The story of Samson's birth begins with the story of the wife of Manoah. She was an older woman who had borne no children, but she and Manoah were to be entrusted with a special child. The woman was to drink no strong drink nor eat anything unclean. From birth her son, Samson, was to be a Nazirite - meaning he was to be consecrated to God. As a Nazirite, his hair was never to be cut. Samson would be instrumental in delivering the Israelites from the Philistines. The reading from Luke's Gospel foretells the birth of John the Baptist. John's father, Zechariah, was a priest serving in the Temple in Jerusalem. He and John's mother, Elizabeth, were getting older and had no children. When the angel Gabriel told Zechariah that he and Elizabeth would have a son, he did not believe and thus lost his ability to speak. Gabriel said the boy was to be named John. Elizabeth became pregnant and was very grateful to the Lord. What can we learn from this? Zechariah and Elizabeth were faithful in prayer and the Lord heard and granted them their desire. We too must be patient as we wait for prayers to be answered. In the meanwhile, like the mother of Samson, we trust in the Word of God revealed to us through Scripture and promptings of God in our daily lives.