Lumen Fidei #8: So Mote It Be!

From #23: He is the same God that Isaiah will later call, twice in one verse, the God who is Amen, "the God of truth" (cf. Is 65:16), the enduring foundation of covenant fidelity.

Welcome to another interfaith lesson from your favorite convert! So, what does "amen" mean? "So be it." What does "So mote it be" mean? "So be it."

What is "So mote it be"? It the traditional ending of prayers that was used by the Freemasons and has been adopted by Neo-Pagans.

Thought to ponder: "Witches" and Christians end their prayers in the same way.*

I want to speculate on what deeper truth this similarity could point to. What does this say about God?

The quote above talks about God as "the enduring foundation of covenant fidelity."

God's covenant with Abraham

Oftentimes, we pray because we're asking for something. It really doesn't matter what religion you follow. If you believe in a deity, you're going to ask that deity for something.

God's covenant with His people was and still is a covenant of trust. The people follow and trust in God. God stays with and favors His people.

It takes a lot of trust to ask for something and consider it done. "So be it," isn't a request. It's a statement.

We are supposed to trust in God and God is completely worthy of that trust.

* I put "witches" in quotation marks because I know some followers who are insulted by that term. I used it because that is the term that most outsiders know them by.

This is part of a series of reflections on quotes from Pope Francis' first encyclical, Lumen Fidei. For the other parts, go here.