Spiritual Warfare

Jesus gives us His assurance in the scriptures He will faithfully stand and knock at the door of our lives. Jesus will join us for dinner if we invite Him. If we hear Jesus knocking, we would be wise to allow Him in our house and in our lives. As Catholics, we get a heavenly foretaste of the Messianic banquet when we receive Jesus in the Eucharist with a humble spirit and a clean heart. What a special blessing it is to receive Jesus in holy communion every Sunday when Mass is celebrated at the altars of Catholic churches and chapels throughout the world.

Here is Jesus’ message to the Church of Laodicea in the book of Revelation for context:

Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise.

Be earnest, therefore, and repent.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock.

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.

I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself first won the victory and sit with my Father on his throne.

 Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Revelation 3:19-22

Jesus says he will give “the victor” the right to sit with Him on his throne. I think that pretty much sums up the reality of spiritual warfare we find ourselves in today. We are in warfare, no doubt. Jesus says we must repent and earn the victory, like He did.

St. Anthony Mary Claret

St. Anthony Mary Claret earned the victory of sainthood.

How did that happen?

What did this holy bishop do?

How did this saint achieve sanctity in this life?

St. Anthony Mary Claret had a great love for God and neighbor. He kept his heart perpetually close to Jesus in the Church sacraments and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

I learned about St. Anthony Mary Claret while watching a documentary about Fr. Aloysius Ellacuria, CMF on Formed.org titled, “The Angel of Biscay.”

Here is the promo for the Angel of Biscay.

Three Strategies in Spiritual Warfare

These might be the top 3 strategies to use in battle as a good soldier of Christ in spiritual warfare. St. Anthony Mary Claret was devout to them in his life. I would like please point out all three (3) of these ways (or strategies) of St. Anthony Mary Claret are discussed in my 20 Ways of Spiritual of Spiritual Protection for the Family post.

#1 Strategy: Devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist +

#2 Strategy: Go to Confession Routinely +

#3 Strategy: Pray the Holy Rosary +

Did you know there are forty (40) pages written about the sacrament of penance in the Catechism of the Council of Trent? St. Anthony Mary Claret spent countless hours hearing confessions and absolving his parishioners from their sins (Jn 20:23)

“I know that I can offer God no morsel more delicious nor drink more refreshing than the souls that repent before the pulpit or in the confessional.” – St. Anthony Mary Claret

There is immense healing power in the Church sacraments. The grace of God flows out from them. We see the power of God’s grace flowing our from Jesus in the scriptures:

Jesus then asked, “Who touched me?”

While all were denying it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds are pushing and pressing in upon you.”

But Jesus said, “Someone has touched me; for I know that power has gone out from me.”  Luke 8:45-46

Let it be no surprise that Jesus, the Son of God, cares. Our High Priest in heaven cares for us. But do we care for Him? Do we care for His mother (Jn 19:27)? Do we care for the souls of those who have no one to pray for them? How do we receive Jesus when we receive Him in the Eucharist at Mass? How do we treat others that have been grafted in our lives through the mysterious Providence of God (Prv 16:9)?

For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another, John 3:11

We can only love like Jesus if we allow Him in our lives like the saints did before us.

As the Father loves me, so I also love you.

Remain in my love. John 15:9

Outside of holy communion, we must put in the work to understand who God is (scripture study, prayer, and contemplation). St. Augustine says we cannot love unless someone has loved us first. If we receive holy communion with indifference, we are going to get results that are indifferent to God and His holy angels.

“Woe to the soul that does not have Christ to cultivate it with care to produce the good fruit of the Holy Ghost. Left to itself, it is choked with thorns and thistles; instead of fruit it produces only what is fit for burning.” – St. Macarius

Through the Divine lens of Sacred Scripture, we see that God can see us up in heaven, and He can see very clearly how we are doing on the spiritual battlefield down here on earth and what kind of fruit we are producing for the Kingdom of God in our lives.

Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on him and asked,

“Do you see anything?”

Looking up he replied,

“I see people looking like trees and walking.” Mark 8:23-24

St. Anthony Mary Claret humbly walked with God in his life (Mic 6:8).

The holy saint prayed three (3) rosaries a day.

His holiness increased to the point where when he would receive holy communion, the Eucharist would remain in him in an incorrupt state. Amazing!

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. John 6:56

Much like the Blessed Virgin Mary before him, St. Anthony Mary Claret’s heart became a human tabernacle for the Lord. When his remains were transferred, his heart was found to be miraculously incorrupt. God Himself declared him a saint.

“If we are steadfast in our faith in Christ and in our love for Him, we win the victory He has won, we receive what He has promised.” – St. Leo the Great

We would be wise to open the door of our hearts and let Jesus and His Blessed Mother in our lives like St. Anthony Mary Claret did. When we invite someone over for dinner, we generally clean up and prepare for their arrival. We should do the same for Jesus. When we invite Jesus and His Mother in our lives, rest assured, they are going to show.

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. John 2:1-2

Without faith in Jesus, without allowing Him access to our hearts and our lives through the Divine power of the holy sacraments of the Church, we are going to have fruitless results on the battlefield of love for the Kingdom of God. Jesus has told us we cannot handle the battle on our own. We cannot win the battle without Him.

I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.

Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. John 15:5-6

Thus, we should do what St. Anthony Mary Claret did.

• Interiorly prepare our souls to receive Jesus in the Eucharist at Sunday Mass.
• Pray a rosary each day for God’s grace to flow in our lives and for others.
• Be a saint of faith, hope and charity for the Kingdom of God.

Holy Rosary

Notice in the preceding gospel verse, Jesus’ Mother is mentioned before the name of Jesus. We see the impact the Blessed Mother’s rosary had in the life of St. Anthony Mary Claret. May the holy rosary have a graceful impact in your life and the lives others throughout the world. Spread the Word about the rosary. The rosary is a holy instrument of salvation given to us by God. St. Anthony Mary Claret, pray for us +

Fr. Don Calloway gives an excellent presentation about the power of the rosary.

The holy rosary is comprised of many holy elements; no one doubts that this devotion is very pleasing to God and the holy Virgin. The devotion of the most holy rosary is powerful enough to transmit all graces and, as we are aware from experience, it has proven to be a remedy during times of war, plagues, hunger and other calamities; in addition, those who have been troubled in body or souls, if they had recourse to the rosary, always received consolation. – St. Anthony Mary Claret

The Litany of Humility is a special prayer of the Church. Praying the Litany of Humility will help you to be delivered from evil and sinful pride. The Litany of Humility prayer, when prayed with a sincere heart, should allow a greater degree of God’s graces to flow in your life.

Litany of Humility PDF

May God Bless us abundantly with the virtue of humility.

Litany of Humility PDF

Litany of Humility Prayer Meditation PDF

Pray to Your Guardian Angel

I learned from a spiritual warfare expert you can pray to your Guardian Angel to reveal to you what your primary defect is. It is interesting to note, Father also mentioned that in most cases, your primary defect will not be what you might assume it will be!

Pray to your guardian angel to reveal to you your primary defect. Father also humorously mentioned that you will probably get a prompt answer on it as your Guardian Angel has had to watch over you your whole life.

Angels of the Lord, Bless the Lord… Daniel 3:58

Prayers Answered!

I prayed to my Guardian Angel one evening about it. I know the two major defects I confess when I receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Father was right, it turns out my primary defect was not either of them! I was pretty much dumbfounded about it when I woke up. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

As it turns out, this spiritual warfare expert is also an exorcist. Yikes! Here is my opinion about exorcists – they are on point with their ministry because, well, they have to be. I even heard Fr. say he knows he will get taken to the woodshed if he is negligent with his ministry or with his prayer and sacramental life.

Generational Spirits

Should it be any different for us? Evil is rampant everywhere these days it seems.

No one is exempt from spiritual warfare. This same exorcist said that it has been his experience that 99.99% of all families have a generational spirit, and roughly 25% of all people have a diabolic obsession.

Are we on the spiritual menu? Yes we are. We are all in the battle together.

Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings. 1 Peter 5:8-9

The Exalted Get Humbled

Father mentioned there was one instance where he was making a manifested demon pray the Litany of Humility Prayer. As this was going on, Father said he heard a thought or grace somewhere within him say, “Get out of the way.”

Father said he recognized it was Christ! Even the best of us get humbled by God.

Father went on to say “In your own spiritual warfare, you have to get out of the way, let Christ work from you, work on the humility, and then you will be very powerful in relationship to cleaning up the demons in your own life and the lives of your family.”

“Brothers, we should be humble in mind, putting aside all arrogance, pride and foolish anger.” + St. Clement I

Fr. Chad Ripperger, Exorcist

Watch this video in its entirety and you may never look at life the same way again!

Why would an exorcist make a manifested demon pray the Litany of Humility? Why did Jesus humble Father Ripperger in the process of doing that? The conclusion, I think, is we should all be praying to Jesus for the virtue of humility. I know I should!

Litany of Humility Reactions

Do you want to know what happened to me the first time I prayed the Litany of Humility ? There were parts I didn’t agree with, and I struggled to finish the prayer!

As mentioned, it is not just me, and a priest’s homily here gives testimony here to that.

Cardinal Merry del Val, Prayer Author

Litany of Humility Benefits

After praying the Litany of Humility for a while, I noticed I began to make some gradual improvements in my own spiritual life.

• There have been less internal and external conflicts.
• Dealing with everything and everyone has been less stressful.
• There has been more inner peace.

Praying the Litany of Humility should prove be beneficial for us if we are devout to pray it often, maybe once or twice a week. Pray it on Fridays before a blessed crucifix.

Struggles in the Spiritual Warfare

Weeds grow back. I often struggle with pride, vanity, etc. so I decided I had better try to “double-down” with this prayer. I researched what Sacred Scripture has to say about humility. I took some verses and added them to the Litany of Humility Prayer.

A Benedictine priest , God bless him, reviewed it, and he helped me get the selected verses about humility in context with the litany’s prayer petitions.

“These are the sacrifices most pleasing to God: mercy, humility, praise, peace, charity.” + St. Augustine

The Sacred Scripture verses enable you to meditate on the Word of God and pray to God for humility with the litany. It is my hope this blended approach allows us to have a deeply intimate conversation with God, and one that He is pleased with.

Here is the prayer meditation. Aside from the scripture verses, the Litany of Humility is a special prayer for your journey. May God’s peace and the Holy Spirit be with you!

Litany of Humility Prayer Meditation

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. Matthew 11:29

My son, conduct your affairs with humility, and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts. Sirach 3:17

And we have this confidence in Him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 1 John 5:14

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart,

Hear me.

Those who fear the Lord prepare their hearts and humble themselves before him. Sirach 2:17

From the desire of being esteemed,

Deliver me, Jesus.

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Matthew 23:12

From the desire of being loved,

Deliver me, Jesus.

Put away all filth and evil excess and humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls. James 1:21

From the desire of being extolled,

Deliver me, Jesus.

He humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:8

From the desire of being honored,

Deliver me, Jesus.

Good and upright is the LORD, therefore he shows sinners the way, He guides the humble in righteousness, and teaches the humble his way. Psalms 25:8-9

From the desire of being praised,

Deliver me, Jesus.

Clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for: “God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble.” 1 Peter 5:5

From the desire of being preferred to others,

Deliver me, Jesus.

For humble people you save; haughty eyes you bring low. Psalms 18:28

From the desire of being consulted,

Deliver me, Jesus.

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 14:11

From the desire of being approved,

Deliver me, Jesus.

My son, with humility have self-esteem; and give yourself the esteem you deserve. Sirach 10:28

From the fear of being humiliated,

Deliver me, Jesus.

The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life. Proverbs 22:4

From the fear of being despised,

Deliver me, Jesus.

Live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, Ephesians 4:1-2

From the fear of suffering rebukes,

Deliver me, Jesus.

So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. 1 Peter 5:6

From the fear of being calumniated,

Deliver me, Jesus.

You have been told, O mortal, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

From the fear of being forgotten,

Deliver me, Jesus.

Holy and humble of heart, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. Daniel 3:87

From the fear of being ridiculed,

Deliver me, Jesus.

The fear of the LORD is training for wisdom, and humility goes before honors. Proverbs 15:33

From the fear of being wronged,

Deliver me, Jesus.

Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who have observed his law; Seek justice, seek humility; Perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger. Zephaniah 2:3

From the fear of being suspected,

Deliver me, Jesus.

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, Colossians 3:12

That others may be loved more than I,

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you. James 4:10

That others may be esteemed more than I,

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find mercy in the sight of God. Sirach 3:18

That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease,

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, Philippians 2:3

That others may be chosen and I set aside,

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:4

That others may be praised and I go unnoticed,

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

For the fear of the Lord is wisdom and discipline; faithfulness and humility are his delight. Sirach 1:27

That others may be preferred to me in everything,

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

Finally, all of you, be of one mind, sympathetic, loving toward one another, compassionate, humble. 1 Peter 3:8

That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should,

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

For great is the power of the Lord; by the humble he is glorified. Sirach 3:20

Amen.

“Do not fear, Daniel,” he continued; “from the first day you made up your mind to acquire understanding and humble yourself before God, your prayer was heard.” Daniel 10:12

There is much to be learned in the realm of Catholic spiritual warfare these days. There is simply too much at stake – our souls – not to want to learn as much as we can about the Catholic faith and all the spiritual warfare that goes along with being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Just the other day, I listened to Fr. Chris Alar of the Marian Fathers give an excellent presentation about spiritual warfare. Fr. Alar mentioned that spiritual warfare is simply about fighting ordinary temptations and living out the Gospels.

We are all probably aware of what type of temptations and influences we may have to deal with in our lives, and there are plenty of them to go around for all of us. Ordinary temptation is the devil’s primary weapon to deceive souls into abandoning God.

“There are more victims of Satan’s ordinary action than of his extraordinary action.” – Fr. Gabriele Amorth (2016), Former Chief Exorcist of Rome

In regards to Fr. Alar’s description about spiritual warfare, I think the question we might want to ask ourselves is this:

How well do we really know the Gospels?

Example –

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his garments and made four parts, one for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was without seam, woven from top to bottom; so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” John 19: 23:24a

What does the seamless tunic of Jesus symbolize?

• A) Unity of the Church
• B) Factions within the Church
• C) Schisms within the Church
• D) Divisions of churches in protest of the Church

Answer: The seamless tunic which the soldiers do not tear (v.24) symbolizes the unity of the Church, the unity for which Jesus asked the Father during his priestly prayer (see John 17:20-26) Source: The Navarre Bible – New Testament

There is much to be learned from the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  If you get a good Catholic Study Bible, you will find that there is a tremendous amount of helpful information in them to read, unpack and prayerfully consider, and the Gospel verses should be meditated on and contemplated in mental prayer.

Learning about Jesus helps us to be more like Him in faith, hope and love. Jesus will help us in the ongoing battle of spiritual warfare against the devil and his demons.

Training in Righteousness

Formation in Christ is all-important. Here are my favorite Catholic Study Bibles:

• Ignatius New Testament Study Bible
• The Didache Bible
• The Navarre Bible
• The Little Rock Study Bible
• The Douay & Rheims Haydock Bible
• The Great Adventure Study Bible

Catholic Spiritual Warfare Experts

You can also learn a lot about spiritual warfare by listening to the experts and reading their books. Here are the spiritual warfare experts that have helped me with my own journey of spiritual formation. May God bless them for their ministry.

• Fr. Chad Ripperger
• Fr. Vince Lampert
• Msgr. Stephen Rossetti
• Fr. Chris Alar
• Fr. Mark Goring
• Kathleen Beckman
• Jesse Romero
• Dr. Dan Schneider

The first three priests mentioned above are exorcists, but do not let the word exorcist scare you. These ordained priests called by God will teach you how to fight the good fight. They know spiritual warfare because they are on the front lines in their ministry doing their best to deliver afflicted families and people from the evil one.

The seventy[-two] returned rejoicing, and said, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Luke 10:17

Those exorcists, their assistants, and spiritual warfare experts, their lives are ones of intense spiritual warfare. I think they would all tell you that each in their own way.

Christ the Divine Warrior +

When one thinks about spiritual warfare, exorcists, etc. one may be inclined to think about the devil and diabolical influences. That is, without question, the enemy. But if you look more closely at the very center of spiritual warfare, I think what you are going to find is the Divine warrior Jesus staring right through you.

…the eyes of the Lord, ten thousand times brighter than the sun, Observe every step taken and peer into hidden corners. Sirach 23:19b

He shall take his zeal for armor and arm creation to requite the enemy, Shall put on righteousness for a breastplate, wear sure judgment for a helmet, Shall take invincible holiness for a shield, and sharpen his sudden anger for a sword. The universe will war with him against the foolhardy Wisdom 5:17-20

God is the God of the Old and New Testaments. The New Testament fulfills the Old Testament. Christ is at the very center of the Gospels of the New Testament, and He longs to be at the very center of our lives. This is the opposite of what the devil wants.

And even though our gospel is veiled, it is veiled for those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they may not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4

The best combat strategy in spiritual warfare is to live a Christ centered life and fight the battle for souls along with Him. So let’s gear up for the battle!

• Combat temptations and fears with full confidence in God.
• Apply relentless study of the Gospels in your life.
• Live out the Gospels by living a devout and sacramental life in Christ.

“Christ is the eternal splendor enlightening our minds and hearts.” – St. Ambrose

3 Divine Lights in Spiritual Warfare

Through the many hours of listening about spiritual warfare, related topics, and the books I have read that are written by and about spiritual warfare experts, I noted there are three (3) Divine characteristics that are often discussed again and again, and this is what I would like to call the 3 Divine lights in the realm of Catholic spiritual warfare.

I call them Divine lights because they have been given to us by God for the battle.

All good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights…James 1:17

Everything about Jesus is Divine and amazing. Let us greet Him everyday.

Immediately on seeing Him, the whole crowd was utterly amazed. They ran up to Him and greeted Him. Mark 9:15

You might keep these 3 Divine lights in mind in your own spiritual warfare. Let them be guiding lights for you and your family to help lead you to heaven.

Divine Light #1: God’s Grace

And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

Grace might sound like a cliché word when it comes to our faith, but do not be deceived. Grace is like the spiritual life-blood from God we need for union with Him.

CCC 1997 Grace is a participation in the life of God. It introduces us into the intimacy of Trinitarian life: by Baptism the Christian participates in the grace of Christ, the Head of his Body. As an “adopted son” he can henceforth call God “Father,” in union with the only Son. He receives the life of the Spirit who breathes charity into him and who forms the Church.

When we pray the traditional Angelus prayer, we conclude the prayer by making a petition for God’s grace (the Divine life) to be poured in our hearts. The demons will do all they can to keep God’s grace from flowing in your life and in your family.

Divine Light #2: God’s Authority

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. Mark 6:7

There is a hierarchy and an order God has established in the universe, and we are in it. I really had not considered this until I started studying Catholic spiritual warfare.

Example – think about the nine choirs of angels. There are nine different ranks of angels, the highest rank being the Seraphim, the ones who minister to God in heaven.

Despite all their glory and strength, there is one thing that a Seraphim does not have the power to do or even St. Michael the Archangel himself cannot do, but a Catholic priest has been given the power and authority by God to do:

The Catholic priest has been given authority by Christ to absolve us from our sins.

Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained. John 20:23

Absolution from sin is crucial in Catholic spiritual warfare. If you want to participate in the Divine life, repentance and absolution from sin, especially mortal sin, is a must.

CCC 1444 In imparting to his apostles his own power to forgive sins the Lord also gives them the authority to reconcile sinners with the Church…

Without repentance and absolution from our sins, we will never receive the flow of sanctifying grace God wishes to give us, and it may even prevent eternal salvation.

Divine Light #3: God’s Protection

But the righteous live forever, and in the LORD is their recompense, and the thought of them is with the Most High.

Therefore shall they receive the splendid crown, the beautiful diadem, from the hand of the LORD, For he will shelter them with his right hand, and protect them with his arm. Wisdom 5:15-16

Learning how to be better protected and delivered from evil in this life-long battle has been life changing. It’s somewhat like learning how to play a sport. You have to learn how to keep the other team from scoring points on you. The demons will attempt to drag you and your family down as much as God will allow.

Here are some effective ways to spiritually protect yourself and your family in Christ:

• Frequent participation in the Church Sacraments
• Fidelity to the Blessed Virgin Mary
• Praying the Holy Rosary
• Living a life of humility
• Church Sacramentals
• Prayer Devotions
• Scripture Study
• Faith in God
• Forgiveness
• Fasting
• Charity
• Purity

Please see a previous post here about spiritual protection from the diabolic.

RECAP

Here are 3 Divine lights given to us by God in the realm of Catholic spiritual warfare:

• Grace
• Authority
• Protection

Learn about how to make the most of these “Divine lights” to help combat the darkness that battles against us. If we stay in the light of Christ, we will hopefully win the righteous crown that awaits us in heaven. Just be advised, the devil is going to do everything he can to keep that from happening for you or anyone else in your family.

“Do not be surprised that, as time goes on, our ancient foe will fight all the harder to wipe out the Christian religion.” – St. Gregory VII

I hope to have posts that further discuss God’s grace and God’s authority. There’s one more thing to consider about spiritual warfare. It’s a full day each and every day. You have to push yourself to new levels. For Jesus, you have to give Him your all.

“Christ must be your breath, heart, love, life, your all.” – St.  John Eudes

May we all fight a good fight in the name of Jesus Christ with love and devotion +

READING

Stern as death is love, relentless as the nether world is devotion;

its flames are a blazing fire.

Deep waters cannot quench love, nor floods sweep it away.

Song of Songs 8:6b-7a

– I love you, Lord; you are my strength.

You keep me safe; your mighty power protects me.

Liturgy of the Hours Volume III p. 1137