ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Hannah's gratitude to God exceeds the desire for what she prayed for. We could learn from this kind of attitude especially when we are praying to God for something to come or happen. In the story we will find out that she was asking for a son and when God granted her prayer she gave it back to God. Where's the logic there? She should not have asked in the first place we may think. We're missing the point here if we think of it this way. Hannah teaches us to attach to God more than anything else. We must learn the art of detachment to all but God. In praying to God she acknowledged that God is generous, powerful, loving and will always provide what is best for us. She knew from the very beginning that we can never out give God. In giving back to God she ultimately learned the art of letting go of even our greatest desires to give honor to God. Amen. Hallelujah!


1 Samuel 1:24-28
24 In those days, Hannah brought Samuel with her, along with a threeyear- old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and presented him at the temple of the LORD in Shiloh. 25 After the boy’s father had sacrificed the young bull, Hannah, his mother, approached Eli 26 and said “Pardon, my lord! As you live my lord, I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD. 27 I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request. 28 Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD.” She left him there.

God calls the shots. In other words there is no use arguing or going against an All Knowing, Powerful, Holy, Merciful and Loving God. Do we still dare to contradict such a God whose steadfast love for us extends to the heavens? There is no use resisting His love. We just have to give our heart totally in return. Amen. Hallelujah!

1 Samuel 2:1, 4-5, 6-7, 8abcd
R: My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.
...“The LORD puts to death and gives life; he casts down to the nether world; he raises up again. 7 The LORD makes poor and makes rich, he humbles, he also exalts. (R) 8 “He raises the needy from the dust; from the ash heap he lifts up the poor, to seat them with nobles and make a glorious throne their heritage.”


We are reminded not to forget to acknowledge the goodness of God in our lives. Sometimes we have a tendency to overlook or neglect this important thing of acknowledgement. This reminds me of a terrible mistake I did in the past. I had my thesis manuscript printed and bounded but forgot to include the acknowledgement page. When my adviser knew about it he kidded me by saying, "Thanks to I, me and myself." Well I guess, it's really important that we acknowledge another person for what they did to us or most importantly God for that matter whom we owe everything. And to think that just this morning this acknowledgement thing was a point of discussion with someone very close to me. On top of that, the readings for today point to it as something we need to do and not overlook as demonstrated by these 2 popular and well loved personalities of faith. Mary's way of acknowledging the greatness of God is evident in this bible passage which is known as the Magnificat (Latin: [My soul] magnifies) — also known as the Song of Mary — is a canticle frequently sung (or spoken) liturgically in Christian church services. It is one of the 8 most ancient Christian hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian hymn. The text of the canticle is taken directly from the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:46-55) where it is spoken by the Virgin Mary upon the occasion of her Visitation to her cousin Elizabeth.[1] In the narrative, after Mary greets Elizabeth, who is pregnant with the future John the Baptist, the child moves within Elizabeth's womb. When Elizabeth praises Mary for her faith, Mary sings what is now known as the Magnificat in response. The canticle echoes several Old Testament biblical passages, but the most pronounced allusions are to the Song of Hannah, from the Books of Samuel (1Samuel 2:1-10) It is very appropriate also that today's 1st reading is about Hannah. These 2 women both echoes in their songs their deep gratitude for God. We can surely learn from their example and start developing in ourselves this sense of gratitude and acknowledgement to whom it is really due. Amen. Hallelujah!


Luke 1:46-56
46 Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; 47 my spirit rejoices in God my savior. 48 For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. 49 The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him. 51 He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. 52 He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. 53 The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. 54 He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, 55 according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”