Children who are born because of God's promise, Samson, John the Baptist and finally, of course, Jesus, are a significant part of the history of our salvation.

Reading the story of Samson in conjunction with Luke's account of the conception of John the Baptist, as we do in today's liturgy, reminds us that, even though there are two "Testaments", or two time periods, God has only one plan of salvation, which will be accomplished through the Incarnation of Jesus as son of Mary, the Word of God made flesh, and especially through the consequences of the Incarnation in Jesus' passion, death and resurrection.

The doctrine that God has only one all-embracing plan of salvation helps us to integrate our spiritual lives and make sense of things we find difficult to understand. One spiritual writer has expressed this reality in the form of a principle: "The Holy Spirit is active through all the breaks in our spiritual lives." God is at work within us, constantly creating us, redeeming us and sanctifying us, not only in moments of great spiritual comfort but also in the ordinary things of life, our joys and sorrows, hopes and expectations.