Lots of children in the Bible were mysteriously announced, consecrated, and employed by God before they were born.  Take Abraham’s brood, foretold to be as numerous as the stars when the old man and Sarah were still childless. Consider Samson in today’s reading from Judges, who would become the Hebrew “Superman.” Or Samuel: the future prophet, priest, and judge. Don’t forget Elizabeth’s son, and Mary’s.

Is it possible you and I were likewise decreed? That we are on a mission we only dimly suspect?

—Alice Camille in 2010: A Book of Grace-Filled Days, © 2009 by Loyola Press: A Jesuit Ministry, Chicago, IL.