The God Who Hears and the Truth That Frees

Voice over by Carol San San Lwin

1Sam 1:9-20, Psalm: 1Sam, Mk 1:21-28

St. Hilary of Poitiers, bishop and doctor of the Church

My dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

In a world of empty words and shifting opinions, the human heart longs for two things: to be truly heard, and to encounter a truth that carries the weight of reality. Today, on the Memorial of Saint Hilary of Poitiers, a Doctor of the Church who fought tirelessly for the truth of Christ’s divinity, the Scriptures reveal a God who listens to the desperate cry of the heart and who speaks with an authority that liberates.

In the first book of Samuel, we find Hannah in the temple, her soul poured out in anguish. She is not offering a polite, formulaic prayer. She is “pouring out her soul” before the Lord, her lips moving in silent, fervent petition. The priest Eli initially mistakes her profound grief for drunkenness. But Hannah’s prayer is the opposite of intoxication—it is the clearest, most honest expression of a heart stripped bare before God. She argues with her sorrow, she wrestles with her emptiness, and she makes a bold vow. God hears this prayer that comes from the depths. The Lord “remembered her,” and she conceives Samuel. The one who was barren becomes fruitful because she dared to bring her authentic, troubled self before the Almighty. God responds not to eloquence, but to authenticity.

This encounter with a God who hears prepares us for the Gospel’s revelation of a God who speaks with definitive authority. Jesus enters the synagogue in Capernaum and teaches. The people are “astonished” because “he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.” His was not a teaching of footnotes and citations, but of direct, divine power. This authority is instantly challenged by a man with an unclean spirit, who cries out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” Even the demons recognize the authority that human eyes miss. Jesus rebukes the spirit with a simple, sovereign command: “Be quiet! Come out of him!” And it does. The truth of who Jesus is carries the power to shatter falsehood and liberate the captive.

Herein lies the connection to Saint Hilary. Living in a time when the truth of Christ’s divinity was being obscured by the Arian heresy, Hilary was like Hannah—fervent and persistent in prayer and argument. And like the people in the synagogue, he recognized in Jesus the ultimate authority, the eternal Son of God. He contended for this truth not with violence, but with the authority of reason, Scripture, and deep faith. He was exiled for his convictions, yet his exile became a fruitful mission. He understood that true freedom for the human soul comes only from adhering to the truth of Christ.

For us, the message is both a comfort and a call. Like Hannah, we are invited to bring our raw, honest selves—our grief, our desires, our confusion—before God in prayer. He hears the prayers poured out from the depths. And like the people in Capernaum, we are called to listen to the teaching of Christ with awe, to recognize His authority in the Church and in Scripture, and to trust that His word has power to cast out the unclean spirits of fear, lies, and sin that afflict us.

In a world of many voices, let us cling to the one Voice that speaks with the authority of Love itself. May the intercession of Saint Hilary help us to seek truth prayerfully, to defend it charitably, and to find in Christ the liberation that only the Holy One of God can give. Amen.

May God bless you all!