Never losing our husbands and sons
1 Samuel 1:24-28
In those days, Hannah brought Samuel with her, along with a
three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and presented him
at the temple of the LORD in Shiloh.
After the boy’s father had sacrificed the young bull, Hannah, his
mother, approached Eli and said: “Pardon, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am
the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD. 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.” She left
Samuel there.
Let me ask
you a very deep spiritual question. If your son decided to become a priest,
would you be happy or sad about it? Well, since you’re sitting in church, you’d
probably answer, “Of course, I would be delighted!” But deep down, in your
heart of hearts, wouldn’t you also feel a twinge of sadness? I think that’s
very natural and normal. My parents love the fact that I’m a priest today, but
they were NOT thrilled when I told them that back in high school. Like most
parents, my mom especially, they thought they would lose me forever and would
never see me again, and they’d see my brother and sisters and the grandkids all
the time. But the reality is exactly the reverse! I will always live in
Arkansas and can go home at the drop of a hat, and celebrate Mass with my
parents. I sometimes take a selfie with mom and dad and send it to my siblings
with the caption, “Don’t worry about coming home, mom and dad’s favorite child
is here.” You see, when you make a sacrifice for God, he always rewards you a
hundred times over, even on the human level, even on the heart level.
In the
readings today we see two women who reap the same rewards of sacrificing their
sons but gaining much more in return. Hannah goes to the temple to leave Samuel
there to be raised by Eli to be a great prophet. It was clearly a huge loss to
Hannah, but because Samuel never married, Hannah never really lost him. Samuel
could come home and take selfies with his mother! Mary in the gospel sings,
“The Almighty has done great things for me” by making me the mother of Jesus.
And even though Mary saw her Son sacrificed on the Cross, she never “lost him”
because she never had to share his affections with another woman by marriage.
Mary was never a mother-in-law. It’s hard to describe the beautiful bond
between a priest and his mother – and much harder between the first Priest and
His Mother – especially if the priest never gets married.
By the way,
did you know the Diocese of Little Rock is starting a new diaconate program? I
want to encourage you men to consider it. We are blessed here at I.C. to have
several dedicated deacons, but that doesn’t mean God isn’t calling more men to
that special ministry of service. It’s easy to come up with reasons not to enter
the program: “I am too old,” or “I am too young,” or “I am too busy,” or “I am
not holy enough.” If that’s what’s holding you back, you don’t know our deacons
very well! There are no “perfect candidates” for the diaconate, only men with
willing hearts and lots of God’s grace. Just look at Jesus’ first twelve
followers. And I would invite you wives also to encourage your husbands. Why?
Well because like Hannah and Mary, you will never lose them. What do I mean?
Deacons make a promise that if their wife dies, they will never remarry. You
will never have to share your husband’s affections with another woman.
Ladies, next
time you take a selfie with your son or with your husband, ask yourself: would
you like to see another woman in that picture with her arms around them? I
didn’t think so.
Praised be
Jesus Christ!
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