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Whenever we pray the Lord’s Prayer, it can be tempting to think the final petition only refers to the general idea of evil.
In this context, we are asking God to deliver us from evil, an abstract concept that covers a multitude of possibilities.
Yet, the Catechism of the Catholic Church is clear that this petition is not about “evil” in general, but about Satan in particular.
Deliver us from the evil one
The Catechism first connects this petition to another prayer that Jesus prays in the gospels:
I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.
John 17:15
The Catechism continues in explaining how this petition refers to Satan himself:
In this petition, evil is not an abstraction, but refers to a person, Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God. The devil (dia-bolos) is the one who “throws himself across” God’s plan and his work of salvation accomplished in Christ.
CCC 2851
The next paragraph continues its commentary on Satan and his identity:
“A murderer from the beginning, . . . a liar and the father of lies,” Satan is “the deceiver of the whole world.” Through him sin and death entered the world and by his definitive defeat all creation will be “freed from the corruption of sin and death.” Now “we know that anyone born of God does not sin, but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world is in the power of the evil one.”
CCC 2852
Victory through Jesus Christ
The good news is that while Satan may appear to be powerful, he has already been defeated in Jesus Christ’s actions:
Victory over the “prince of this world” was won once for all at the Hour when Jesus freely gave himself up to death to give us his life. This is the judgment of this world, and the prince of this world is “cast out.” “He pursued the woman” but had no hold on her: the new Eve, “full of grace” of the Holy Spirit, is preserved from sin and the corruption of death (the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of the Most Holy Mother of God, Mary, ever virgin). “Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring.” Therefore the Spirit and the Church pray: “Come, Lord Jesus,” since his coming will deliver us from the Evil One.
CCC 2853
At the same time, while this final petition is directed at Satan, it does extend to all evils of which he is the author:
When we ask to be delivered from the Evil One, we pray as well to be freed from all evils, present, past, and future, of which he is the author or instigator. In this final petition, the Church brings before the Father all the distress of the world.
CCC 2854
The Our Father is a powerful prayer, one that includes a very important petition to be delivered from the evil that Satan tries to introduce into our lives.
And today we celebrate...