Saint Elizabeth's Blessing

"'And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.'"  (Luke 1:45)



When I was going through my private retreat in preparation for my consecration to Merciful Love, this was one passage that I tried to keep in my heart.  It is Saint Elizabeth's blessing, at the Visitation, to Mary.  Mary believed that what Saint Gabriel the Archangel said to her, from the Lord, would be fulfilled--even as impossible as it sounded (a virgin giving birth?).  And that is why she is blessed.

One of the first lessons I learned through reading Father Michael E. Gaitley's books is that all sin is derived ultimately from fear and distrust of God--even though God is the source of trust itself and isn't capable of being untrustworthy or of wanting to be.



In thinking about this, I have now begun to think about the various promises that God has made to man throughout history--in particular, His covenantal promises, and more specifically those that are unconditional.

The first recorded covenant in the Bible is that made with Noah and his family after the Flood.  "'I establish My covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.'"  (Genesis 9:11)  Blessed are we who believe that the world will not flood and destroy all life on earth again.

Next is the covenant made with Abram (later to be renamed Abraham): "And He brought him outside and said, 'Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.'  Then He said to him, 'So shall your descendants be.'"  (Genesis 15:5)  Blessed are we who believe that the descendants of Abraham (both by blood and especially by faith) will not be snuffed out.

Next is the covenant made through Moses, the permanent part of which is the Ten Commandments.  Blessed are we who believe that God will not abandon us, will not cease to be our God.  Blessed are we who believe that God shows "'...mercy to thousands of those who love Me and keep My Commandments.'"  (Exodus 20:6)

Then is the covenant made with King David of Israel.  "'"And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before Me; your throne shall be established for ever."'" (2 Samuel 7:16)  Blessed are we who believe that the House of David reigns over Israel forever, and will never lose authority nor be snuffed out.



Finally there is the New Covenant in the Blood of Christ.  "'...for this is My Blood of the Covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'"  (Matthew 26:28)  Blessed are we who believe that Christ's Blood, shed on the Cross and drunk in Holy Communion at Mass, forgives the sins of many.



Blessed are we who believe especially when it seems least possible.



In this day and age there is "climate change" fearmongering, which sows seeds of doubt in our minds as to God's promise never to flood the world and destroy all life on earth again.  It sows seeds of fear that our efforts might raise the global temperature, melt the polar ice caps, raise the ocean levels, and flood the land--and it sows the desire not only to prevent this at all costs, as though it were a possibility, but to have a "contingency plan" in case it does happen (like colonizing outer space).    And the sign of this covenant, the rainbow, has become co-opted by the LGBTQ+ movement, a movement promoting dangers to our immortal souls.

Blessed are we who do not fear this but trust God's promise.  We must respect the Lord's creation because He created it and we did not, but He created it for us, and it is not within our power to bring about a flood He promised would never happen again.



In this day and age there is fearmongering of the potential for human extinction, which especially got underway with the arrival of the atomic age after World War II.  Even before that, there was what's called the Holocaust, which has unjustly been raised to the level of a religious dogma since the Allied victory in World War II--rooted in attempted genocide.

Blessed are we who do not fear this but trust God's promise.  We must respect all children of Abraham, by blood and by faith, and even to take a single human life (even a non-child of Abraham) is a sin that cries out to God for justice--but it is not within our power to extinguish all children of Abraham, either Jews or Christians, and we need not fear such a thing being possible.



In this day and age the West is no longer rooted in God's Covenant, so that the Ten Commandments are removed from public places.  Again, fear and distrust of God leads to doubt being sowed that God shows mercy to those who love Him and keep His Commandments.  Instead, we get a distorted view of an "Old Testament God" (as if it were God and not our relationship to Him that had changed) who calls down fire and brimstone at the slightest provocation--a God who, if He existed, would make life a constant nightmare, thereby creating the temptation to believe that God doesn't exist at all (or at least doesn't care about us--and maybe doesn't even know about us).

Blessed are we who do not fear this but trust God's promise.  We do not have license to do whatever we want, but God gives us His Commandments for our sake--even less than we do, God doesn't want us to suffer punishment for our sins.



In this day and age we are taught to give unequivocal support of the State of Israel, a republic that recognizes no king, certainly not Jesus Christ the Son of David.  We are even taught that to do less is to be "anti-Semitic".

Blessed are we who do not fear this but trust God's promise.  Israel is the first chosen nation of God, and God will never abandon her--and we must bless and not curse God's chosen people--but for her own sake Israel must accept her true King and God, and to support Israeli rejection of Him is as anti-Semitic as it gets, and worse than anti-Semitic.



In this day and age we are taught that there are sins too great to be forgiven (and that these are few), and that other sins aren't sins at all but are merely called so by phobic people (and these are many).  We are taught that the bread and wine at Mass do not become the Body and Blood of Christ but only that Catholics believe this.  We are taught to question whether God exists, or even whether Jesus of Nazareth existed as a historical Person, irrespective of whether He is the Son of God or not.  We are taught that it is within our own power to prevent and undo sin, and therefore that if we fail, we are entirely to blame--or else the sin isn't sin at all.  We are also taught that it is within our own power to achieve immortality--and therefore to escape the wages of sin that is death.

Blessed are we who do not fear this but trust God's promise.  There are sins deserving of the worst possible punishment, and even the least of sins keeps us out of God's loving embrace--but He mercifully keeps us alive that we might repent and return to Him before it's too late.



Blessed are we who believe that there will be a fulfillment of what is spoken to us from the Lord.



Thank you for being with me.  God bless you.