7 Ways to Put on the Armour of God
This short post was in my instagram feed recently, and the author, Fr. Jason Smith LC, kindly gave his permission for me to reproduce it here.
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I found this image of St George I found today in the confessional, and it inspired me to write down seven ways to put on the armor of God and stand up against the wiles of the devil. This is in no particular order, but as they came to me in the moment:
1) actively surround yourself with whatever is good, noble, true, just, pure, and worthy of praise.
2) what the devil fears the most-even more than exorcisim- is the mercy, forgiveness, love, grace and strength that comes from Jesus Christ in the sacrament of Confession.
3) the devil is strong only when sin is kept in the dark. Once one’s sin is brought into the light his chains are losened and even unbound. Accountability with someone who we know loves us goes a long way. The truth will set you free.
4) the devil doesn’t “spend much of his time” putting things into our mind; there is enough in our world to tempt us already. If anything, he spends his time trying to keep good things out of our mind. CS Lewis illustrates this well in the Screwtape Letters. Seek the truth.
5) The Eucharist, Rosary, reading of Sacred Scripture, and praying daily is the greatest armor we could ever have.
6) during temptation make the sign of the cross, invoke the name of Jesus, and recall that all sin is a bait and switch, it looks enticing but will leave us empty.
7) participate actively in the New Evangelization and get involved rather than sit on the sideline.
