January 13, 2026 -- Tuesday of 1st even Week
H O M I L Y
In the first reading, Hannah, the mother of Samuel, gives us a beautiful example of a fervent prayer in time of distress. Hannah had a good husband but was barren, while her husband's other wife had children and taunted her. It was particularly painful when they went to the temple of the Lord.
In one of those occasions, Hannah stood in front of the Lord in the temple and prayed with many tears in the bitterness of her soul. She even made a vow to the Lord concerning the son she was asking from Him. To the priest Eli, who thought that she was drunk, she replied: "No, my lord (I am not drunk). I am a woman in great trouble; I was pouring out my soul before the Lord." What a beautiful expression: "To pour one's soul out before the Lord."
We all have our moments of trial, of sadness and pain, perhaps of bitterness and discouragement. We should not hesitate to do just like Hannah -- to pour our soul out before the Lord (just as someone pours water out). The Lord will listen to our prayer.
In the Gospel we have a somewhat different example of God's mercy. Jesus enters a synagogue, where there was a man possessed by an unclean spirit. That man is not even in a state in which he can pray. On the contrary the devil speaks through his mouth to argue with Jesus: "What do you want of us, Jesus of Nazareth?" -- Jesus replies: "Be quiet! Come out of him". And the man is freed from that unclean spirit.
So, let us keep our hearts and our lives open to any intervention from God, and we can be sure that He will intervene to deliver us from our bondage and to show us his mercy, even when, for one reason or another, we are no longer able to pray.