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The scripture today comes from Mark 1:12-13, “At once the Spirit drove him out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.” It is short and concise. The story is expanded in the other gospels, but the message is important when we look to how we should arm ourselves to deal with the temptation of the devil. We must be prepared to go to war with the devil each day. The temptations we faced are just as real as the ones that Jesus encountered over 2000 years ago. What sort of armor do you have? Are you accessing all of the weapons available to you to deal with Satan? We know from Ephesians 6:11 that the devil employs schemes against us using the forces of darkness. We are urged to take on the full armor of God and to stand firm against this dark force. Jesus was able to employ the help of angels and so are we. Many people have discovered the great aid offered by St. Michael the Archangel. He is one of the principal angels. His name was a war cry of the good angels in the war against the evil one and his followers. Saint Michael is spoken of in the book of Revelations 12:7-8, “And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” Prayer is a powerful antidote to evil and asking others to join us in prayer is a good strategy to combat the evil and wicked plans of Satan. If you are like me, you often feel that there are so many bad things coming at you at once that you quickly become overwhelmed. It is part of the plan of the devil to effect our lives without us even realizing what is going on and sending multiple threats and attacks is a time-worn war tactic. The armor that God has provided is the best method for fending off these attacks. The breastplate of righteousness is a good first step. Righteousness speaks to the fact that our actions are justified. We know they are if we are with Jesus Christ, who paid the price for us by shedding his blood. We are sanctified by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and his blood has been sprinkled upon the altar to cover all our sins. Every one of our sins have been purged by His blood, and we have been set apart to God because we are now His possession. Another useful piece of armor is the belt of truth. Living in the truth by walking the path set out by Jesus is extremely powerful. I challenge you to think of the many times in your life when the revelation of truth could have prevented something bad from happening. Being in the truth and urging others to be truthful provides a powerful foundation to build upon. More importantly, when you hear a whispered lie from the devil, stop and focus on the truth and provide the light that will dispel the misinformation. Very often that is the missing ingredient in our lives that prevents us from living happy and living on purpose for Jesus. Our baptism calls for us to attain a higher degree of virtue and holiness and to revel in the sanctification that is provided by the diving grace of Jesus. This battle is constant and ongoing but we are called to be God’s warriors and prayer is the best weapon we have.

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