One important message conveyed in the pages of the Bible is that God works everything for good in His own way and in His own time.

In the passage from Samuel the barrenness of Hannah which caused her intense humiliation and suffering, was only a prelude to the relief and intense joy she would experience when her humble suppplications were answered with the birth of Samuel, whom she would dedicate to the Lord's service. In God's own time, her womb would become abundantly fruitful.

So, too, in the reading from Mark's Gospel today, God is seen to act when the right time had come to fructify the spiritually barren world of man with the blessing of the long-awaited-for Messiah, the Christ. It was to be immediately preceded by the preaching of penance, and Jesus is seen taking His first step in calling simple but willing disciples to carry on His mission of regenerating all humankind with the fruits of salavation.