My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, may the Lord’s peace be with you. Approaching this beautiful feast and solemnity of the birth of our one and only Jesus, the Lord God Almighty, who descended into our midst, today we are given in the readings some of His precursors, some of those men who were born into the world who had a very special role to play in announcing His birth, in prefiguring the One who would be consecrated to the Father from all eternity.
And we have two individuals, namely Samson, as we hear from the Book of Judges, and John the Baptist, as we hear from the Gospel of Luke, who are given at a moment that is unexpected—unexpected because their mothers were both barren.
We’re told that the wife of Manoah was barren and had borne no children. “An angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, though you are barren and have had no children, yet you will conceive and bear a son.” And the angel indicates that the boy will be consecrated to God from the womb, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the power of the Philistines.
Again, this is a prefigurement of the Liberator who will come into the world not to free us from the Philistines, or the Romans, or any other tyrant or dominating empire, but the One who would come into the world to free us from death itself.
In the Gospel, we’re once again given the Annunciation, not of Jesus, but of John the Baptist, who is also given to Elizabeth and Zechariah. And we’re told in the Gospel that these are two people who were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
So the wife of Manoah and the wife of Zechariah, both barren, are having a difficult time conceiving. But the Lord will intervene. And although this will not be a virginal birth like our Lord’s, nevertheless the conception will come about through the aid and the grace of God, who helps the natural process take place.
With our Blessed Mother, of course, there is no human agency when it comes to the conception of Jesus in her womb. This is a unique birth, miraculous within the immaculately conceived womb of a Mother unlike any other.
But in all three instances—Samson, John the Baptist, and of course our Lord Himself—we are seeing how this is God’s work. This is God’s initiative.
And of course, we associate strength—God-given strength—with the person of Samson, as we associate another kind of strength with John the Baptist. Here are two men who are called to a special role in terms of the deliverance of God’s people. They are consecrated from the womb.
You know, many of us, when we were born, our mothers took us to one of their preferred places of devotion, like a
church dedicated to our Blessed Mother, for example. In my own case, my mother took me to the church that was looked after by the Maltese Franciscans. And there, there was a statue of our Blessed Mother, and she presented me to our Blessed Mother. I’m pretty sure it was during my baptism.
And of course, our Blessed Mother, who interceded in my life so powerfully in a number of accidents which should have left me for dead, was so strongly a part of me being able to hear God’s call to religious life, to become a Franciscan, and to become a priest through His grace and mercy.
And so we are—or we were—consecrated to the Lord, many of us through our Blessed Mother, so that the Lord would not only protect us, but allow us to live our vocation, just like Samson and Saint John the Baptist lived their vocation.
So to any of you who are expecting a child in your family, or are celebrating the arrival of a newborn, I would recommend that you dedicate your son or your daughter, your granddaughter or grandson, niece or nephew, to our Lord through the Blessed Mother. Because I’m telling you, never once have I heard of an individual involved in a tragedy who was at one point consecrated to our Blessed Mother, to our Lord.
Our Blessed Mother promised, for example, through those who are devoted to the Rosary, to the recitation of the most holy mysteries of the life of our Lord in her life, special graces and special protection: “I will protect with special graces those who are devoted to My Holy Rosary.”
And I can tell you firsthand that this consecration to our Blessed Mother, entrusting our lives to her, is always a wise and holy idea and practice.
So, my brothers and sisters, as we approach Advent, we are grateful for the gift of life. These are three annunciations of the gift of life: Samson, John the Baptist, our Blessed Lord Himself—life that begins at conception, but even before, because in the eternal heart and mind of God, we were always there in His heart, even before the creation of the world.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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