“Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph 6:17).
Once again, our Father provides us with everything we need for the hard battle. As a helmet, He offers us the salvation in Christ.
We know that in spiritual warfare many of the attacks come through our thoughts. The Adversary wants to influence us with wrong thoughts and turn us away from God. It is not only evil thoughts or chimeras that prevent us from focusing on the Lord, but also the many useless thoughts, dreams, and illusions that leave our soul empty. Therefore, our head needs special protection and must be surrounded by the helmet of salvation, so that we always examine and order our thoughts in the light of God and give no place to harmful thoughts.
The Word of God, on the other hand, is a sword, an offensive weapon. It spreads light and clarity and cuts through the darkness and gloom of lies and deception. It has been given to us to instruct us, and if we internalize it daily, it will become for us a source of truth and will teach us the discernment of spirits.
The Word must be proclaimed. Because it is not a human word, it penetrates the soul and spirit (cf. Heb 4:12) and calls people to turn to God and obey His holy Word. It even has the power to change a person’s life and course in a single moment.
The sword of the Spirit must always be with us. Just as the knights would never have left their sword, but always wanted to keep it within reach, so must we do with the Word of God. It must always be with us: we must read it, meditate on it and ponder it in our hearts like the Virgin Mary (cf. Lk 2:19). And we must also pass it on to others in an appropriate way. Perhaps the Lord will save them in this way.