Hannah in the Book of Samuel, had prayed long and earnestly for a son and promised that if her prayers were answered she would consecrate her child to the Lord. Today's reading recounts how after Samuel was born to her, she and her husband presented the child to the Lord together with the sacrifice of a young bull. "Now I make him over to the Lord for the whole of his life." Samuel became their gift to God, and they left him in the Temple.

One of the most difficult things for devoted parents to do is to let go of their children. Every child whether eagerly or reluctantly accepted, is given to parents only for a while. This tie must eventually be broken so that a child may have the freedom to fulfil his own purpose in life. Children do not belong completely to their parents. They ought to be considered not as property to be possessed but as gifts to be shared.

Perhaps parental ties could be severed with less pain if each one of us were to realize that we do not belong completely even to ourselves. We belong to God. He is the one parent with whom ties should never be broken. True freedom means giving ourselves totally to Him, for that is the purpose of life. Each one of us must do for ourselves what Hannah did for Samuel as she offered him to the Lord.