💖 HOMILY - DECEMBER 22 💖

First Reading - 1 Samuel 1:24-28 

Gospel - Luke 1:46-56

As we approach the fulfillment of God’s saving work, today’s readings draw our attention to hearts that know how to give thanks, to surrender, and to praise. They remind us that faith is not only about receiving God’s gifts, but about returning them to Him with trust and joy. At the centre of these readings stands a powerful theme: God’s greatness is revealed through humble faith and grateful surrender.

In the first reading from 1 Samuel, we meet Hannah, a woman who has known deep suffering and long waiting. The child she now brings to the Lord is not simply her son, but the answer to years of prayer. Yet what is most striking is not that Hannah receives Samuel, but that she gives him back to God. She does not cling to the gift; she entrusts it. Her act of offering Samuel to the Lord shows a faith that understands that everything comes from God and ultimately belongs to Him. Gratitude leads her not to possession, but to surrender.

The Gospel continues this same movement of faith and praise through the song of Mary in Luke. Mary’s Magnificat flows from a heart that recognizes what God has done, not only for her, but for all the lowly and forgotten. She does not glorify herself. She magnifies the Lord. Mary sees her personal story as part of God’s greater plan, where the proud are scattered, the hungry are filled, and mercy is poured out from generation to generation. Like Hannah, Mary knows that God lifts the lowly and that true joy is found in trusting Him completely.

These two women, separated by centuries, speak with one voice. Their praise rises not from ease, but from faith shaped by struggle. They teach us that gratitude is not merely saying thank you when life goes well. True gratitude recognizes God’s presence even in waiting, pain, and uncertainty. It trusts that God is faithful, even before the promise is fully seen.

Dear friends, for us today, these readings offer a gentle but challenging question. Do we see our lives, our blessings, our children, our work, and our future as gifts to be controlled, or as gifts to be entrusted to God? Like Hannah and Mary, we are invited to move from fear to trust, from holding on to letting go, from anxiety to praise.

When we surrender what is most precious to us into God’s hands, we do not lose it. We allow God to give it deeper meaning. Praise changes our perspective. It helps us see that God is at work not only in great events, but in the quiet faithfulness of ordinary lives.

Today, let us learn to sing our own Magnificat. Let us thank God not only for what He has given, but for who He is. And like Hannah and Mary, may our lives become a song of trust, humility, and joy, proclaiming that the Lord has done great things for us, and holy is His name.