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From: 1 Samuel 3:1-10, 19-20

God Calls Samuel

[1] Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. And the word of
the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.

[2] At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim, so that he could not
see, was lying down in his own place; [3] the lamp of God had not yet gone out,
and Samuel was lying down within the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God
was. [4] Then the LORD called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!” [5]
and ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not
call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. [6] And the LORD called again,
“Samuel!” And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you
called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” [7] Now Samuel
did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed
to him. [8] And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and
went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the
LORD was calling the boy. [9] Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and
if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for thy servant hears.” So Samuel
went and lay down in his place. [10] And the LORD came and stood forth, calling
as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said “Speak for thy servant
hears.”

[19] And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall
to the ground. [20] And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was
established as a prophet of the LORD.

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Commentary:

3:1-21. The account of Samuel’s vocation is a good example of a divine calling
to perform a special mission: it shows both the attitudes that the person called
should have and the demands that the divine call implies. Firstly (vv. 1-3), we
are introduced to the protagonists (the Lord, Eli, Samuel) and the circumstances
in which the action occurs—night-time when everyone is asleep, the temple, the
ark, and the lamp of God still burning; all this shows that something exceptional
is going on and God is behind it.

The second scene (vv. 4-8) is a charming dialogue between the Lord and Samuel,
and between Samuel and Eli, at the end of which comes an unforgettable asser-
tion of readiness on Samuel’s part, “Here I am, for you have called me” (v. 8).
“This young boy gives us an example of the highest form of obedience. True obe-
dience does not question the meaning of what is commanded, nor does it judge,
since he who decides to practise perfect obedience renounces his own judgment”
(St Gregory the Great, “In Primum Regum”, 2, 4, 10-11).

In the third scene (vv. 9-14) we can see the dual role of every prophet from Sa-
muel onwards—listening carefully to God (vv. 9-10) and faithfully passing on the
message received, even if his listeners find it harsh (vv. 11-14; cf. v. 18). “Great-
ly blessed is he who hears the [voice of the] divine whispering in the silence and
who often repeats that phrase of Samuel’s: ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening’”
(St Bernard, “Sermones De Diversis”, 23, 7).

The last scene (3:19-4:1) is a summary of what will be Samuel’s future work as
a prophet. A new stage is beginning in the life of the people of God; now God will
make his will known through prophets who speak on God’s behalf to the people,
the priests and even the king himself.

3:9-10. “Speak, Lord, for thy servant hears.” This prayer marked the start of Sa-
muel’s life as a prophet called by God, and it epitomizes the way he acted: he
cultivated his relationship with God assiduously and pleaded with him on behalf
of the people. As the “Catechism of the Catholic Church”, 2578, suggests, he
learned all this from his mother from infancy onwards: “The prayer of the People
of God flourishes in the shadow of God’s dwelling place, first the ark of the cove-
nant and later the Temple. At first the leaders of the people—the shepherds and
the prophets—teach them to pray. The infant Samuel must have learned from his
mother Hannah how ‘to stand before the Lord’ (cf. 1 Sam 1:9-18) and from the
priest Eli how to listen to his word: ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening’
(1 Sam 3:9-10). Later, he will also know the cost and consequence of interces-
sion: ‘Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by
ceasing to pray for you; and I will instruct you in the good and the right way’ (1
Sam 12:23).”

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Mark 1:29-39

The Curing of Peter’s Mother-In-Law

[29] And immediately He (Jesus) left the synagogue, and entered the house of
Simon and Andrew, with James and John. [30] Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay
sick with a fever, and immediately they told Him of her. [31] And He came and
took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her; and she served
them.

Jesus Cures Many Sick People

[32] That evening, at sundown, they brought to Him all who were sick or posses-
sed with demons. [33] And the whole city was gathered together about the door.
[34] And He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out ma-
ny demons; and He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew
Him.

Jesus Goes To a Lonely Place To Pray

[35] And in the morning, a great while before day, He rose and went out to a lo-
nely place, and there He prayed. [36] And Simon and those who were with Him
followed Him, [37] and they found Him and said to Him, “Everyone is searching
for you.” [38] And He said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may
preach there also; for that is why I came out.” [39] And He went throughout all
Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

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Commentary:

34. Demons possess a supernatural type of knowledge and therefore they recog-
nize Jesus as the Messiah (Mark 1:24). Through the people they possess they
are able to publish this fact. But our Lord, using His divine powers, orders them
to be silent. On other occasions He also silences His disciples (Mark 8:30; 9:9),
and He instructs people whom He has cured not to talk about their cure (Mark 1:
4; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26). He may have acted in this way to educate the people away
from a too human and political idea of the Messiah (Matthew 9:30). Therefore,
He first awakens their interest by performing miracles and gradually, through His
preaching, gives them a clearer understanding of the kind of Messiah He is.

Some Fathers of the Church point out that Jesus does not want to accept, in
support of the truth, the testimony of him who is the father of lies.

35. Many passages of the New Testament make reference to Jesus praying.
The evangelists point to Him praying only on specially important occasions du-
ring His public ministry: Baptism (Luke 3:1), the choosing of the Twelve (Luke
6:12), the first multiplication of the loaves (Mark 6:46), the Transfiguration (Luke
9:29), in the garden of Gethsemane prior to His passion (Matthew 26:39), etc.
Mark for his part, refers to Jesus’ prayer at three solemn moments: at the begin-
ning of His public ministry (1:35), in the middle of it (6:46), and at the end, in
Gethsemane (14:32).

Jesus’ prayer is prayer of perfect praise to the Father; it is prayer of petition for
Himself and for us; and it also a model for His disciples. It is a prayer of perfect
praise and thanksgiving because He is God’s beloved Son in whom the Father
is well pleased (cf. Mark 1:11). It is a prayer of petition because the first spon-
taneous movement of a soul who recognizes God as Father is to ask Him for
things. Jesus’ prayer, as we see in very many passages (e.g. John 17:9ff) was
a continuous petition to the Father for the work of redemption which He, Jesus,
had to achieve through prayer and sacrifice.

Our Lord wants to give us an example of the kind of attitude a Christian should
have: he should make a habit of addressing God as son to Father in the midst
of and through his everyday activities—work, family life, personal relationships,
apostolate — so as to give his life a genuinely Christian meaning, for, as Jesus
will point out later on, “apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

“You write: ‘To pray is to talk with God. But about what?’ About what? About
Him, about yourself: joys, sorrows, successes and failures, noble ambitions,
daily worries, weaknesses! And acts of thanksgiving and petitions: and love
and reparation. In a word: to get to know Him and to get to know yourself: ‘to
get acquainted!’” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”).

38. Jesus tells us here that His mission is to preach, to spread the Good News.
He was sent for this purpose (Luke 4:43). The Apostles, in turn, were chosen by
Jesus to be preachers (Mark 3:14; 16:15). Preaching is the method selected by
God to effect salvation: “it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to
save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21). This is why St. Paul says to Timo-
thy: “Preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke,
and exhort, be unfailing in patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:1-2). Faith
comes from hearing, we are told in Romans 10:17, where St. Paul enthusiasti-
cally quotes Isaiah: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!”
(Romans 10:15; Isaiah 52:7).

The Church identifies preaching the Gospel as one of the main tasks of bishops
and priests. St. Pius X went so far as saying that “for a priest there is no duty
more grave or obligation more binding (to dispel ignorance)” (”Acerbo Nimis”). In
this connection Vatican II states: “The people of God is formed into one in the
first place by the Word of the living God (cf. 1 Peter 1:23; Acts 6:7; 12:24), which
is quite rightly sought from the mouths of priests (2 Corinthians 11:7).

For since nobody can be saved who has not first believed (Mark 16:16), it is the
first task of priests as co-workers of the bishops to preach the Gospel of God to
all men (2 Corinthians 11:7). In this way they carry out the Lord’s command ‘Go
into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature’ (Mark 16:15) (cf. Mala-
chi 2:7; 1 Timothy 4:11-13; etc.) and thus set up and increase the people of God”
(”Presbyterorum Ordinis”).

Jesus’ preaching is not just limited to words: He backs up His teaching with His
authority and with deeds. The Church also has been sent to preach salvation and
to effect the work of salvation which it proclaims—a work done through the Sacra-
ments and especially through the renewal of the sacrifice of Calvary in the Mass
(Vatican II, “Sacrosanctum Concilium”, 6).

In the Church of God all of us should listen devoutly to the preaching of the Gos-
pel and we all should feel a responsibility to spread the Gospel by our words and
actions. It is the responsibility of the hierarchy of the Church to teach the Gospel
authentically — on the authority of Christ.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.