A Terrible Beauty: Witnessing to the Unexpected God
“For the Souls in Purgatory – Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord”
Judges 13:2-7, 24-25a
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. 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. Now, then, be careful to drink no wine or strong drink and to eat nothing unclean. As for the son you will conceive and bear, no razor shall touch his head, for this boy is to be a nazirite for God from the womb. It is he who will begin the deliverance of Israel from the power of the Philistines. 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. But he said to me, ‘You will conceive and bear a son. So drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean. For the boy shall be a nazirite for God from the womb, until the day of his death.’” The woman bore a son and named him Samson. The boy grew up and the LORD blessed him; the spirit of the LORD began to stir him.
Grace Prayed For
Pray for the grace of Spiritual Receptivity: to recognize the “empty spaces” in your heart not as failures, but as the exact places where the Holy Spirit desires to stir and bring forth new life.
Reflection
In the quiet barrenness of Manoah’s wife, we find a mirror of the human heart waiting for Advent. Barrenness in Scripture is rarely just about a lack of children; it is a symbol of a soul that recognizes it cannot save itself. It is the “poverty of spirit” that makes room for God. Into this silence, the Trinity speaks a word of impossible hope.
Vigilance begins here—not in a frantic doing, but in a “careful” being. The angel instructs the mother to be mindful of what she consumes, for she is now a vessel for a promise. To prepare the way of the Lord in your own heart is to recognize that you, too, are a vessel. The Father has willed your life; the Son has redeemed your barrenness; and the Holy Spirit is the one who “begins to stir” within you.
Our mission is to be like this mother: one who encounters the “terrible” and awesome beauty of God and immediately goes to tell another. She does not fully understand the messenger or the mystery, but she knows she has been touched by Grace. We join this mission when we stop trying to hide our “barren” areas—our fears, our distances, our weaknesses—and instead offer them to Jesus. When we allow Him to fill us, our very presence becomes a witness. We are no longer just people waiting for a holiday; we are a people in whom the Spirit is stirring, preparing to bring deliverance to a world held captive by hopelessness. To give witness is simply to let the joy of being “found” by God shine through the cracks of our once-empty hearts.
Daily Evangelization and Baptismal Mission
To partner with Jesus in restoring creation, your evangelization should flow from a heart that is visibly “prepared.” Here are a few ways to live this:
The Preparation of Peace: When you encounter chaos—at work, in traffic, or in family tension—choose a “Nazirite” spirit of interior sobriety. By refusing to consume the “wine” of gossip or the “unclean meat” of cynicism, you offer a restorative presence. Tell others, when asked, “Jesus has brought a peace to my life that I didn’t think was possible, and I’m trying to hold onto it today.”
When Time Allows Reflect on the Posts in Library and Musings
Sharing
Jesus last words on Earth were to his disciples, can be found in Matthew Chap 28 when Jesus told his disciples, “Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Jesus calls all of us to share in his redemptive mission here on Earth. I would ask you to share this Scripture reflection with your family, your friends and your acquaintances, and then share it with a couple of individuals that you may may not be comfortable sharing with, keeping in mind always the words of Jesus, And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age
Author was assisted by AI in the drafting of this Post