WEDNESDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF ADVENT - 2021

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

King of the peoples

and cornerstone of the Church,

come and save man,

whom you made from the dust of the earth.

1 SAMUEL 1:24-28 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Unlike Hannah, few mothers are willing to offer their children wholeheartedly to God and to His service. She prayed with tears for years for the gift of a child and God granted her her heart's desire. She believed that she received him from the hand of God and she willingly returned him to God to be raised in His temple.

If only we had the spirit of Hannah we too would accept our children as given to us from the hand of God and we would raise them with fear and trembling because we would know that the children given to us are on trust and we would raise them to grow in awe and fear of the Lord.

Our world would not be in such a sorry mess if we were Godfearing parents raising Godfearing children. But the sad truth is that spiritually impoverished parents raise spiritually impoverished children and the world seems ready to self-implode because of willful ignorance. 

May we echo Hannah's prayer today and always as we dedicate and entrust our children to You and to Your service, Lord, 

‘This is the child I prayed for, and the Lord granted me what I asked him. Now I make him over to the Lord for the whole of his life. He is made over to the Lord.’

(Responsorial Psalm)
1 SAMUEL 2:1,4-8 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

As we read Hannah's exultant song of praise on being granted the gift of a child we recognize so much of it echoed in Your own Mother Mary's Magnificat.

Hannah's baby was miraculously conceived since she was barren, whereas Mary's baby was far more miraculous and spectacular because the Babe conceived in her womb was of the Holy Spirit and of God and her Babe was God and the Son of God.

Hannah was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit recognizing how God had looked with compassion as she prayed with intense longing for a child who would take away the shame of her barren womb.

Beloved, let us never forget that all we receive is from the hand of a gracious God and the more we recognize our nothingness and rely on the good of God the more will be filled with His peace, joy, love, and abiding presence in our lives. You, O Lord, never fail those who place all their hope and trust You.

He lifts up the lowly from the dust,

from the dungheap he raises the poor
to set him in the company of princes
to give him a glorious throne.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
on them he has set the world.

LUKE 1:46-56 ©

My Soul's Beloved,

Mary's Magnificat teaches us how to turn our gaze away from ourselves and center it on God alone. 

After the Annunciation, we are told that Mary went in haste to visit her cousin for the Angel Gabriel had told her that Elizabeth who was barren had conceived in her old age and was already in her sixth month, adding, 'For nothing is impossible for God.' 

The minute her cousin saw her, the baby in her womb through the power of the Holy Spirit recognized that he was in the presence of God and leaped for joy, and Elizabeth, also inspired by the Holy Spirit, exclaimed with a loud cry:

‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your
womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’

And Mary's response in praise of God is a hymn of triumphant exultation of God who chooses who He will, raises who He wills, blesses who He wills, and crowns who He wills with glory, honor, and grace. Of all the women ever born of Adam and Eve God's gaze rested on Mary, she was God's choice, she was God's handiwork, His masterpiece. There never was and never will be so glorious a creature fashioned by the Triune God so wondrously as Mary, the Mother of God, and our Mother.

Mary stayed three months until Elizabeth's baby, the precursor to the Son of God, and her Son as well, was born.