20231222 FINDING FULFILMENT IN GOD’S PLAN
22 December 2023, Friday
First reading |
1 Samuel 1:24-28 © |
This is the child I prayed for: he is made over to the Lord.
When Hannah had weaned the infant Samuel, she took him up with her together with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the temple of the Lord at Shiloh; and the child was with them. They slaughtered the bull and the child’s mother came to Eli. She said, ‘If you please, my lord. As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the 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.’
There she left him, for the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm |
1 Samuel 2:1,4-8 © |
My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.
My heart exults in the Lord.
I find my strength in my God;
my mouth laughs at my enemies
as I rejoice in your saving help.
My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.
The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the weak are clothed with strength.
Those with plenty must labour for bread,
but the hungry need work no more.
The childless wife has children now
but the fruitful wife bears no more.
My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.
It is the Lord who gives life and death,
he brings men to the grave and back;
it is the Lord who gives poverty and riches.
He brings men low and raises them on high.
My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.
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.
My heart exults in the Lord my Saviour.
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Root of Jesse,
set up as a sign to the peoples,
come to save us
and delay no more.
Alleluia!
Or: |
Alleluia, alleluia!
King of the peoples
and cornerstone of the Church,
come and save man,
whom you made from the dust of the earth.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 1:46-56 © |
The Almighty has done great things for me
Mary said:
‘My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord
and my spirit exults in God my saviour;
because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid.
Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed,
for the Almighty has done great things for me.
Holy is his name,
and his mercy reaches from age to age for those who fear him.
He has shown the power of his arm,
he has routed the proud of heart.
He has pulled down princes from their thrones and exalted the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things, the rich sent empty away.
He has come to the help of Israel his servant, mindful of his mercy
– according to the promise he made to our ancestors –
of his mercy to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.
FINDING FULFILMENT IN GOD’S PLAN
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 SAMUEL 1:24-28; LUKE 1:46-56]
In today’s scripture readings, we have two women who were filled with great joy at the favours showered on them by the Lord. Hannah was barren and could not conceive a child. But her fervent prayers to the Lord was heard and she gave birth to Samuel. So great was her joy and gratitude to the Lord for taking away her shame that she was forever grateful to the Lord. What was the primary cause of her joy? Was it the fact that she had a son?
If so, how could we explain how heartless she was to return to the Temple a few years later to surrender her son willingly for the service of the Temple? She delivered her son to Eli saying, “If you please, my lord. As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the 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.” And the author said, “There she left him, for the Lord.”
The son is the most precious gift that no mother would ever want to give away, even for all the wealth and power the world can give. The mother’s love for a child is almost inseparable. In the book of Isaiah, God used this analogy to describe His love for His people. “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.” (Isa 49:15) Indeed, which mother can do what Hannah did in giving away her son, and at the tender age of three years old? Was Hannah heartless, or was she cruel to herself so that she could be kind to Samuel?
Why do women want to have children? In the ancient days, the meaning of womanhood was found in having children to continue the lineage of the family, or to provide labour to the family on the farm, or be soldiers for the country. In the past, it was to fulfil the needs of the husband. So women and children had a functional value. The woman found her meaning by being a wife to her husband and a mother to her children. But this is no longer the case because parents are no longer dependent on their children to look after them. Today, having children is a liability. They are not easy to look after, especially when both parents have full-time careers to manage. There are many demands which parents are unable to meet, especially giving time to their children. Most parents support their children financially even though they should be looking after them themselves. At any rate, parents cannot expect their grow-up children to stay with them. Most likely, if they study overseas, they would migrate and live there. But the parents can look after themselves because they have savings. They do not need their children to look after them. This is why modern couples do not want to burden themselves with children. They are happy to enjoy each other’s company and when they separate, they find a new partner. Materially, they can look after themselves.
So what is the cause of joy for women to be mothers today? Could it be the satisfaction and pride in seeing our children do well in life? They might be successful in the world, but are they happy and fulfilled? Most are not. They can be rich and holding a great job in society but their lives are miserable, lonely and often misunderstood. So how can we be happy when they are not fulfilled or happy, even if they are doing well in their careers?
This is why, the joy of motherhood is founded not so much in just having a child per se but to know that we are helping the child to fulfil the plan of God and in the process, we cooperate with God’s plan and find fulfilment and meaning for ourselves. Indeed, the real joy of Hannah and Mary did not come from the birth of their sons. It was the joy of participating in the plan of God, of knowing their part in God’s plan of salvation. This was why Hannah returned to the Temple to offer her son for the service of the Lord.
Having a role in God’s plan was Hannah’s greatest joy. This, too, was the case of Mary in today’s gospel when she sang the Magnificat, a hymn praise. It was not because she was a mother since she wanted to be a virgin for the Lord. The hymn illustrates Mary’s humility and thanksgiving for God’s mercy in her life because God had allowed her to play her part in the salvation of humanity by giving birth to our Lord. Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit exults in God my saviour; because he has looked upon his lowly handmaid. Yes, from this day forward all generations will call me blessed, for the Almighty has done great things for me.”
Mary was filled with gratitude at God’s mercy in choosing her to be the mother of the Saviour. For Mary, it was an even greater miracle not only because her Son was the Messiah, the Son of God, but also because the birth took place without the intervention of man but solely by God’s supernatural power. She was amazed at how the Lord worked in her life, a woman of the anawim, that is, among the lowly remnant of Israel and how the Lord made it possible for Joseph to accept this divine intervention. She knew that without God’s grace, nothing is impossible. So we can imagine the joy in Mary’s heart when Elizabeth recognized her as the Mother of her Lord under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Yet, just like Hannah, Mary was conscious that God’s gift and mercy to her was not her own. Both knew that having a child is a gift from God, not their right, unlike women of today, who would go against God’s plan and nature to conceive a child in the laboratory, and in the process kill so many embryos, which in truth are unborn babies. Mary saw the conception of our Lord as a mission given to her. She was receiving our Lord in her womb on behalf of the people of God. For the angel told her, “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Lk 1:32f)
Indeed, our children belong to God, and our task is to help them to find fulfilment in following the plan of God for them. Hannah knew that Samuel was given to her on loan. She did not possess the child as if the child belonged to her. She had a duty to offer him to the Lord after weaning him for whatever the Lord assigned him to do. She knew that God had a plan for her child, just like everyone else. Mary, too, after the birth of our Lord went to the Temple and consecrated her first-born child to the Lord.
Many parents today cannot even let go of their grown-up sons and daughters to join the priesthood or consecrated life. This is because they do not understand that they are called to fulfil the divine plan of God. However, both Hannah and Mary were very conscious that the child they had was for the people of God. In Hannah’s hymn of praise, she echoed the faith of Israel, “The bows of the mighty are broken, but the weak are clothed with strength. It is the Lord who gives life and death, he brings men to the grave and back; it is the Lord who gives poverty and riches. He brings men low and raises them on high. 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.” Mary too in her Magnificat echoed the same sentiments of Hannah; that God was using them and their sons to fulfil His promises to the lowly, poor and hungry, especially the anawim of Israel. It does not matter where the Lord assigns us. What is important is that if we cooperate with His plan for us, we will find fulfilment regardless of our status and position in life. Happiness and contentment is to be like Hannah, Elizabeth and Mary; Samuel, John the Baptist, and our Lord in doing God’s will and be God’s partners to bring salvation to humanity by following His plan for us.
Finally, both had confidence that God would look after them since He gave the child to them. For Hannah, putting her child in the Temple to serve the Lord would be the best and safest place for her son to be in so that he would grow to become a true servant of the Lord. For Mary, allowing her Son to serve His Father by dying for His people would be the greatest gift she could offer in thanksgiving to God. In the temple, she accepted the prophecy of Simeon in silence and contemplation. “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
Today as we approach nearer the feast of the gift of God in His Son, Jesus, to us at Christmas, let us be inspired in faith and in thanksgiving by Mary and Hannah for the great gift God has given to us. God had blessed us with many gifts in life, with marriage, children, a good career or meaningful vocation, health, money, good friends and, most of all, faith in Him. Let us not take these blessings from God lightly but ask ourselves how we can also in turn use His gifts to cooperate with God’s plan to bring His love to the world. According to our resources and position in life, we can share what we have with those who have not. We can share our faith with those who are despondent and hopeless. We can rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. We can help our children and our friends to find their vocation in life so that they can serve God and their fellowmen with passion and joy. Let us live our life always in thanksgiving and gratitude and we will find fulfilment.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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