The Word Among Us: A Catholic Devotional based on the Daily Mass Reading & Meditation for Friday, 5 June 2015

The Word Among Us: A Catholic Devotional based on the Daily Mass Reading & Meditation for Friday, 5 June 2015

Catholic Meditations

Meditation: Tobit 11:5 Now Anna was sitting down and watching the road that her son had taken. 6 When she saw him coming, she said to her husband,[a] “Look! Your son is coming, along with the man who went with him!”

7 Before Tobias reached his father, Raphael said to him, “I know that his eyes will be opened. 8 Smear the fish’s gall on his eyes. The medicine will make the white spots shrink and peel away from his eyes. Then your father will regain his sight and see the light.”

9 Anna jumped up and embraced her son, saying, “I see you, my child! Now I’m ready to die.” She began to cry.

Tobit’s blindness is healed

10 Then Tobit rose and stumbled through the courtyard door. Tobias went to him 11 with the fish’s gallbladder in his hand. Tobias sprinkled[b] some of the gall into his father’s eyes, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Father!”[c] He poured out the medicine on him and applied it. 12-13 Then with both his hands, he peeled off the white spots from the corners of Tobit’s eyes.

Tobit embraced him and began to cry, saying, “I see you, my child and light of my eyes! 14 May God be praised, and may his great name be praised, and may all his holy angels be praised forever! May his great name be upon us, and may all the angels be praised for all eternity! 15 Though he has disciplined me, look now! I see my son Tobias!”

Then Tobit came in rejoicing and praising God at the top of his lungs.[d] Tobias told his father that his trip had been successful: that he had brought the money; that he had taken Sarah, Raguel’s daughter, as his wife; and that, indeed, she was arriving and was near the gate of Nineveh.

16 Then Tobit went out to meet Tobias’ bride at the gate of Nineveh, rejoicing and praising God. The people of Nineveh were amazed when they saw him walking and moving along with all his strength without anyone leading him by the hand. 17 Tobit declared to them that God had shown mercy on him and opened his eyes. Then Tobit approached Sarah, his son Tobias’ wife, and he blessed her, saying, “May you come in good health, my daughter; may your God who has brought you to us be praised. May your father be blessed, may my son Tobias be blessed, and may you be blessed, my daughter. Come into your house in good health, in blessing and joy. Come in, my daughter!”

On this day joy came to all the Jews who were in Nineveh.[Footnotes:

Tobit 11:6 Vulg; LXX2 his father

Tobit 11:11 DSS Heb; LXX2 blew

Tobit 11:11 DSS Heb; LXX2 Take courage, Father!

Tobit 11:15 Gk with his whole mouth]

Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr
There was joy for all the Jews who lived in Nineveh. (Tobit 11:17)
What a happy ending! Tobit regained his sight, Sarah was happily married to Tobiah, and the entire family rejoiced in God’s blessings. But the journey to that point was far from easy. Sarah had married and lost seven husbands, and a grave had been dug for Tobiah on their wedding night. Tobit had to endure the pain of Tobiah smearing his eyes with fish gall (which made them “smart”) and peeling off his cataracts with both hands!
The Book of Tobit shows us that pain isn’t always bad. Difficulty is often part of the path of healing. It isn’t that God wants us to suffer, but he knows that suffering gives us the opportunity to cooperate with his grace. It forces the decision of whether we will sink into self-pity or keep following him in trust. This can take effort on our part. Tobiah had faith and a good disposition, but it couldn’t take him far enough. He had to act on his faith and “assault” his father’s eyes with the gall.
Sometimes our own faith requires painful decisions and a measure of discomfort. Maybe there was a time when you knew you needed to go to Confession, and it took all your will to approach the priest. Afterward, you experienced a freedom that would have been impossible had you not humbled yourself and received the grace of the sacrament. Or perhaps you have endured illness, either yours or that of someone close to you. You couldn’t understand why there was such suffering, but as you walked through it, you saw opportunities to grow closer to Christ. You discovered his presence and his love in ways you normally wouldn’t have seen.
Just because things look bleak, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a “happy ending” coming. We can listen to the words that Tobiah told his father, the same words Sarah’s mother told her: “Take courage!” As St. John Paul II used to say, “Be not afraid!” Trust God to walk with you through your challenges, and in the end, you’ll find a joy that overflows.
“Father, I won’t run away from discomfort. Help me to embrace everything you offer me so that I can receive your life.” Amen!
Psalm 146:1 Halleluyah!

Praise Adonai, my soul!

2 I will praise Adonai as long as I live.

I will sing praise to my God all my life.

6 He made heaven and earth,

the sea and everything in them;

he keeps faith forever.

7 He secures justice for the oppressed,

he gives food to the hungry.

Adonai sets prisoners free,

8 Adonai opens the eyes of the blind,

Adonai lifts up those who are bent over.

Adonai loves the righteous.

9 Adonai watches over strangers,

he sustains the fatherless and widows;

but the way of the wicked he twists.

10 Adonai will reign forever,

your God, Tziyon, through all generations.

Halleluyah!

Mark 12:35 As Yeshua was teaching in the Temple, he asked, “How is it that the Torah-teachers say the Messiah is the Son of David? 36 David himself, inspired by the Ruach HaKodesh, said,

‘Adonai said to my Lord,

“Sit here at my right hand

until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’[a]

37 David himself calls him ‘Lord’; so how is he his son?”

The great crowd listened eagerly to him.[Footnotes:

Mark 12:36 Psalm 110:1]

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