debts" as in Matthew (6:12). We are always debtors: "Owe no one
anything, except to love one another."
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The communion of the Holy Trinity is the source and
criterion of truth in every relation ship. It is lived out in prayer, above all in the Eucharist.
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God does not accept the sacrifice of a sower of disunion, but commands that he depart
from the altar so that he may first be reconciled with his brother. For God can be appeased
only by prayers that make peace. To God, the better offering is peace, brotherly concord,
and a people made one in the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
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VI. "AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION"
2846 This petition goes to the root of the preceding one, for our sins result from our consenting to
temptation; we therefore ask our Father not to "lead" us into temptation. It is difficult to translate the
Greek verb used by a single English word: the Greek means both "do not allow us to enter into
temptation" and "do not let us yield to temptation."
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"God cannot be tempted by evil and he
himself tempts no one";¹
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on the contrary, he wants to set us free from evil. We ask him not to
allow us to take the way that leads to sin. We are engaged in the battle "between flesh and spirit";
this petition implores the Spirit of discernment and strength.
2847 The Holy Spirit makes us discern between trials, which are necessary for the growth of the
inner man,
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and temptation, which leads to sin and death.
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We must also discern between being
tempted and consenting to temptation. Finally, discernment unmasks the lie of temptation, whose
object appears to be good, a "delight to the eyes" and desirable,
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when in reality its fruit is death.
God does not want to impose the good, but wants free beings. . .
. There is a certain
usefulness to temptation. No one but God knows what our soul has received from him, not
even we ourselves. But temptation reveals it in order to teach us to know ourselves, and in
this way we discover our evil inclinations and are obliged to give thanks for the goods that
temptation has revealed to us.
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2848 "Lead us not into temptation" implies a decision of the heart: "For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also. . . . No one can serve two masters."
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"If we live by the Spirit, let us
also walk by the Spirit."
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In this assent to the Holy Spirit the Father gives us strength. "No testing
has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted
beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, so that you may
be able to endure it."
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