(According to P. Keese Waaijman, O.Carm.)
3. Element: the armor of God (chapters 18–19)
Seen systematically, chapters 18 and 19 represent a transition from skopos to telos. After Albert prescribed the basic equipment for the life of the Carmelite community,1 and imposed the fundamental exercises associated with the consecrated life,2 all aimed at the purity of heart (as skopos), he now binds them to exercising virtues. Only through this putting on the attributes of God can we stand in spiritual battle and in trials. The process of our transformation touches a deeper level of our being, yet simultaneously opens up the possibility of deeper temptations and threats. Notice that contrary to earlier chapters, Albert makes no relativizations here: there is no mention of “... where it can be easily preserved,” “if necessary...,” “if it can be easily adjusted...,” “as needed...” etc. The divine armament (the life of virtues) is prescribed uncompromisingly here, without exception. It is always and everywhere necessary; to discard it would mean spiritual death.
The Armor of God as a Literary Motif
The armor of God is a relatively common theme. We will focus on it more closely in four historical contexts.
A) God is depicted as a warrior, fighting for His people: Israel's oldest experience and its repeatedly celebrated tradition states: The Lord frees His people from those who oppress them (cf. Ex 15). In the prophetic writings, God's battle defeats foreign deities. In these texts, God Himself “puts on” armor as a warrior (Isa 59:17; Deut 32:39–42; Ps 60:9 etc.), thus the armor of God is the armor worn by God Himself. The postures recommended by the Rule are God's attributes. In the situation of hermits on Carmel during the Crusades, surely “to live in obedience to Jesus Christ” and “to put on the armor of God” meant to assume a specific religious and political stance: to fight as a vassal under the leadership of the Lord, to liberate or defend holy places – the heritage of Jesus Christ.
B) People fight the eschatological battle of God: the Qumran community, composed of priests, Levites, and other devout believers devoted to the Temple, separated from the Temple around 130 BC and retreated to the desert by the Dead Sea to prepare for the coming end of the old world. They expected a decisive – real (!) – battle, led by the sons of light – armed by God – against the sons of darkness and Belial. This battle is described in the so-called War Scroll (I QM VI, 16/VII,6). It is instructive for us that the armor of God is applied in an eschatological situation, where diabolical plots are life-threatening, when the final times, the times of purification and testing, occur, in which spirits are refined: “truth and falsehood, light and darkness are ‘colored’.”
C) The Christian community in Ephesus: the Letter to the Ephesians provides the immediate background of the Rule. The writer of the letter shows the local Christians that their task is to engage in a life-or-death struggle against superhuman and supernatural, demonic powers. It is necessary to be clothed like heavily armed soldiers – with the armor of God. The armor is understood metaphorically here, referring to messianic values, not military instruments. Defensive weapons (breastplate, shield, helmet) are mentioned, and a significant portion of the gear comprises components that are not directly military (belt, footwear…).
In the Letter to the Ephesians, the armor of God, which God gives to man, has two features. In God's armament, God clothes man with His attributes, grants him Himself (“You are my shield, O Lord” Ps 3:4; cf. Ps 5:13 and Deut 33:29), whereby God not only surrounds a person as a shield but somehow builds him from within; this is essentially messianic (“righteousness will be the belt of His loins” Isa 11:5). Secondly, God thus prepares us for battle, for decisive trials. The armor that transforms us from within manifests outwardly as a powerful force, evident in our life.
D) The Desert Fathers: while in the previous three cases the armor and battle pertained to the community, John Cassian understands the monk in the desert as a lone warrior, struggling against the devil. However, the monk considered himself a part of the invisible army. Even though the entire army fights, it always depends on the courage of each individual soldier to fight “man against man.”
In conclusion, let us also mention: the motif of God's armor already encompasses the reality that life appears to us as a dispute or rather directly as a battle. The battle against the hostile forces of evil that seek to kill us, while God leads us to live in His name. Our enemy assumes, at times, the features of the demonic, at other times, human, and at other times, natural. Often, he approaches us unnoticed, cunningly disguising himself as an angel of light. In this battle, it is all or nothing, which is why it is so frequently depicted eschatologically. But God dresses us in His attributes, in Himself. Thus, He empowers us to confront evil.
Three Reasons to Put on the Armor of God
In chapter 18, the Rule presents St. Albert – through three Scripture quotes – three reasons why we should put on the armor of God.
1) “Since the life of man on earth is a trial...” (Job 7:1). Vulnerability, transience, and the unsettling nature of God's infinitude (Job 7:11–21), etc., are part of our life. In this, God's image within me is refined: God draws me deeper into His love, and I learn to value myself.
2) “All who desire to live godly in Christ will suffer persecution” (2 Tim 3:12). This verse, taken by Albert into the text of the Rule, originally stands in the Bible in the future tense: “they will suffer persecution.” Scripture predicts in many places an intensification of trials: “in the last days perilous times will come” (2 Tim 3:1), describing future persecution (see Lk 21:12), and misdeeds within the church (2 Tim 3). Let us not overlook that contrary to Job, St. Paul does not speak of human life as such, but of the effort to live godly in Christ. And the trials are narrowed down to persecution. When persecuted, the Christian resembles his Lord especially and it becomes particularly evident that he is united with Him: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation...?” (Rom 8:35).
3) “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). We are not only pressed by our natural vulnerability (trials) and opposition from people (persecution) but also by superhuman forces – demonic powers (see Eph 6:11–12). And they seek to destroy me in my innermost being, to destroy my person, me as such. This adversary, moreover, avoids being recognized. Contrary to an open confrontation, as is the case with trials and persecution, he attacks “from ambush.” And Peter's analogy with the “roaring lion” (taken from Ps 22) simultaneously suggests that we are dealing with an inhuman force, meaning: existing below human level, bestial. Brutally cruel, lurking, unrelentingly destructive.
All three of these reasons dramatically combine into a single whole.
Putting on the Armor as Mystical Transformation
The armor of God is a symbol for God's attributes. This armor He Himself has “put on” and wears; it belongs to Him. And He gives it to man, giving man Himself as the strength that enables him to fight. The Rule commands Carmelites to dress themselves in this armor: strive diligently to put on the armor of God, so that you may stand against the wiles of the enemy. What does this requirement mean?
Putting on God's attributes is a biblical metaphor, frequently used for transformation in Christ, which we received in baptism (Gal 3:27–29; Rom 13:14; Col 3:10). This transformation into Christ requires daily effort – practicing it – if it is to be truly effective in our lives. Even with a soldier, it is not enough to simply have the equipment, but he must practice handling it. Through this practice, the soldier's ability grows.
With all diligence originally means skill acquired through repetition, that is, persistence and focus, or in other words, conscientiousness, vigilance.
Putting on the armor of God achieves its goal when in us grows the realization that it is God Himself who is “at work” in all my practice. To be clothed in the armor of God means to allow oneself to be girded with purity, to be sanctified down to the depth of my thoughts, to be penetrated by love, to be carried by trust, to be imbued with God's word. And at the same time, this phase of transformation requires our own diligence and zeal.
The mystical moment occurs in the process of transformation when we are brought into God's interior, hidden beneath our own armor of God. Then we will be purified in the very Fountain of purity. Unforgettably. Then diligence and zeal will merge into zeal for love, kindled by the zeal of God's love itself. The fire will reach the very core of the wood...
We have already mentioned that the enemy attacks us “from ambush,” unnoticed, sideways. He sees me only as “a faceless mass.” If we allow ourselves to be treated like this “from the left and the right,” we would take ourselves for such an impersonal mass and be lost. The Rule encourages – following the example of St. Paul – to put on the armor of God, thus to face the enemy directly.
According to the notes of Sister Petra of the Resurrection, OCD, processed by P. Gorazd, O.Carm.
