Tuesday of the first week in Ordinary Time

God works quietly, but when he acts, lives are changed.

Dear sisters in Christ, good morning. Today’s readings show us something simple and strong. God listens when people pray from the heart. God lifts those who feel low. And God speaks a word that sets people free.

Our first reading from the First Book of Samuel brings us to a doorway, the entrance to the sanctuary at Shiloh. Hannah is standing there. She has been carrying deep sadness for a long time. She is not shouting. She is not making a scene. Her lips move, but no sound comes out. She is praying quietly.

In her time, prayer was usually spoken out loud. Silent prayer looked strange. It looked suspicious. That is why the priest, Eli, gets it wrong. He thinks she is drunk. He sees her lips moving but does not see her pain. Without meaning to, he adds shame to her sorrow.

Hannah does not answer with anger. She stays calm. She tells the truth. “I am pouring out my heart before the Lord.” Her quiet prayer is not weak prayer. It may come from deep pain, or from closeness to God, or even from embarrassment. But God hears it. Hannah calls God the Lord of Hosts, the great God of heaven and earth, the God of angels and stars. And yet this mighty God bends down to listen to one woman praying under her breath.

Hannah asks God to remember her. In the Bible, when God remembers, God acts. Hannah promises that if she is given a son, she will give him back. She will not hold on tightly. She will trust God to lead his life. The sign of this trust will be his uncut hair, a sign that his life belongs to God, not to human plans.

Then something important happens. Before she becomes pregnant, her face changes. She eats. She is no longer sad. Peace comes first. Only later does the reading say, very simply, “The Lord remembered her.” A child is born. She names him Samuel. “I asked him of the Lord.” From a quiet prayer, a servant of God is born.

Many people today know that doorway. In Zimbabwe, there are families who work hard and still struggle. Young people wait for work after finishing school. Many feel tired and unseen. Like Hannah, they are often misunderstood. Silence is taken for weakness. Waiting is taken for failure. But God is close to those who keep praying, even when they have no words left.

The psalm we pray today is Hannah’s own song. It is strong and clear. The strong are brought low. The hungry are filled. The poor are lifted from the dust. This is how God works. When we pray this psalm, we are saying, “Lord, this is your way, and we want to walk with you.”

The Gospel from Mark takes us into a synagogue on the Sabbath. Jesus is teaching. The people are amazed. He does not quote other teachers. He does not say, “Someone once said.” He says, “I say to you.” He speaks with God’s own authority.

A man with an unclean spirit cries out. The spirit knows who Jesus is. Jesus does not argue. He does not shout. He speaks clearly. “Be quiet! Come out of him!” And the man is freed. This is what God’s authority looks like. It does not crush people. It restores them. It gives them back their life.

In prayer, we can place ourselves in that synagogue. We can listen to Jesus. We can watch the man walk away free. And we can ask ourselves what still has a hold on us. What fear, what habit, what voice keeps us from being free?

Today the Church remembers Saint Hilary. He spoke clearly about who Jesus is, even when it cost him exile. He reminds us that truth matters, because confusion always hurts real people. And yet God sometimes allows a holy unease in our hearts, not to harm us, but to wake us up, to help us turn back to him and begin again.

These readings belong together. Hannah shows us how to pray when life hurts. Her song shows us the kind of world God is shaping. Jesus shows us how God acts to bring freedom. Ordinary Time is where these lessons are meant to shape our daily lives.

As we go into this day, hold on to this simple thread. God listens. God lifts. God speaks to set free.

As you pray this morning, let us consider these questions.

• Where am I waiting quietly before God, and what do I need to say honestly?
• What is holding me or others back, and how can Jesus bring freedom there?
• Who near me is tired or overlooked, and what small, real thing can I do today to lift them?