St. Elizabeth of Toss

Excerpt from ' Revelations to St. Elizabeth of Toss'

Blessed Virgin speaks to St. Elizabeth

"When, therefore, I was completely consumed within by the love of God, and experienced such great sweetness from him that for his sake, the whole world grew worthless in my sight, and one day with devout mind was alone in my private chamber, suddenly the Angel Gabriel was with me and, as the gospels say, greeted me saying, 'Hail, full of grace …' When I heard this greeting I was terrified at first, but afterwards I was comforted and reassured by his friendly and loving conversation, not doubting that the message he brought was true. I flung myself on the ground and on bended knees with joined hands I worshipped and said, 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord,' and so on. Having said this, I was immediately rapt in ecstasy. Divine grace flooded me in such fulness that I experienced great sweetness and consolation in my soul. And in that rapture the Son took flesh from my purest blood, without any thought or carnal pleasure on my part.

"The principal reason God did me this grace was the faith and humility with which I gave full credence to the angel's words, and humbled myself completely and yielded to the divine will. And so he condescended to bestow on me so great a grace. So you too, daughter, in all that God promises you or does, do not hesitate from lack of faith or resist him, saying, 'Lord, why are you doing this to me?' But following my example say, 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord,' and so on. Even if sometimes what he promised you is not fulfilled, or what has been bestowed on you by the Lord is taken away from you, blame yourself and think that you have committed some offence in the sight of the divine majesty, on account of which the divine decree has changed. Therefore anyone who wants to obtain eternal life must obey God's commands from his heart in firm faith, submitting himself to him through true humility and obedience, because these are the opposites of the two sins of our first parents, Adam and Eve, who lost the grace and dignity in which they had been created on account of pride and disobedience."