THE ANOINTED BEARER OF GLAD TIDINGS The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, release to the prisoners, To announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God; To comfort all who mourn; to place on those who mourn in Zion a diadem instead of ashes, To give them oil of gladness instead of mourning, a glorious mantle instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of justice, the planting of the Lord to show his glory. Isaiah 61:1-3
God sent down His Spirit upon all His Children and His Spirit dwells within us all. As the Daughters of Zion, we know that Christ has anointed us with His Spirit. God will use us to bring His merciful love to all who do not see themselves in the light, freedom, and grace of God. He has sent us to help heal the broken. With this same Spirit and through the intercession of the first Daughter of Zion, Mary our Mother, we will proclaim Christ’s freedom to all who do not know Him and are bound to their sins. We will tell them that Christ has justified them in His death on the Cross. God’s Spirit flows through us, replacing all our sorrows with joy; by healing us, Christ has enabled us to help heal others. With God’s Spirit, we will be gentle and compassionate to all those who are downcast. God will give them all peace, joy, and hope to replace their despair. People will see God in us and know that we stand firmly rooted in Him. God will show His Glory through the Daughters of Zion.
We hear the call of God to raise us up as His healers. Through His mercy and by the power of His Spirit, we are able to respond to this call and minister to others. Our greatest desire is to obey God’s will to proclaim His truth to the captives and bring His freedom.
Arise! Shine, for your light has come, the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you. Isaiah 60:1
1. Trust We must live as daughters of God and look to Him as our Father because our identity is rooted in His gaze of love. We must learn to trust and depend on Him to take care of us and guide us. We place ourselves in the hands of our Father by submitting to God’s mercy and forgiveness. Our hope and confidence is fixed on God and God alone; therefore we will not hesitate to ask for His help and guidance. “Do not fear, Zion, do not be discouraged! The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior, who will rejoice over you with gladness and renew you in his love.” (Zephaniah 3:16-17)
2. Abandon We must completely abandon ourselves for God. This requires a continual surrender to Him. We must deny ourselves and imitate Christ by carrying our crosses. Through this we will be able to offer ourselves and all that is ours to God, our Father, for the sake of the Kingdom. “As for me, to be near God is my good, to make the Lord God my refuge. I shall declare all your works in the gates of daughter Zion” (Psalm 73:28). Our lives are completely fulfilled by God alone. By spending time with Him, we will radiate His glory to others.
3. Praise We heed the exhortation in scripture to, “Shout for joy, daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart,” because, “the Lord has removed the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies”. We must praise God in all circumstances throughout our lives. We recognize that He leads us through trials to bring us closer to Him. He purifies our hearts so that we are fit to love, courageous to suffer, and able to persevere in His strength. “The Lord is in your midst, you have no further misfortune to fear. On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear Zion, do not be discouraged!” (Zephaniah 3:14-16).
4. Open We must be open to allowing the Holy Spirit to work through our whole being. This openness builds on trust and abandonment so that we can expectantly await His gifts and charisms. He is our guide and directs us to follow the Father’s will. He has promised that He will not lead us astray.
5. Heal We have been created to know, love, and serve God on this earth so that we may live eternally with Him in heaven. When we see ourselves in the light of this truth, we are called out of the darkness and our lives are made new. The Lord desires vibrant, passionate, zealous life for us. This fills us with joy because we recognize His presence in our lives and we hope in his future coming. Trusting that the Lord wants us to be healed in all ways so that we can live in this manner, we ask the Lord to heal anything that is broken in us. We recognize spiritual healing as most important: Christ offers us freedom from the slavery of sin and its effects. We also rejoice in any physical healing that God gives. By His favor, we are either brought out of suffering or given the grace to endure it. As we journey through our own healing, we also aim to assist others in the healing they seek. Through His Spirit, we will recognize and minister to people as they present themselves to us, consequently building Zion in our midst.
We seek to emulate Mary and strive to become a sacrifice for perpetual praise to God our almighty Father through her care. As Mary brought Jesus, the ultimate Healer, into the world we allow Mary to use us as instruments of God’s healing power. The true Daughter of Zion is a powerful intercessor and we look to her obedient simplicity and her absolute surrender to God’s divine will. For she desires God’s will; all people will be gathered to become one, holy assembly of God. “At that time I will bring you home, at that time I will gather you; for I will give you renown and praise among all the peoples of the earth” (Zephaniah 3:20)
