Thursday 31 October 2024

Today is Thursday the 31st of October, the feast of Saint Alphonsus Rodriguez SJ, in the 30th week of Ordinary Time. Christy Nockels sings, ‘Head to Toe’. As you listen, become aware of God’s protection over you today… Little one, be strong In the power in the Lord And let the keeper of the stars keep Your heart forevermore Even though you might be small It is in you, His kingdom reigns And from your mouth, the Lord has made A fountain for His praise And with His righteousness, across your chest Salvation for your head The belt of truth, around you now With the shield of faith in hand And with His peace, upon your feet Everywhere you go His word will be the sword you keep You're covered head to toe You're covered head to toe Oh, the night is quickly fading And the day will soon break in And with the dawn, the Lord will give The grace you need to stand And turn your worries into songs Put on your covering of light And you will long outlast the darkness 'Cause He's with you in this fight And with His righteousness, across your chest Salvation for your head The belt of truth, around you now With the shield of faith in hand And with His peace, upon your feet Everywhere you go His word will be the sword you keep You're covered head to toe You're covered head to toe And with His peace, upon your feet Everywhere you go His word will be the sword you keep You're covered head to toe Today’s reading is from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. Ephesians 6:10-20 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak. ‘Put on the whole armour of God’. Begin today by imagining God slowly and deliberately laying each piece of his armour at your feet to equip you for the spiritual battles you may encounter in your Christian life. Can you see God's care for you in this? As the list is read with a pause in between each item of armour, take a moment to reflect on each piece as you put it on. Fasten the belt of truth around your waist. Put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. Take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation. The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. As you put these on, was there an item of armour that you felt you especially needed? Now listen again to the first part of the reading which describes the battle. As you consider the spiritual battles described in the reading, how does it feel to wear the armour that God has given you? Talk with God now, about any element from today’s reading that stands out to you, perhaps offering yourself afresh to God’s service. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.