God answers every prayer.
"I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted my request." (Hannah - mother of the Prophet Samuel).

"In those days, Hannah brought Samuel with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and presented him at the temple of the Lord in Shiloh.

"After the boy’s father had sacrificed the young bull, Hannah, his mother, approached Eli and said: “Pardon, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the Lord.

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted my request.

"Now I, in turn, give him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the Lord.” She left Samuel there. (1 Samuel 1:  26 - 28).

Thursday 22nd December 2022 of the 4th Week of Advent.

This Thursday, our key Scripture is taken from the first Reading (1 Samuel 1: 24 - 28). This is the story of the extraordinary generosity of Hannah, the mother of the Prophet Samuel. We know the story. This is the testimony of Hannah, the mother of Samuel to the high priest Eli.

Hannah is one of my favorite Bible characters. Why?
+ Hannah believes in prayer.
+ She believes in miracle.
+She has an incredible spirit of gratitude.

Hannah was barren. She pleaded with God for a son. At last, the Lord heard Hannah and granted her the little Samuel. When Samuel was 3 years old, Hannah brought Samuel to the Temple of the Lord and dedicated him to the Lord.  Look at the accompanying image in this narrative. The little boy had never seen anyone like the high priest with his huge beard and robed in the high priestly vestment. Little Samuel was frightened and clung tightly to his mother's gown. After the dedication, Hannah went home and left Samuel at the Shrine.

Where have we noticed such extravagant generosity to God in the Bible? We notice it in people who respond to God's Call and Mission AT ONCE. We may call these people the AT ONCE People.

The AT ONCE people hear the Call or Inspiration from God. They respond At Once. No going home to consider it. The Blessed Virgin Mary is an At Once person.  She heard the message from the Archangel Gabriel, she said YES AT ONCE. She learned that Elizabeth was pregnant and the Holy Spirit inspired her to visit Elizabeth. Mary said Yes again At Once.

Other At Once People in the New Testament are: Simeon and Anna who waited for the birth of Jesus for decades. John and James, Peter and Andrew. All these people responded At Once to the Call of God. They marked their response with total dedication and generosity.

The Widow's Mite. (Mark 12:41–44, Luke 21:1–4). This is a story of another big generosity to God.

What are the lessons for us from Hannah's gesture to God?

#1 You can never out do God in generosity.
#2 Do not be afraid to offer all your time, talent and treasure to God.

God raises the needy from the dust; from the dung heap He lifts up the poor, to seat them with nobles and make a glorious throne their heritage. (Cf 1 Samuel 2: 8).

"O King of all nations and keystone of the Church:
come and save man, whom you formed from the dust!"

"The Virgin Mary, my Mother of Perpetual Help, the Mediatrix of all graces, will look after all the details, even as she did in Saint John’s home when she lived with him." (IN SINU JESU, Thursday, October 4, 2007 Saint Francis of Assisi).

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“St. Joseph was an ordinary sort of man on whom God relied to do great things. He did exactly what the Lord wanted him to do, in each and every event that went to make up his life. That is why Scripture praises Joseph as ‘a just man’. And in Hebrew a just man means a good and faithful servant of God, someone who fulfills the divine will, or who is honorable and charitable toward his neighbor.” (St. Josemaria Escriva).

"This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.

"When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.

"Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.

"Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,

“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.

"She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

"All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,

"which means “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.  (Matthew 1: 18 - 24).

Sunday 18th December 2022 of the 4th Week of Advent.

Here comes Joseph! The three members of the Holy Family are named in our Gospel of today: Mary, Joseph and Jesus-Emmanuel.
Who is Joseph?

St Joseph is the man chosen by God to be the foster father and guardian of Jesus.

God communicates with us through a variety of ways, viz:
#1. Inspiration
#2. Locution
#3. Sacred Scripture
#4.  Prophetic person /message
#5.  Dream

St Joseph is a man of dreams.  Matthew recorded 4 Dreams of Joseph in the Infancy Narrative:
1. Matthew 1: 24
2. Matthew 2: 13
3. Matthew 2: 19
4. Matthew 2:  22

"When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home."  (Matthew 1: 24).
Joseph is a very docile and obedient man.

Joseph is a just and considerate man.  Consider what he did faced with the evidence that Mary was carrying a child not his own:
"Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly."  (Matthew 1:  19).

Joseph is a man of high purity and chastity. God chose him to be the husband of Mary because God had fitted him with the appropriate graces to protect the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Joseph the humble carpenter is the patron saint of workers.  He understands that genuine labor is collaborating with God where, what and when you are assigned.

The Church considers St Joseph the greatest Saint after the Blessed Virgin Mary. Joseph is so fittingly named the Patron of the Universal Church.  Remember that he was the Guardian of Jesus and in his intercessory role, you can believe that Jesus will deny nothing to Joseph.

One week today is the end of Waiting. The Glorious Christmas!

"O Leader of the House of Israel, giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai: come to rescue us with your mighty power!"

"Such a man was Saint Joseph. He was the living image of My Father, and he was chosen by My Father to be a father to Me in My sacred humanity. Let My priests go to Saint Joseph. He will obtain for them this priceless gift of spiritual fatherhood, and he will guide them in the delicate and difficult work of being true fathers to souls." (IN SINU JESU, Friday, November 15, 2013).

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“So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away m...(LUCA 1, 25)
God is always on time. Always faithful to His promises.

"In the days of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years.

"Once when he was serving as priest in his division’s turn before God, according to the practice of the priestly service, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense. Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering, the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense. Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him.

"But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.”

"Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel said to him in reply, “I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”

"Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute.

"Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home.

"After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she went into seclusion for five months, saying, “So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others.” (Luke 1: 5 - 25).

Monday 19th December 2022 of the Week of Advent.

God intervened miraculously to heal the wife of Manoah, Samson's mother of advanced barrenness. First Reading (Cf Judges 13: 2 - 25). God did the same wonders for Elizabeth, the wife of the priest Zechariah. Both women conceived and gave birth to miracle kids who played significant role in salvation history.

What God does once, He can replicate. (Cf Revelations 19: 10). These miracle stories are not just historical narratives. They are personal word of God to us. We find our place in the narrative, insert our situations and emulate the faith that is demonstrated. When we do this, we receive our miracle and everyone glorifies God.

"O Root of Jesse’s stem,
sign of God’s love for all his people: come to save us without delay!"

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“I have great hopes in your love for Christ and for men. There is a great deal to be done. Let us set out with renewed enthusiasm; united with Christ, under the motherly gaze of the Virgin, Our Lady of Guadalupe the sweet mother of priests and religious.” (Pope John Paul II)

"The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.

"And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”

"But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

"Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”

"But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”

"And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

"Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.”

"Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her." (Luke 1: 25 - 38).

Monday 12th December 2022 of the 3rd Week of Advent is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The Church honors the Mother of the Redeemer with the title of Lady, Mother, Queen, Virgin, etc. Different titles to honor and show our love and devotion to the Holy Mother of God. The story of Our Lady of Guadalupe started in 1531 long before the United States of America. Mary appeared to Juan Diego, a young Aztec man. She was dressed as a simple pregnant Mexican woman. She left an imprint of herself on the tilma of Juan Diego. This Tilma is intact and is venerated today by pilgrims from all over the world.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the preeminent titles of Mary because of the significance of the event in Guadalupe, Mexico in 1531 and its continued relevance to the faith of Christians in the Americas because Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Patroness of the the Americas not just Mexico. The Blessed Virgin Mary's apparition to St Juan Diego on December 12, 1531 set off a series of events, conversions, miracles and the building of a great Church which has since become a Basilica. It is estimated that annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of Guadalupe is about 10 million.

In our key Scripture for today, the Archangel Gabriel gave Mary a testimony of God's marvelous miracle for Elizabeth in order to confirm Mary's faith. I love to hear stories of miracles. They build my faith. You too should cherish miracle stories. Better still, don't hide the wonderful things God is doing for you. Expect a miracle every day and share the story.

Mary said to Gabriel after she heard of Elizabeth big miracle, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1: 36 - 38).

If you like to learn more about the Blessed Virgin Mary through her Litany, click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2020/12/litany-of-blessed-virgin-mary.html?m=1

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