👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾The Rest of #Saint #Elizabeth (#Meskerem 7)
Beloved in Christ, faithful followers of the holy Church , we greet you in the peace of God. On this blessed day, the Holy Church commemorates the repose of the righteous and glorious Saint Elizabeth, the mother of Saint John the Baptist, the Forerunner of our Lord. Let us, therefore, recall her life with reverence, and learn from her faith and steadfastness.
✍🏾 Her Ancestry and Family
Saint Elizabeth was born from the house of Levi, from the priestly line of Aaron. Through Aaron came Tekta and Trika, and from them Hermela was born. Hermela, a woman of virtue, was joined in marriage to a blessed man named Matat, and from their union came three holy daughters.
👉🏾The first was Mary, who bore Saint Salome.
👉🏾The second was Sophia, who bore Saint Elizabeth.
👉🏾The third was Anna, who bore the Virgin Mary, the Queen of Heaven and Earth.
Thus, the Virgin Mary, Saint Elizabeth, and Saint Salome are bound together in one holy family, sanctified by the will of God.
Her Marriage and Conception of John
✍ Her Marriage and Conception of John
In due time, Elizabeth was given in marriage to the priest Zechariah, a man righteous and blameless before the Lord. Yet, though they walked uprightly, they were barren and without child. But when Zechariah was one hundred years old and Elizabeth ninety , the mercy of God visited them. By the Annunciation of the Angel, Elizabeth conceived the great prophet, Saint John the Baptist, on Meskerem 26. For six months she hid herself in wonder at the miracle wrought within her.
The Visitation of the Mother of God
When the Virgin Mary heard of Elizabeth’s blessed state, she went to visit her. As the Mother of God greeted her kinswoman, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave thanks with a loud voice. The child in her womb, Saint John, leapt for joy at the sound of the Virgin’s voice and, though yet unborn, he bowed in worship before the Creator who was being carried in the Virgin’s womb. Thus the Forerunner bore witness to Christ even from the hidden place of his mother’s womb.
The Trial and the Raising of John
When John was but two years and six months old, Herod the cruel king sent forth soldiers to slaughter the innocents in Israel. In those days, Elizabeth took her child and fled, hiding him in the wilderness. Zechariah the priest was slain between the altar and the temple for refusing to betray the child. Alone and widowed, Elizabeth raised John in the wilderness of Ziph. There he grew in purity, sustained by the providence of God, until the day of his ministry.
Her Rest
On this day, Meskerem 7, Elizabeth departed from this earthly life on the monastery of zifata and entered into eternal rest, having fulfilled her role as mother of the Prophet, the Forerunner,
Let us, therefore, honor her memory, giving glory to God who chose her womb to bring forth the herald of His Christ. May her prayers and intercessions strengthen us to walk in humility and obedience, as she did, until we also come to rest in the eternal Kingdom.
May the name of the Holy God be praised forever and ever in every tongue that He has created, today and always.
May the blessings of God's mother, the virgin, and the cross be upon us.
Amen.
© John's Repentance
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