The Sword

Prince George Castriotto was a famous Christian hero and warrior. The Mohammedans were extremely afraid of him because he was so strong that he could swing a battle-sword with such might that the heads of his enemies fell off with one blow!

Sultan Mahomet, who had heard much about Prince George's bravery, asked to see his sword. The Prince sent his sword to the Sultan but Mahomet was not able to swing it, and none of the men of his court could swing the sword either! The Sultan was very angry and returned the sword to the Prince with a message saying, "I do not believe that the sword you sent to me is the sword that you actually use in battles! And I believe that you sent me your sword in mockery, just to make fun of me and my men!"

To this the Prince replied, "I sent you my sword, but not my arm!"

Of what good is a thing if a person does not know how to use it? Of what good is the best weapon, if a person does not know how to use it? God has given us many weapons to protect ourselves against the devil who is the enemy of our soul. The strongest weapon against the devil is Holy Communion; which is Jesus Himself!

The other Sacraments are also very great weapons against the devil, for example: Baptism, Confirmation, and Confession. Then there is the glorious power of the Mass. St. Padre Pio said that it is easier for the world to exist without the sun, than without the Mass! The Rosary is also a most powerful weapon to fight the devil and his agents from hell. There are also weapons like Holy Water, the Sign of the Cross, the Holy Names of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and Sacramentals like the Miraculous Medal of Our Lady of Grace or the St. Benedict Medal.

But what good are all these things without the grace of God? If we do not have grace from God, we will not be able to use these things in the right way. And even with God's grace, we must use these things properly; otherwise they will be as useless as Prince George's sword in the hand of Mahomet!

This strength, this grace, is our faith in God. Jesus says in Matthew 17:19 "…For, amen I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain: Remove from hence hither, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you."

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