Today is the feast day of Saint Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist. 10 things to know about her:
Elizabeth’s name means "God is faithful."
Her story is told in the beginning of Luke’s gospel.
A “daughter of Aaron” she was married to a priest named Zechariah. According to the Bible, the couple were "righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless".
They had no children, and Elizabeth was getting on in years. So when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and told him Elizabeth was going to have a son, Zechariah didn’t believe it. As a punishment, Zechariah lost his voice and couldn’t talk again until his son was born.
Elizabeth was a “relative” possibly a cousin, of The Virgin Mary.
During her pregnancy, Elizabeth went to visit Mary and the story goes that John leapt in Elizabeth’s womb when Mary spoke.
Elizabeth announced that Mary and her unborn child were blessed, and this proclamation forms part of the Catholic Hail Mary.
Elizabeth is mentioned in several books of the Apocrypha, especially the Protevangelion of James, which tells of the birth of her son, the murder of Zechariah, and her and miraculous escape with John during the Massacre of the Innocents.
She also gets a mention in the Qur'an and is revered by Muslims as a wise, pious and believing woman who, was exalted by God to a high station. She is not, however, mentioned by name in the Qur'an.
Elizabeth is the patron of pregnant women and her feast day is November 5. She is also commemorated on 30 March in Eastern Orthodox Church and in the Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican traditions on 5 September.
NEW!!
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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