Lead Us Not Into Temptation?

The phrase “lead us not into temptation” seems to be on the way out of Catholicism. A major publisher of the Mass missal is changing the phrasing of the Lord's Prayer already to "do not let us fall into temptation."

Is another change to the Mass prayers necessary? It seems like our Church is adrift in things that do not matter.

The current secular world has very little resistance to its dominance. Sin is paraded around as a right and a good. The lectures from our culture lead us into temptation. While a horde of Catholics accept these temptations and reject that which God requires of us, we have our bishops and priests talking about changing prayers.

The voice of the world is so seducing, many people embrace sin as a good thing. During this crisis, our "good shepherds” are deathly afraid of being seen as old-fashioned or worse, judgmental. It reminds me of a parent who wants to be a buddy to their kids, and we all can imagine that outcome.

We have people in charge who live within a bubble of like-minded peers who think changing a prayer matters more than steering their sheep away from sins that will separate them from the happiness of being with God, Who is most pure.

The Church has failed to warn her children that sin is far worse than dying of cancer, of starving to death, or having your eyes plucked out.

A loving parent will be frank when addressing common sins that will lead their children to eternal punishment. We tell our kids truths like: lying is wrong; that you can't go to that movie because it glorifies bad things; that girl or boy you're investing all your time dating is going to lead you into trouble--and all the other words we say to protect them from temptations.

A parent has authority to tell their own children many things others cannot. A wise parent is not silent because they love their children. Our priests have this same authority. If only they loved us enough to use it to warn us of the dangers of temptation. But, instead we get silence.

When we need encouragement and guidance to avoid the most common sins of the age, those in moral authority punt. Or worse, they seem to say sin isn't all that bad. How many people would repent of a serious offense against God if only someone would warn them of how dangerous the sin is?

Some priests pass on their responsibility to teach about the gravity of sin because they claim that job is for parents. Yet, for the past seventy years many theologians contradicted Church teachings. Many people simply do not know what the Church teaches anymore.

A modern take on the Lord's Prayer should read: Thy Kingdom doesn't come cheap. It costs living a holy life--even if everyone else laughs at you. Now that would be quite a change to the Lord's Prayer. One that might save some souls.