By William Selvaraj csc –
Readings: 1 Sam 1:24-28; Lk 1: 46-56
The first reading of the day speaks about the prayer of Hannah. She praises and thanks God for the gift of Samuel. Hannah exults in the Lord. No prayer is more beautiful when we communicate with God and use his own words to speak to him as Hannah did. Praying with the heart is praying from the very depth of our being because the heart is the centre of our spiritual life and commitment.
In today’s Gospel reading, we read the Magnificat. Mary realized God’s gift of choice to be blessed among all the women. And today, she invites us to reflect and thank God with her song of the Magnificat. Mother Mary begins her proclamation by praising God for looking upon the lowliness of his servant.
A personal question to each of us is, how many of us realize that by humbling ourselves, we gain God’s favour upon us? Knowing this, we can be sure that he will do great things in our lives. Mother Mary realized it when she replied with a humble ‘Yes’ to the Lord. She was a simple woman who chose to live a holy life and rose above all, to be the queen of all.
In our daily life, we are called to listen to God’s voice and answer; but are we listening? If we listen, are we saying ‘yes’ to his voice? And sometimes we do not even recognize his voice. God speaks to us in different ways, may be through our family, friends, and strangers. Mother Mary was able to recognize his voice that changed her entire life. It is an invitation to us to join today with Mother Mary to praise him for all his blessings and mercy.
May this coming Christmas be an opportunity to hear his voice and understand his plan for our lives. Let us give a firm answer to him as our beloved Mother Mary said ‘Yes’ to the will of God.