I am going to take this opportunity to introduce you to a saint that I have developed a special devotion to, St. Hannah. St. Hannah is the patron saint of childless wives and infertile women (whether they have children or not), and I strongly identify with her suffering. When I was going through active infertility treatments I spent a lot of time prayerfully conversing with her about my frustrations, my sorrows, and my pain. Since today is St. Hannah’s Feast Day I wanted to take this opportunity to help our readers get to know this little known saint a little better. 
I first “met” Hannah through the book (not Catholic) Hannah’s Hope: Seeking God’s Heart in the Midst of Infertility, Miscarriage & Loss by Jennifer Saake and then the Catholic Infertility blog Hannah’s Tears Ministry. I have since read her story in the Bible so many times I felt like I knew her – or know her.
Hannah’s story is told at the very beginning of the first book of Samuel. Elkanah had two wives: Hannah and Peninnah. Peninnah and Elkanah had children (sons & daughters), but Hannah remained childless. The reading says
“When the day came for Elkanah to offer sacrifice, he used to give a portion each to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters, but a double portion to Hannah because he loved her, though the Lord had made her barren. Her rival, to upset her, turned it in to a constant reproach to her that the Lord had left her barren.” (~ 1 Samuel 1:4 – 6, NAB)
I think it’s key here that the author of this book says “a double portion to Hannah because he loved her.” Elkanah wanted Hannah to be viewed as equal in the temple, he wanted her to feel special. He knew that Peninnah reproached Hannah for being barren and he wanted her to feel loved and honored. Some have even speculated that Hannah was the favored wife of Elkanah. The passage goes on to show us that Elkanah was greatly troubled by Hannah’s sorrow over her barrenness: “Her husband Elkanah used to ask her: ‘Hannah why do you weep and why do you refuse to eat? Why do you grieve? Am I not more to you than ten sons?” (1 Samuel 1:8)
If you’re infertile, or if you know someone who is, you know that this is not an uncommon conversation. My husband and I have had it more than once during our journey so I can really relate to Hannah. She feels broken, she’s wondering to herself “what’s wrong with me? Why does Peninnah get to be a mother? Look how mean and nasty she is to me!” and Elkanah is simply thinking “Hannah has everything she needs and I love her? Why isn’t that enough?”
The next part of the story makes me laugh every time I read it.
Hannah rises early in the temple and is seen by the priest Eli. While she’s praying Hannah begins to weep. She says “O Lord of hosts, if you look with pity on the misery of your handmaid, if you remember me and do not forget me, if you give your handmaid a male child I will give him to the Lord for as long as he lives neither wine nor liquor shall he drink and no razor shall ever touch his head.” (1 Samuel 1:11) and while Eli watches her pray he thinks that she’s drunk and says to her “How long will you make a drunken show of yourself? Sober up from your wine!” (1 Samuel 1:14) She’s so upset that he thinks that she’s drunk! While I’ve never been in prayer in a public place and become so upset that I’ve been mistaken for being drunk, I have had people look at me – and I can only imagine what they’ve been wondering.
Eli assures her that her request has been heard by the Lord and she goes on to give birth to a son, Samuel, whose name means “God heard.”
As she leaves Samuel at the temple (at the age of 3, after he’s been weaned) with Eli she offers up a beautiful prayer that some have said is similar to the Magnificat that Mary sends to God when she arrives at Elizabeth’s house (another infertile woman in the Bible who also conceives a son after many years of barrenness).
Hannah’s prayer begins:
“My heart exults in the Lord, my horn is exalted in my God. I have swallowed up my enemies; I rejoice in my victory. There is no Holy One like the Lord; there is no Rock like our God.” (1 Samuel 2:1-2)
The Magnificat begins:
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” (Luke 1:46 – 49)
Hannah disappears from the book of Samuel after the author tells us that the Lord blessed Hannah with three more sons and two daughters.
The greatest comfort that I have found in the Communion of Saints is not only that these holy people now reside with God and can intercede on our behalf (let’s face it, I need all of the help I can get), but that they were real people with real problems and real humanity. Hannah deeply felt the pain of infertility. Elkanah deeply felt the pain of his wife. The Lord blessed them with six children – in God’s time. The saints are there for us to serve as our guide and to help us understand that pain is a normal part of life, that it’s normal to beg & plead with God when we don’t think He hears us, that it’s normal to be confused about our call in life. St. Hannah is in heaven now and there are days when I can almost hear her saying “I understand.”
I don’t think that there’s any coincidence that St. Hannah’s day falls during Advent – the season of waiting. Hannah teaches us that good things come to those who wait. Hannah teaches us that the Lord wants to see our pain, the Lord wants us to lay our emotion at his altar. Hannah reminds us that husbands who love their wives want them to feel whole and loved and valued.
St. Hannah pray for the childless women and those women who long for another child who read this post today, intercede for us that we may soon join you in prayers of thanksgiving and celebration.
That was so beautiful! Thank you for introducing me to St. Hannah. My husband and I have been blessed with three children, and if we ever have another child (I pray we will), if it’s a boy his name will be Samuel, a name we’ve always liked. My husband doesn’t want more children, which is a constant heartache for me. Perhaps I’ll pray for St. Hannah’s intercession now too.
Beautiful post, Marie! I love this part: “The saints are there for us to serve as our guide and to help us understand that pain is a normal part of life, that it’s normal to beg & plead with God when we don’t think He hears us, that it’s normal to be confused about our call in life.” I totally agree and often take comfort in that!
I am shocked this book is called Hannah’s Hope–that is the name of our miscarriage ministry in Virginia!! I, too, have always loved the story of Hannah…it is so poignant and beautiful. The part that always got me, however, was when she delivered her son, Samuel, to the temple as promised. Imagine being finally given the child you’ve prayed for and knowing you must surrender him to others after a few short years! I always see Hannah absolutely treasuring every moment with her son, never knowing if God was ever going to bless her with another child again. It’s a sacrifice most of us cannot even imagine. Thanks for a beautiful reminder that it all happens in God’s time.
Misty~
I too have always admired her bravery when she gives Samuel to Eli. In my mind I imagine that maybe she was helped because maybe she knew that she was pregnant – but we all know that one child doesn’t replace another…
I’m glad that you all (Elizabeth, Amelia & Misty) enjoyed the post! I was pleased to introduce everyone to St. Hannah.
Love this post, thanks for sharing! I became somewhat familiar with Hannah after joining an infertility support group that has her name within the group’s name. I didn’t know her full story until now though. So thanks for sharing it. I continue to keep you in my prayers when I pray for all my friends suffering the cross of infertility.
I’ve been married 2.5 years without a pregnancy (we tried unsuccessfully to concieve for the first few months of our marriage and then had a radical reduction in income). Thanks for reminding me that Hannah went on to have more children after Samuel. I long to have a large family, but at 33 with the history of reproductive health problems I have, it doesn’t seem very likely… but I know that God’s will will come IN HIS TIME.
Dear Catholic Sistas,
What a beautiful site! God bless you ladies for all the work you do to reach out to those that feel alone in the midst of their suffering.
I would like to invite you to join us on a private networking site via Face Book http://www.facebook.com/groups/123841434346585/ so that we can support one another in the work that Christ is doing within us. Also, I would like to share with you all, the Chaplet of Hannah’s Tears that you can now find at one click of a button 😀
http://hannahstears.net/chaplet-of-hannahs-tears/
Please let us know what you think of our new site http://hannahstears.net and how we can improve the site for those seeking comfort and aide.
Merry Christmas to one and ALL!
Your Sister in Christ & Our Lady of Mt. Carmel,
Therese Garcia, OCDS
Hannah’s Tears Ministry/Apostolate
http://www.theapostolateofhannahstears.blogspot.com
tgarcia@hannahstears.org
prayer@hannahstears.org
I have a similar story, I was told at the age of 29 that it was highly unlikely that I would concieve. I was attending an evening Mass and Hannah was mention several times. I came home and read several things about St. Hannah. Began to pray to her and ask God to just help me to accept his will, not a Dr.’s. Later I attended a retreat on a day of renewing. Again St.Hannah was mentioned. In June of the same year I found out that I was pregnant, it was then that I told my husband that I was sure it was a girl and her name will be Hannah. Truly a blessing from God. Throughout what was considered a high risk pregnancy we had decided not to find out the sex, however a slip of the tounge in Feb spilled the beans that it was a girl and we knew right away we were going to meet Hannah soon. This year my Hannah is making her confirmation and has chosen St. Hannah as her patrion saint and I could’nt be more proud of her. Please pray for my Hannah as she walks with Christ.
I just wanted to share that my husband and I have recently had 2 failed assisted reproductive technology treatments, but during the first round I had a dream that I was pregnant with a girl and the name Hannah Grace was given to me in the dream. Not knowing anything about her I googled the name the next morning only to be absolutely surprised at the result. I felt like God was telling me something and perhaps I needed to have faith in Him and His time. I’ve been really struggling with my faith the last few years but I want to believe that all will be good in His time. It’s amazing that the more i research about Hannah the more i find like this site. Thanks for these beautiful prayers… God bless.
Therese: Just wanted to say how sorry I am for your losses and your struggle. Take comfort in God and know he has a plan for you. I completely get how hard it is to trust and believe in that plan. I really struggled with that a lot during the years we were suffering through three pregnancy losses. It’s so hard! But try to listen to Him and pray and maybe He has a different plan for you than you expected. Or maybe not, maybe it’s just a different timeline than you want. You never know how God will bless you for your faithfulness to Him. God bless you!
I totally loved the story, so meaningful to me. I name not daughter Hannah that is 9yrs old. Had a confusing dream during my pregnancy about a messenger saying I should name my baby HANNAH. I still don’t understand it, but believe it has something to do with my previous baby Catherine I lost dye to a stillbirth. After reading the life if St HANNAH, I gained a better understanding of my own experience. Thank you for sharing.