Oxford Carmelite continue Lenten explorations of The Lord’s Prayer

As we make our journey through Lent, the Carmelite Friars of Chilswell Priory, Oxford have released the latest episode of their extremely popular Living Prayer Podcast. The podcast series takes each line of the Lord’s Prayer in turn and examines its meaning through the lens of Carmelite spirituality, and in particular the writings of St Teresa of Ávila.

Episode 7 – Lead us not into temptation – is now available for free on Centre for Applied Carmelite Spirituality YouTube Channel.

In this episode, Carmelite priests Fr Liam Finnerty, OCD and Fr Alex Ezechukwu, OCD, continue to discuss St Teresa of Avila’s great commentary on The Lord’s Prayer.

“Do you struggle with temptations?” asks Fr Alex.

“St. Teresa invites us to keep our focus on Christ who understands our struggles because he too was tempted, and who empowers us with the graces we need in our struggle with temptations.

“The key is to learn from Christ’s disposition towards temptation. St. Teresa also shares helpful suggestions for strengthening our capacity for resisting temptation such as practicing the virtues of detachment from our desires, asking the Lord for grace in humility, and being vigilant against the subtle deceptions of the devil.

“As much as we are wary of the near occasions of sin, let us be even more attentive to the near occasions of grace. God’s grace is a huge means of resisting the devil and temptation (see 1 Peter 5:8).

You can view the podcast here:

The next episode, “Deliver us from evil.” will be released next week on February 21.