Part 4, Chapter 10
Watching plays and movies when I was younger, I was enthralled with knights and the armor that they wore. Knights would wear this armor to protect and to keep themselves safe. They wanted to have armor that was light and strong at the same time. Sometimes they would sacrifice safety for speed which made them vulnerable. Vulnerability in this case made them weak and a target, so they had to be careful about how much armor they got rid of to make themselves faster. It was a tradeoff.
We all wear armor. Sacraments, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, help us to make up our armor. Those virtues that we have attained (with God’s grace) strengthen our armor. Still, there are parts of our lives that make our armor weak. We call these chinks in our armor. We need to know these weak points because otherwise we are very vulnerable to the enemy’s attack. St. Francis De Sales says this, “Examine from time to time what are the dominant passions of your soul, and having ascertained this, mold your life, so that in thought, word and deed you may as far as possible counteract them” (Introduction to the Devout Life, 171). Our passions can make us vulnerable because they lead to desires and attachments which are not focused on God. Our desires and attachments are places where we are not yet free, unless our desires are about loving the Lord our God with all our strength, will, and heart.
The enemy will attack us in the weakest part of our armor. So when things are calm, we should take the time to strengthen them. “In a word, let your time of peace—that is to say, that time when you are not beset by temptations to sin—be used in cultivating the graces most opposed to your natural difficulties, and if opportunities for their exercise do not arise, go out of your way to seek them, and by so doing you will strengthen your heart against future temptations” (Introduction to the Devout Life, 171-172). Our Saint is right in instructing us that it should be a peaceful time when we make this examination because we need the help and grace of the Holy Spirit to show us where we are weak. With this knowledge we can be built up in the Lord. The virtues are what need to be built up in us to work on our weaknesses. Our armor may be mostly strong, but if there are weak points (chinks in it), we will be open to attacks from the enemy.