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. (Eph 6:10-20)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102722.cfm
As my homiletics professor, David Buttrick, was always eager to point out, the only offensive weapon we have in our arsenal is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Unfortunately, too many use the word of God as a weapon to beat down, divide and destroy, not exactly what our professor had in mind.
These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
Thursday, Week XXX, Ordinary Time
