4 June 2021 - Friday of the 9th week in Ordinary Time - Tobit 14:1-10

      We have been hearing readings from the book of Tobit all week; these readings end today with a reading from the final Chapter of Tobit. Some of these readings have been quite long, but the book of Tobit is certainly very interesting and fanciful.  It is one of those books that is included in the Catholic Bible but is not found in the Protestant Bible.  Above all, the story of Tobit is a story of trust, faith, and mercy.  The return of Tobiah today to his sick father and grief-stricken mother tugs at our heartstrings.  Tobiah’s total devotion to his family is noteworthy in this book.  He was laser focused in returning home to calm his parent’s fears and concerns and to bring a cure his father’s blindness. Tobiah's strong commitment to family and belief that God will be able to make anything happen is a center-piece of this biblical story.    

       So, today, one lesson for us from Tobit is the need for trust and faith.  With what we all have gone through this past year shows us how important it is to have trust and to have faith in the midst of our struggles and in the midst of an uncertain and sometimes hostile world. 

       In the Old Testament story of Tobit, the prayers for both Tobit and Sarah result in the arrival of the angel Raphael.  Think of the times our own prayers are answered.  Think of the people who come into our lives to help answer our prayers.  God sometimes sends angels on special missions here on earth.  But there are humans who come to us in our time of need as well, just like Raphael did for Tobit and his family.   As today’s first reading focuses on Tobit and his family, our mass special Mass intentions focus on our Carmelite family.  Today, the Bishop and I are here at the Carmelite monastery to celebrate Mass with all of you and to pray for sister Marie’s mom who recently passed away, to lift up our prayers for the repose of her soul.  And to lift up prayers for Sister Marie and her sister and her entire family.  And we pray in special for Dorothy’s prayer intention today, for her daughter Kirkland’s birthday.  There are secular Carmelites who are attending the Mass today in person in a special way and a lot of the secular Carmelites who could not be here in person said they were lifting up there prayers today in a special way.  We are together today as the Carmelite family.