“. . . your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John.” – Luke 1:13

One day, my wife said to me, “Love, isn’t this what we’ve been praying for?” I didn’t realize it until she said that. We had been praying for a good home we could call our own, and one day it came. Why was this significant to us? Because we’ve been renting for the longest time, transferring from one location to another. Nine times to be exact!

But what was peculiar was that I actually forgot that we’ve prayed for it, as if it wouldn’t come. But God heard us and gave it to us at the perfect time.

For Zechariah, it sounded unbelievable even if an angel had told him. Elizabeth, who was advanced in years, would bear a son! Humanly it was impossible, but it was divinely possible. His prayer was granted at God’s appointed time.

Friend, trust that God has bigger plans for your prayer intentions. Zechariah and Elizabeth prayed for a son, but God

gave them—and the world—a prophet who would prepare the way for Jesus. Kirby Llaban (kirby@kirbyllaban.com)

Reflect:

Review your blessings. Aren’t many of them answered prayers? Praise and thank God today, and believe that, in due time, He will grant your petitions.

Lord, teach me to be patient and faithful to Your most holy will. Amen.

Saint Darius, pray for us.

Barren women are often the ones who give birth to significant figures in Jewish history. Samson was born to Manoah’s wife and became a great warrior against Israel’s enemies. Samuel was born to Hannah and he became a judge and prophet. Sarah gave birth to Isaac, the son of the Father of all Nations. And Mary, who knew not a man, gave birth to Jesus, the Savior of the world.

² There was a certain man from Zorah, of the clan of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren and had borne no children. ³ 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. ⁴ Now, then, be careful to take no wine or strong drink and to eat nothing unclean. ⁵ As for the son you will conceive and bear, no razor shall touch his head, for this boy is to be consecrated to God from the womb. It is he who will begin the deliverance of Israel from the power of the Philistines.” ⁶ The woman went and told her husband, “A man of God came to me; he had the appearance of an angel of God, terrible indeed. I did not ask him where he came from, nor did he tell me his name. ⁷ But he said to me, ‘You will be with child and will bear a son. So take neither wine nor strong drink, and eat nothing unclean. For the boy shall be consecrated to God from the womb, until the day of his death.’” ²⁴ The woman bore a son and named him Samson. The boy grew up and the Lord blessed him; ²⁵ the Spirit of the Lord first stirred.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 71:3-4, 5-6, 16-17

R: My mouth shall be filled with your praise, and I will sing your glory.

³ Be my rock of refuge, a stronghold to give me safety; for you are my rock and my fortress. ⁴ O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked. (R) ⁵ For you are my hope, O Lord; my trust, O God, from my youth. ⁶ On you I depend from birth; from my mother’s womb you are my strength. (R) ¹⁶ I will treat of the mighty works of the Lord; O God, I will tell of your singular justice. ¹⁷ O God, you have taught me from my youth, and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds. (R)

Gospel | Luke 1:5-25

Yet another miracle birth, this time of John the Baptist, shows that nothing is impossible for God. Zechariah, who expressed his disbelief, became mute until he was able to affirm his faith at the naming of the child. He insisted on the name given to him by the angel and showed that he accepted the child as a gift from God.

Gospel Acclamation

O Root of Jesse’s stem, sign of God’s love for all his people: come to save us without delay!

⁵ In the days of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. ⁷ But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years. ⁸ Once when he was serving as priest in his division’s turn before God, ⁹ according to the practice of the priestly service, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense. ¹⁰ Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering, ¹¹ the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense. ¹² Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, ¹⁶ and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.” ¹⁸ Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel said to him in reply, “I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. ²⁰ But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.” ²¹ Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. ²² But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He was gesturing to them but remained mute. ²³ Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home. ²⁴ After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she went into seclusion for five months, saying, ²⁵ “So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others.”

Reflect:

Why would Zechariah doubt what the angel revealed to him? What did he realize after he regained his speech?

Read the Bible in one year! Read AMOS 7 - 9 today.

Today, we read about the angelic visitation to Zechariah. While Zechariah was offering incense at the Holy of Holies (where the Ark of the Covenant used to be kept until it disappeared in one of the many foreign occupations that happened in Israel), an angel told him that his wife, Elizabeth, long barren, would bear a son. A child was seen as a great blessing in those days, when properties, position, privileges, and power were passed through bloodline. Zechariah and Elizabeth, therefore, also longed for a child, preferably a son.

However, now that this was to take place, Zechariah could not believe. He elaborated this before the angel: “How can I believe this? I am an old man, and my wife is elderly too.” Zechariah felt that the time for hoping had long passed; nature says they had passed the days of expected childbearing. He and his wife had resigned to fate and the way of nature.

The coming of Jesus as Messiah had also been long hoped for by the Chosen People. The feeling of Zechariah could have reflected this waning hope inIsrael where one after the other—Philistines, Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes and Persians, Greeks and Romans—took turns invading and pillaging the land. In all these, there was no sign of a prayed-for Messiah.

Many of us who go through a lot in life may probably feel the same way. God takes too much time before He acts. But, of course, who are we to question Him? Our concept of time is kronos (chronology) and we are concerned with the conservation of our limited time, and so we want to make the best of every moment. God’s sense of time, however, is kairos (fulfillment), and for Him everything and every event have their best seasons.

To have great faith in God, therefore, means not just to hope—but to hope with patience. Let us pray that this virtue be one of our Advent blessings. Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

Reflection Question:

Be in touch with your impatience. What are your reasons for being impatient? mBring this to prayer.

I trust You, Lord, for Your plans for my life. I believe that Your delays are not denials; sometimes, they are a redirection to Your perfect will for me. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ______________________________________