"BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL, AMEN."

We come now to the last petition of the Lord's Prayer. Right away there is the question of what the evil is that is referred to in this Petition. The great Christian writers of the early centuries who lived in Italy, France, and North Africa interpreted the evil in this context in an impersonal sense. To them it meant sin and misfortune.

On the other hand, the great writers who lived in the East, in Greece, and in Asia Minor interpreted the word in the personal sense. To them it meant the evil one, the devil. They maintained that Our Lord was telling us to ask God to keep us out of the clutches of the devil. This interpretation of the Eastern Fathers of the Church seems to have great merit. If the word means merely evil or sin, this petition of the Our Father only repeats the preceding one, "lead us not into temptation." In this last petition it seems, then, that we are asking God to deliver us not from evil but from the evil one, from the devil.

The word "deliver" in this prayer has the meaning of take us away from, remove us before the enemy shows his power, rather than free us once we have fallen into his clutches.

St. Peter had a vivid realization of the evil in the world. He had seen the forces of evil crucify the Son of God; he had experienced the power of evil in his own life when he succumbed to temptation and denied Christ. Therefore, he warned the early Christians, and he warns us, "For your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith."

The Scriptures show plainly that the devil is a real person, a personal force for evil. Our Lord told the hypocritical pharisees that their father was the devil, who is the father of lies. St. John has many thoughts on the personality of the devil: he is the anti-Christ who denies the Father and the Son; anyone who commits sin is a child of the devil because the devil was the sinner from the beginning; it was to destroy the work of the devil that the Son of God came. In the Gospel for the 1st Sunday of Lent we read of our Lord's encounter with the devil. All during His earthly life, Our Lord waged warfare with the devil. The Apostles saw the hand of the devil at work: St. Luke tells us that the devil was behind the intrigues of the Jews against St. Paul. St. Paul had much to tell us about the devil: the devil works in secret and stealth; he creates or tries to create dissension among the followers of Christ; he places obstacles in the way of St. Paul's work; he sends false prophets; he himself even appears as an angel of light.

The devil's hold on the world has been destroyed. The victory has been won, but the battle goes on. Satan is still fighting Christ. He will continue the battle until that day when Christ comes to consolidate His victory and to manifest it to the whole world.

To the modern man, the devil is a comic opera character with a long tail and horns. He is a joke, a creature from mythology. The Christian realizes that the devil is real. He was the greatest of all God's angels. He is the master of subterfuge and deceit. The greatest lie he has perpetrated on man is the one which says that the devil as a force for evil does not really exist. IT IS WELL FOR US TO UNDERSTAND THE REALITY OF THE DEVIL, THAT HE DISOBEYED GOD AND THAT HE WANTS US TO DISOBEY!

The problem of evil is a gigantic one, and I believe that one must say there is no completely satisfactory answer. The best answer and the only good answer that has ever been given is to be found in the doctrine of Original Sin. Evil in the world is the price of freedom - - one thing is certain: evil must be forever linked with the devil. Therefore, the Christian must take Christ's words seriously - that the devil is an adversary who must be fought by prayer and fasting. The Christian realizes that his enemy is wily and powerful. So, daily he prays to the Father in heaven to deliver him and all other Christians from the clutches of the devil.

The word "AMEN" which concludes the Lord's Prayer means, as you know, "So be it." - Or, "It is true." This Amen will serve to remind us that what we ask for in the Petitions of this greatest and most perfect of all prayers, will come to pass if we utter these Petitions with fervent, contrite, humble and confident hearts that truly seek in all things the glory of God and the salvation of souls.