Month: January 2019

Why did I choose this as the name for my blog? The Armor of God passage from Ephesians 6:10-24 was the passage I shared with Evan in my letter to him for his Senior Retreat. It has become near and dear to my heart and an integral part of my grief and depression therapy, as well as the catalyst that spawned the Armor of God Septet. This Septet is a devotional that I arranged in memory of Evan, and with the help of Fr. Garrett O’Brien, I received approval from Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans to share it with others as a devotional, to be prayed like the Rosary or other Chaplets and Devotions. The “E7” is derived from “E”van and his soccer number, “7”. Those are the reasons for choosing the name as it is.

(Evan was called home on 4/2/2017 at the age of 17.  This is a portion of the letter I sent to Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans.  He approved this septet to be used and spread as a devotional prayer on 12/5/2017.)

I just wanted to give you a little backstory on my reasons for doing this and how the septet came about.  I used to pray the St. Michael’s Chaplet daily.  I taught Evan the chaplet as well.  He prayed that chaplet, the rosary, and other prayers.  The first 4 months after his passing were tremendously tough for me.  I was struggling to hold on to my faith, feeling selfish for wanting my son back, and being self-destructive while still trying to keep everything together.  Along the way, I found things Evan had written, such as papers or essays for school, a journal he kept, his prayer cards and books, and his bibles.  I knew he had a strong faith, but I did not realize the magnitude of his faith.  I also know how much he prayed, not only to praise God, but also for help in the struggles of everyday normal teenage life in a world full of trials and tribulations.  Also, during that period, I came across the letter I had written to him for his Senior Retreat.  In this letter, I shared Ephesians 6:10-24 with him.  Though I did not see it fully yet, that was the beginning of the inspiration.  I never would have imagined in sharing that passage with him then, would it take on this new meaning for me because of his death.  I shared that scripture passage on Facebook, explaining how I shared the passage with him in his retreat letter. Some friends of ours called and said they had something to share with us if we had time.  The friend brought me a piece of wood that was in his barn where he says his prayers.  On that piece of wood was the passage, as well as a picture of St. Michael.  He said something told him, when he saw the passage on Facebook, that he needed to give the wood scripture passage to me.  This was another sign, all though not fully understood yet. 

Fast forward to the weekend of August 17^th-20^th 2017.  I was given the opportunity to attend the weekend retreat at Manresa.  I had the pleasure of having Greg Raymond as the retreat master.  All I can say is my life changed tremendously.  The program for the weekend put me back on track, recharged my spiritual batteries, and put me in a position that I haven’t felt in many years.  I have never felt closer to God, than I did at Manresa. Since then, my spiritual life has changed dramatically.  I pray daily now, morning and night, and during the day when I find quiet time.  I actually turn off the radio on my way to and from work and use that silent time to pray.  This has provided me an hour each day, that I work, to pray.  It has also made my road rage almost non-existent and helps clear my mind of everything but God.  I also began saying the St. Michael Chaplet again.  That was the second step of the inspiration to do this.  I was able to get my prayer life back in order and on track.

It is hard for me to sit at home by myself since Evan’s passing.  Sometimes, I would just sit and stare at the walls, or his pictures, or just off into space, with no desire to do anything or nothing to occupy that idle time.  In years past, I would make beaded rosaries and chaplets.  I also made knotted twine rosaries and chaplets.  I hadn’t made any in years until after All Saint’s Day 2017.  That was a rough day for me.  I said numerous St. Michael Chaplets that day by family and friend’s graves.  That was when I decided to start making the twine chaplets.  I decided to make quite a few St. Michael Chaplets to occupy my time, and also to donate to St. Charles Catholic when they dedicate the chapel.  I want to place them by the statue of St. Michael that they are supposed to be putting there in memory of Evan.  That was the third sign of the inspiration.  I was sitting on the sofa making a chaplet when the inspiration came to me.  Create a chaplet, or septet as I have called it, in remembrance of Evan.  Seven, being Evan’s soccer jersey number, and also the number of God throughout scripture, a very powerful number.  When I finished the chaplet that I was working on, I began to create the septet. 

One large knot, followed by seven small knots, repeated seven times to form the circle.  On the drop to the cross, seven knots.  So here I am with the completed septet and need to decide on what the prayers used should be.  I figured the five I say continuously on my way to and from work would fit.  The Our Father, the Hail Mary, Glory Be, Fatima Prayer, Hail Holy Queen would be the first five prayers of each septet.  On Sunday, November 12^th, 2017, after mass, I sat down and started going through prayer books and online to see which other prayers would work best to complete and fill in the prayer spots that needed to be filled.

My first step was to complete the list of seven prayers for each septet.  I already had the first five chosen.  I wanted to include St. Michael’s Prayer so that got me to six.  While going through prayers, I came across Come Holy Spirit and it just jumped off the page to me.  It spoke to me and let me secure the seven septet prayers. 

The next step was to figure out which prayers to use as concluding prayers on the drop knots toward the cross.  St. Francis Prayer was definitely my first choice.  Evan loved St. Francis.  He was so happy to follow in his footsteps on their trip to Rome.  The rest of the prayers began to fall into place as I searched.  St Augustine’s Prayer to the Holy Spirit for strength in the defense of faith.  The Prayer for the Unborn because of Evan’s strong opposition to abortion.  The Prayer for Our Country because of his patriotism, love of country, and desire to serve in the military.  The Prayer for All Humanity because of his strong desire to make this world a better place and help all those in need.  Give Me Strength Lord really spoke to me when I read it, and I did not as of yet realize just how much it fit into the grand theme of the septet.  And conclude with the Thank You God Prayer because it sums up the whole purpose or reason we pray, to give thanks to God.  Fr. Matthew Johnston made that clear in his homily at morning mass on November 15^th, 2017.  To finish up the prayers, I decided to include the Agnus Dei on the cross, before concluding the septet with the Sign of the Cross.  Evan loved serving the Latin masses with Fr. Garrett O’Brien.  That is why I wanted to include the Agnus Dei.

I sat there, organizing the prayers in the order to be said and proof reading the septet explanation, and realized something was missing to tie the whole septet together.  The Rosary has Mysteries, St. Michael’s Chaplet has Salutations, so what could I come up with for the intro to each septet.  I just wasn’t sure if I should come up with some inspirational line for each one or make up a prayer or intention for each one.  So, I sat on the sofa, contemplating what to do, when I glanced to my left and saw the piece of wood given to me with the Armor of God scripture on it.  I pulled up the scripture and started to dissect it so it would fit into each septet properly and appropriately. 

The passage fits the theme of the septet perfectly.  The power of prayer, the need for prayer, the calling out to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit for help in our daily lives, the intercession of Mary, our Mother, the Angels and Saints, to feed off of the word of God and strengthen our relationship with Him, to ask for His help and protection to make it through each day, to strive to be a better person each day, to fight off the snares and temptations of Satan, and to spread the gospel and love of God. 

On the soccer field, Evan’s position was that of a defender.  In life, he was a defender of the faith, of the weak, of the unborn, and of our country.  He believed in service to God, country, and others.  He was never in it for his own personal gains.  He was always thinking of others over himself.  I really think that his desire to serve in the military was the main thing stopping him from choosing a life in the priesthood.  He believed in spreading the word and love of God to others.  I feel obligated to continue the work he started, which is to try and help all that we can and bring them closer to God, and in doing so, bring ourselves closer to God through deeds and prayer.  I know it may not be the same as the visions at Fatima, or the visions that Antonia d’Astonac, or any others who were able to experience such wonders, but it was definitely inspiration brought upon me from a higher power.  Everything came together all at once to create this. 

Since Evan’s passing, I have become more aware of things such as signs and other things that once might have been passed off as coincidence.  It was no coincidence that I shared the Armor of God passage with Evan in his Senior Retreat letter, or on Facebook, or receiving the piece of wood.  It is no coincidence that a spot at Manresa, which is always hard to come by, was available to me, or that Greg Raymond was retreat master that weekend, or my going to mass more often and praying more and starting to make twine chaplets again.  To me, there are no coincidences anymore.  My eyes have been opened to see things more clearly.  I hate the fact that it took Evan’s death to get me closer to God, but without his death, none of this would have happened.  I kept ignoring the signs I was being shown, or just wasn’t looking at them in the correct light.  I also did not realize the amount of people that Evan touched in his much too short life.  We still have people sharing stories with us of things we had no idea that he had done, or how much of an inspiration that he was to them. 

In conclusion, the septet serves a two-fold purpose for me.  One, it was inspired by the life, values, and beliefs of Evan, which allows me to keep him near me and feel his presence even more when I recite it.  Secondly, it allows me to share a part of him with everyone else who knew him or did not know him and allow him to continue his mission of serving the Lord by helping others and bringing them closer to God through scripture and prayer. 

There it is. The story behind the name “Armor of God – E7” and the inspiration for the creation of the Armor of God Septet Devotional.

God Bless You All,

You Are in My Prayers,

Scott

(If you are interested in getting a septet and pamphlet on how to pray the devotional, contact me on here or through Facebook and I will do all I can to get it to you. I do not charge anything for them, but do accept donations to cover the costs of twine and pamphlets.)