Take up Your Sword
By: Missionary Team
When I was a little kid I was told that God made me to know, love, and serve Him in this life so that I may be happy with Him in the next. I happen to be someone who when told something, I kind of just accept it and don’t really think about what it really entails. For my faith personally, I was living it just because I was told that it’s what we are supposed to do. For quite a while I was always the person that would ask if we could go to daily Mass and if we could say some extra prayers. I was on fire with my faith when I was a little kid, and it wasn’t until I was about ten years old that I got bored in a sense with my faith. I started trying to make excuses to stay home from daily Mass, or maybe “fall asleep” during prayers. This made my life much harder without me even realizing it. And the reason was due to myself not taking my faith seriously.
It’s a struggle without God.
I desired to have a greater Faith. This is something that everyone desires, but sometimes you don’t know that the true faith is what you want. I knew from the bottom of my heart that if I wanted to truly be happy and live a meaningful life, I had to get the faith back into it. I strived to be able to do this, but I was unable to because I didn’t have the motivation to do it. I couldn’t figure out what it was that I needed to be able to get the Faith back in my life. I sat in my head trying to figure out what it was that would get God in my life. I couldn’t figure it out. It was impossible.
Pick a Saint as a Role Model
I still remember when my oldest brother was Confirmed, he got to pick a Saint that would be his new name, and he even got a whole bunch of Grace from God to become a soldier for Christ. I was so excited for that day for myself. “I get to become a soldier? Do I get some sort of superpowers?” These were a couple of thoughts that went through my head as I thought about Confirmation. When I was 8 years old I already had a Saint picked out. I was going to be called Ignatius after Saint Ignatius of Antioch. He was a martyr for the Catholic Faith, and I thought he was the coolest guy ever! So I waited until I was 14 for the day that I would be Confirmed.
Here is your Sword
On May 2nd, 2015, I went up to the Communion Rail and the Bishop anointed my forehead with the Holy Chrism and he said the words, “Ignatius, Be sealed with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.” I went back to my pew and said my thanksgiving prayers, the rest of the kids in my class finished getting Confirmed and Mass went on as usual. But I didn’t feel any different. I was so ready to be all of a sudden overwhelmed with God coming into me more fully, but it seemed to not work. About a week or so later I all of a sudden had enlightenment about what my mom had said to me all those years ago “God made me to know, love, and serve Him in this life so that I may be happy with Him in the next.” These words started making sense, God truly did make me, I have the great opportunity to know Him, to Love Him, and to Serve Him. And the form of serving that I was now permitted to do was to be a soldier in His army. I looked down at my belt and there it was, my sword. It hung there in its sheath and I heard in a sense God say to me, “Take up your Sword.” I pulled it out and saw how beautiful it was. This sword was going to be so much fun to just swing around and fight off a hundredfold of demons. But God didn’t necessarily want me to be doing that, maybe later I will get lucky and God will permit me. What I was supposed to use my sword was for something much different than fighting, instead, I was to be defending...
Defend this with your life
I was to use my sword whenever the devil sent his minions against me. I wasn’t supposed to go and find the enemy, but I was to know, love, and serve God, by protecting my Faith that was given to me. God gave me such a gift as He has given everyone. The Faith is something that must be protected, for the devil will not rest and will not let you get by easily, and he will try to destroy you. So I say this to you, seldom sheath your sword, do not be hasty to fight, and above all, do not turn your back on God. God gave us the means to fight and defend, as it is said in Ephesians.
“Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil...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.” Ephesians 6:11-17
Keep your wits about you, and remember that God will not forsake you for the grave.
