The
Contest of Faith
As we do battle
and fight in the contest of faith, God, his angels and Christ himself watch us.
How exalted is the glory, how great the joy of engaging in a contest with God
presiding, of receiving a crown with Christ as judge.
Dear brethren, let
us arm ourselves with all our might, let us prepare ourselves for the struggle
by innocence of heart, integrity of faith, dedication to virtue.
The blessed
Apostle teaches us how to arm and prepare ourselves: Put round you the belt of truth; put on the breastplate of
righteousness; for shoes wear zeal for the Gospel of peace; take up the shield
of faith to extinguish all the burning arrows of the evil one; take the helmet
of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.
Let us take this
armor and defend ourselves with these spiritual defenses from heaven, so that
we may be able to resist the threats of the devil, and fight back on the evil
day.
Let us put on the
breastplate of righteousness so that our hearts may be safeguarded, proof
against the arrows of the enemy. Let our feet be protected by the shoes of the
teaching of the Gospel so that when we begin to trample on the serpent and
crush it, we may not be bitten and tripped up by it.
Let us with
fortitude bear the shield of faith to protect us by extinguishing all the
burning arrows that the enemy may launch against us.
Let us wear on our
head the helmet of the spirit to defend our ears against the proclamations of
death, our eyes against the sight of accursed idols, our forehead so that God’s
sign may be kept intact, our lips so that our tongue may proclaim victoriously
its faith in Christ its Lord.
Let us arm our
right hand with the sword of the spirit so that it may courageously refuse the
daily sacrifices, and like the hank – mindful of the Eucharist – that receives
the body of the Lord, stretch out to embrace him, and so gain from the Lord the
future prize of a heavenly crown.
Dear brethren,
have all this firmly fixed in your hearts. If the day of persecution finds us
thinking on these things and meditating upon them, the soldier of Christ,
trained by Christ’s commands and instructions, does not begin to panic at the
thought of battle, but is ready for the crown of victory.
Source: The
Liturgy of the Hours – Office of Readings
From a Letter from Saint Cyprian, bishop and martyr
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