(Picture of Fossanova Abbey in the background taken by author on 4 October 2026)
Brothers and sisters:
Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.
Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm
against the tactics of the Devil.
For our struggle is not with flesh and blood
but with the principalities, with the powers,
with the world rulers of this present darkness,
with the evil spirits in the heavens.
Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day
and, having done everything, to hold your ground.
So stand fast with your loins girded in truth,
clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,
and your feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of peace.
In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield,
to quench all the flaming arrows of the Evil One.
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God.
With all prayer and supplication,
pray at every opportunity in the Spirit.
To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication
for all the holy ones and also for me,
that speech may be given me to open my mouth,
to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel
for which I am an ambassador in chains,
so that I may have the courage to speak as I must.
Fortress
Today’s Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 144) describes the Lord as mercy, fortress,
stronghold, deliverer, and shield, “in whom I trust” the psalmist says. The First Reading and the Psalm use strong language, some of us might not be used to thinking of God in these terms or when we make reference to spiritual realities. That is why I chose the title with this idea as an interrogation: putting on war gear to speak of the “Gospel of Peace”? (Ephesians). Is it not a contradiction? Where am I heading with all this…?
What Kind of War?
The first line of Ephesians 6 connects really well with the Psalm citation that I have just mentioned: Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. So do we have to exert ourselves, or go to war to be at peace…? This passage from St Paul to the Christians of Ephesus cannot be more explicit: all eleven verses speak of war, struggle, fighting but… of what sort? Christians are peaceful people, when they fight right they do so for a different cause, it is a spiritual battle against a fiercer enemy: Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the Devil. Putting on the armor means to fight first of all against sin and against the tricks of our mortal enemy. If we take away the Devil from the Scriptures we will not make sense of Christ’s Incarnation or his death on the Cross.
Put on the armor of God… stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate… It is as if St Paul was going out of himself to show us—in an incomparable manner, by the way—what is at stake! So there is an armor or a breastplate to “stand fast” or firm in truth…? And your feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of peace. How come so many material images taken mostly from war gear can fit so tightly, and beautifully, when applied to spiritual realities? No brainer, God is the main author of the greatest book ever written, the Holy Bible. It is full of possibilities for personal reflection.
Gospel of Peace
St Paul is “an ambassador” of the Gospel but “in chains”. Saints fought for the proclamation of the Gospel, but it is a Gospel of Peace. However, there cannot be peace if we are not at war with the baseness of ourselves and with the instigations of the Devil. Hold faith as a shield!
I could go on and find suitable detailed explanations for this passage but I won’t. I just wanted to open this “window of possibilities”… Once you open it yourselves in prayer, in the silence of your room or in the quiet of church, you will see for yourselves this “reality”. You will see the Lord, your Rock!, your mercy and your fortress, your stronghold, your deliverer, your shield, in whom you trust. You will find this “Gospel of Peace”.
God bless you all,
Fr. Marcelo Javier Navarro Muñoz, IVE
Author: The Contribution of Cornelio Fabro to Fundamental Theology. Reason and Faith, Cambridge Scholars Publishing: https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-5275-9315-2
Poesía Sacra, Quemar las Naves, and Desde Fossanova, IVE Press: https://ivepress.org/
