Daily Retreat 12/22/08

2008 Dec 22 Mon: Advent Weekday (O Rex Gentium) 1 Sm 1:24-28/ 1 Sm 2:1. 4-5. 6-7. 8abcd/ Lk 1:46-56 From today's readings:  "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....  My heart exults in the LORD, my horn is exalted in my God....  My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior!" O Rex Gentium - O King of the Nations! In one of the most poignant passages in all the Bible, Hannah, who had prayed so fervently for a child, having finally received that blessing from the Lord, after a few short years, returns with her husband Elkanah to the temple and there, in the presence of God's priest Eli, they return their small son Samuel to the Lord.  Humanly speaking, what sadness must have tugged at Hannah's heart as she handed her son over to God (not just figuratively, but literally!), yet in her prayer (used as today's responsorial psalm), her heart exults and rejoices, because she realizes why God gave her a child - she understands that all blessings are given so that they can be given again and shared and consecrated in God's service!  Hannah's prayer and Mary's Magnificat are so similar because they both were able to see the bigger picture of their lives and all lives in the context of God's plan. What are the most precious gifts you have received from God and others?  Have you nervously or selfishly hoarded these gifts, or, like Hannah and Mary, do you exult and rejoice in the Lord's goodness as you discover the joy and peace of sacrificially sharing especially the most precious gifts, and freely placing them back in God's hands?  Remember, that's what God did for us in the gift of His Son, the King of the Nations!