Excerpt from Church Alive Album by Mother Nadine

“Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” (Lk 1:45)

One of the gifts we receive at Baptism is the gift of faith. Oftentimes these gifts can remain dormant. For example, the gift of faith that we received at Baptism could still be in that seed form. We might not have any more faith twenty years later than we had when we first received the gift if we don’t allow it to grow.

The gift of faith is such a special gift. St. Elizabeth commended Our Lady for this gift. She said, “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." Elizabeth is praising and commending Mary for Her faith. Faith is the key gift. It opens all the doors to the other gifts and treasures.

Faith allows us to speak freely to God. With Jesus we can ascend, if we believe that Jesus truly ascended; if we believe He is the Son of God; if we believe He is within us; and if we believe that with, in, and through Him, we can go right to the throne room of the Father. Look at the power of intercession when we know, that we know, that we know, that we have direct access to the Father. Knowing we have direct access to the Father gives us tremendous confidence.

This is the kind of believing that Queen Esther had when she was given the courage and deeper gift of faith to tell the king, “I beg that you spare the lives of my people” (Est 7:3). We need to go to the Father in the same way. Whichever way the Spirit is telling us to pray, we can ascend freely to the Father and tell him, “These are my people. This is my country. Don’t let any harm come. Send Your Spirit again. Send Your grace. Set them free.”

“And whatever you ask in My Name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (Jn 14:13)