ST. JUDE & ENGR. JUDE

 Hannah reminds me a lot of myself when I was pregnant with my son, Jude. And in the same way, Eli reminds me of St. Jude Thaddeus. Just like Hannah I was weeping and praying before the Lord for the life of my unborn son. I religiously attended the novenas of St Jude in Mendiola near Malacanang Palace. And again just like Hannah I also made a promise. I prayed to God that if he will be gracious to me through my child I will name him after St. Jude if he will come out as male, since I have asked him to intercede for me in prayers.  God indeed answered my prayer since I gave birth to a healthy and normal baby boy. What's most interesting is that I went past my due date for several days and his birth fell on a Thursday which is the day of devotion for St. Jude in the Philippines. There was a foreword in Companion written about today's 1st reading which says: "Hannah places her situation before the Lord and Eli also prays for her. She ultimately conceives a son. It was not God’s plan that she remains barren. She need not have worried about her situation. And what a son will be born to her — one of the greatest of the Old Testament seers and guides of Israel. Samuel will become not just a blessing for Hannah but all the people of Israel." It has been 29 years since then and the Lord continues to bless my son, Jude. He took up Chemical Engineering in De LaSalle University and already a licensed chemical engineer. He is now employed in a reputable company and has been travelling in several countries all over the world. With this, I continue to hope and pray that someday my son, Jude will be just like Samuel as he continue to become the person God has meant him to be. Sometimes we wonder why God is not answering our prayers in the way we wanted or expected things to happen. Today's 1st reading could make us think why some people end up doing things differently and unexpectedly the way we would normally do. Who would have done or even thought of doing what Hannah just did. When she prayed for a child, God granted her prayer and gifted her with a son, Samuel but she ended up offering him back to the Lord and left him in the temple. If we will just look at the narrow picture of this event then we might miss what Hannah was able to see and understand. We may not fully comprehend what life may bring us but we can always learn a lesson from this great woman in the bible who was able to overcome the natural tendencies of this world and did what is most pleasing to God. We should examine ourselves if we will be able to respond to the blessing or favor granted in the way Hannah in today's 1st reading responded. Sometimes we regard God in the way that will best suit our needs and desires we fail to see the unbounded goodness of God that is not limited to the specific request we are praying for. 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 found 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.

I love this prayer that I got from an email it says, "Stars do not struggle to shine; rivers do not struggle to flow, and you will never struggle to excel in life because you deserve the best. Hold on to your dreams and it shall be well with you. Amen." We simply have to keep on trusting that God will do for us what He has promised and said that He would do.

There is nowhere to go but to God. If we are confident in God's Divine Providence and constantly and consistently pray for God's guidance and protection and decide to act at all times for His greater glory then there is nothing that should ever make us want for anything for God is in control, He provides for all our needs and knows what's best for us. 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. We all have plans and we sometimes are caught unaware or worst end up disappointed when things do not come out the way we expected it. We should never lose heart because God can always turn anything into a blessing. Whatever plans we have in life it is best to surrender and offer them up first to the Lord knowing that we're better off that way. When everything is said and done we can claim what is stated in today's psalm for as long as we trusted the Lord's words to us against all odds. Nobody can really ever fully understand the wisdom and the ways of God. It is mind blowing and unimaginable. There is really nothing that God will not do for us if it's for our ultimate good. Therefore, we should continue to proclaim, "What an awesome God we have!" Amen. Hallelujah

1 Samuel 2:1. 4-5. 6-7. 8abcd

R: My heart exults in the Lord, my Savior.

...I have swallowed up my enemies; I rejoice in my victory.” (R) 4 “The bows of the mighty are broken, while the tottering gird on strength. 5 The well-fed hire themselves out for bread, while the hungry batten on spoil. The barren wife bears seven sons, while the mother of many languishes.” (R) 6 “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.”

The gospel this advent season always speaks of child bearing of those women that are called barren and somehow it can be compared to becoming fruitful for the Lord. It challenges us to give birth to a blessing from out of nothing and trust the Lord's power to do it. Today's gospel in particular contains the Magnificat which has become a famous prayer and song for most Catholics. 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. 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 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) Not many of us know that these words of Mary are taken from the very prayer of Hannah in the Old Testament which happens to be the character being spoken of in today's 1st reading. Even Mary, the Mother of God studied scriptures and used it to form part of her prayer. She was also knowledgeable of these holy men and women who lived way back in the Old Testament. If not she would not have used in the Magnificat the same words that Hannah prayed. Haven't we thought of it yet? We are better off in a way that we do not have just the Old Testament as guide for our daily living but the richness and fullness of the New Testament where everything is fulfilled. 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 people for what they did to us or most importantly God for that matter whom we owe everything. 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 the gospel today. It is very appropriate also that today's 1st reading is about Hannah. These 2 women both echo in their songs their deep gratitude for God. We, too in our own right can claim ownership to the Magnificat if we will only follow the example of a perfect response to God's blessing and call of these 2 women (Hannah and Mary) in today's readings. We must proclaim the goodness of the Lord for all the good things He has done and for everything that comes our way. Just like them we should develop an attitude of complete trust in the Lord and reflect in our lives the gratitude we have in our hearts no matter what situation we are in. 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

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