A new gaming store opened recently near my house, and among a multitude of newer games was the great, long-lived standby of Dungeons and Dragons.

At college long ago, my “townies” group of friends played a lot of D & D. One evening, all of the gamers suddenly dissolved in great whoops of laughter and cheers and commenced with a bit of punching upon one guy named Richard. His character, Cedric, had just been clobbered by hundreds of lightning bolts.

Now, Cedric had been around a long time, perhaps several years and maybe even as long as they had been playing the game. Nobody else had a character that had survived anywhere nearly as long as Cedric, so each gathering included the other guys’ anticipation that perhaps Cedric would finally meet his maker. Instead, their own characters kept getting eaten by dragons or smashed by giants or taken out by some other monster or disaster — all on a roll of the dice.

Surely the lightning bolts had, finally, done him in.

But Richard opened his notebooks and began pouring through them. His careful records of all the weapons that Cedric had collected was quite extensive, so it took him awhile to comb through everything, searching for whatever might save Cedric in this time of great peril. In the meantime the other guys were laughing and celebrating because nothing they knew of could save good old Cedric.

They were getting rather rowdy — until Richard suddenly emitted a triumphant “HA!” Pages and pages and more pages back in his notes he found that Cedric had once picked up a cloak ... a cloak that repelled lightning. And so Cedric lived to see a new day in the world of Dungeons and Dragons.

Just as Richard had no idea those many moons ago that his character would have use for that cloak, so too, we do not always appreciate the value of our own spiritual arsenals.

The wonderful St. Patrick’s Breastplate prayer illustrates the gifts of our faith that allow us to “arise today.” One stanza reads: “I arise today, through God’s strength to pilot me, God’s might to uphold me, God’s wisdom to guide me ... God’s shield to protect me, God’s host to save me from snares of devils, from temptation of vices, from everyone who shall wish me ill, afar and near.”

Prayers like this can raise our awareness of the help we receive through faith. They can increase our gratitude to God for His ongoing assistance. And they can help us trust and rely upon God to a greater extent than before.

These spiritual weapons are available to all of us, but we do need to seek them and then take them into our spiritual storehouses.

We may be guided in significant, life-and-soul saving ways by words from our saints, for example — but only if we’ve read their works. A retreat or class might provide us with a spiritual practice or prayer that will come in mighty handy when an unexpected disaster or challenge befalls us — but only if we make the time to attend.

A religious leader could say something that will penetrate our hearts, help us see our surroundings with greater clarity and give us new insights or new directions for our path in life — but only if we take the time to listen.

Many people seem to approach faith as something composed of nice, feel-good little bits of nothing useful. Those who know better have welcomed many of the faith tools that are available, and they use what they have gained.

It can be very practical help. My life would look much, if not completely, different right now if not for specific words of St. Teresa of Jesus (of Avila) that the Holy Spirit shoved at me at the right point in time. Hard as they were to put into practice, they were the unmatched “marching orders” that kept my life on track when it could easily have derailed.

Like it was for Richard’s character, Cedric, so long ago, even the most obscure bit of wisdom we pick up today might prove invaluable in the future.

Let us arm ourselves and soldier on!