Readings during this time of year are telling us to beware of tripping over our sins. The books of Maccabees are to be used at this time to inspirit us for the final combats. In the book of Job, we are told that 'The life of man upon earth is a warfare.' I'm going to focus on the Epistle from St. Paul to the Ephesians, because I like these verses. He tells us how to fight these battles.
EPISTLE (Ephes. vi. 10-17.) Brethern, Be strengthened in the Lord, and in the might of his power. Put you on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil: for our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in high places. Therefore take unto you the armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breast-plate of justice, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace: in all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of, the most wicked one: and take unto you the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.
Our beloved Abbot Gueranger will help us understand, hopefully with my paraphrasing at times:
'The Most High is pleased at seeing a battle well fought by His Christian soldiers. There is no name so frequently applied to Him by the prophets as that of the God of hosts. His divine Son, who is the Spouse, shows Himself here on earth as the Lord who is mighty in battle...United to her divine Lord, warriors the most valiant stand about her; they merit that privilege by their well-proved sword and their skill in war; each one of them has his sword ready, because of the night surprises which the enemy may use against this most dear Church. For until the dawn of the eternal day, when the shadows of this present life are put to flight by the light of the Lamb, who will then have vanquished all His enemies, power is in the hands of the rulers of the world of this darkness; and it is against them that we must take to ourselves the armor of God; we must wear it all, if we would be able to resist in the evil day.
The evil days are frequent in the life of every individual, as likewise in the world's history. But for every man, and for the world at large, there is one evil day, evil beyond all the others: it is the last day, the day of judgment, the day of exceeding bitterness, on account of the woe and misery which are to fill it...Happy those who, on that day, shall fight the good fight, and win victory! Who shall stand, while all around them is ruin? Those who stand in all things perfect! They shall not be hurt by the second death. They are wreathed with the crown of justice, they shall reign with God, on His throne, together with His Son.
The war is an easy one, when we have this God-Man for our Leader. All He asks of us is: "Be strengthened in the Lord, and in the might of His power!"...The faithful soul remembers that the armor she wears is the armor of God. It is thrilling to hear the prophets describing Jesus, our Leader, armed for battle, with all the pieces we to are to wear: He girds Himself with the girdle of faith(Isa.xi.5); then, the shield of invincible equity(Wisdom v.19); and finally a magnificently tempered sword, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God(Apoc. ii. 16). St. John says that the victory which overcomes the world is our FAITH.(1 John v. 4). St. Paul, at the end of his career as an Apostle, says: "I have kept the Faith". (2 Tim. iv. 7) It is Faith in spite of fearful odds that ensures the victory to men of good will. And, as Paul tells, it is not flesh and blood that we fight, it is against the powers of darkness, who are in the air around us, and are, therefore, invisible, and most skilled, and powerful, and wonderfully up in all the sad secrets of our poor fallen nature, and turning the whole weight of their advantages to trick man, and ruin him, out of hatred for God.
How are we to wrestle with these spiritual principalities and powers who devote all their wisdom and rage to produce darkness, so to turn the whole world into a world of darkness? St. John Chrysostom says the way to do it is by 'becoming light'...our Faith gives as though we saw it with our own eyes...Better than a breastplate or helmet, the shield of faith protects us from every sort of injury; it blunts the fiery darts of the world, it repels the fury of our own passions, it makes us far-seeing enough to escape the most artful snares of the most wicked ones. Satan has a horror of the Christian who, though he may be weak in other respects, is strong in this divine word. He has a greater fear of that man than he has of all the schools and professors of philosophy; he knows well that at every encounter he will be crushed beneath his (the believer's) feet...the triumphant Archangel Michael hurled the devil into hell, and he himself, by that word of God(Michael), and by that victory for God, was made our model and our defender.
The Lord has ever been the refuge of His people: His goodness, like His power, was before all ages, because He is God from all eternity. May He, therefore, now protect His faithful servants, who, reduced to a scanty number as Israel was of old, are preparing the last exodus of the Church, which is leaving this infidel world, and is hastening to the true land of promise.'
What does Ephesians tell us? Notice that the first line doesn’t say put on the armor of God just in case there will be tactics from satan. Right away we are told to put on God’s armor so that we will be able to stand firm against the schemes of satan. We are told, quite clearly, what our struggles will be; they will be against a presence that we cannot see, not flesh and blood, but of a nature that grips our minds, hearts, and souls. Struggles that gain a stronghold and are often more relentless than we are able to handle: anger, envy, greed, addictions, self-doubt, and self-loathing. Without God’s armor we will be as helpless as a newborn babe in the woods against these powers. But what is this armor?
This is where the imagery used in Ephesians is priceless. Our loins are to be girded in Truth. What Truth? The Truth of the Gospel. How do we gain that Truth? Through bible study and time set aside to meditate upon Scripture and allow it to permeate every cell of our being. We gain the Truth by reading Scripture and asking the Spirit to imbue our hearts and souls with discernment. Notice that it is our loins that are to be girded in the Truth. This is because we all have that “gut” reaction to life’s events and circumstances. That feeling way deep down in the pit of our stomach that signals to us that things are “right” and “true.” We have an internal compass that will always point north, if we understand that “north” is the Truth of His word.
The breastplate we are told to put on covers our heart. It is a breastplate of righteousness. Noah was considered a righteous man. St. Peter calls Noah a “herald of righteousness.” What characteristics did he possess? While there are many adjectives that can help us understand righteousness (just, true, sincere), at the core of it would have been Noah’s relationship with God and with man. It can be said that Noah was in “right relationship” with God. When the world was filled with evil actions that grieved our Creator, Noah was found to be different, he was deemed “righteous.” This begs us to ask ourselves is we are, in fact, in right relationship with our Creator and with one another.
Scripture also tells us that the Lord knows our heart and this is why the breastplate covers that area. It is in our hearts in which God looks at us in the most intimate of ways. And so a sturdy, impenetrable breastplate covers our heart. This is because our hearts are so very vulnerable and we do well to protect them against the slings and arrows of life. They are meant to be filled with love, kindness, and compassion. A breastplate will help protect them so that they do not succumb to the things that may otherwise be their undoing, their hardening.
While our loins are girded in Truth and our hearts are protected by righteousness, our feet are shod in peace. We are all called to walk our earthly journey in tranquility. Christ gave us His peace because He knew its immense value. From calm and acceptance come joy, strength, and an ability to persevere. How fitting that while we walk in peace our minds are helmeted with the knowledge of our salvation in Christ? It is no surprise that we must continually remind ourselves that His ways are not our ways or the ways in which the world operates. We are able to do this with our mind covered in the awareness of our salvation. From this knowledge we can continually bring ourselves back to Him when our inclinations pull us elsewhere.
Finally, we walk into the world with a shield of faith, while in constant prayer and supplication. That shield is our first line of defense and the calling card that identifies us as followers of Christ. As Catholic Christians we understand faith to be one of the three, God-given theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity). We profess our faith in numerous ways: baptism, Apostle’s Creed, evangelization and so on. Complimenting the shield of faith are the words of our mind and our lips that call out to our eternal Father. As St. Augustine said, “Prayer is communication with God.” So we pray, constantly and without ceasing. In all things we move with God and He moves with us. We are dressed for eternal success.
To end, the prayer of the Magnificat at Vespers:
Preserve thy family, O Lord, we beseech thee, by thy constant mercy: that, under thy protection, it may be freed from all adversities, and be devoted to thy Name in the practice of good works.
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