Tobit
offers a prayer to the Lord – he is suffering and he is stricken with
grief. He acknowledges the sinfulness of
human beings, how they have not been loyal to God and his commandments. Tobit asks the Lord to deal with him as he
pleases, but asks that he be allowed to die and be put out his misery. Tobit would rather die than endure this
suffering in his life.
As the same time, a woman named Sarah
says a prayer as well. She has been
married 7 times, and all 7 husbands have died.
She says a blessings to the Lord, but she also wishes to take her own life
to put herself out of her misery. The
Lord hears the prayers of both Tobit and Sarah, and he sends his Angel Raphael,
his special messenger, to bring healing into their lives.
Today, as we hear this very engaging
story from the book of Tobit, we celebrate the memorial of St Boniface, Bishop
and Martyr, which is why we have the liturgical color of red today. Boniface was born in England, but he was sent
to bring the Good News of Jesus to the Franks of present day Germany. Boniface faced a lot of failure in his
ministry, but he never gave up. He first
tried to minister to the people of Holland with no success at all. With the Franks, it was also a slow and
frustrating process, but he was able to convert many souls. Boniface met his end when a group of pagans
struck him down while he was in the process of confirming into the Church some
newly baptized members. Today, Boniface
is the patron saint of Germany, and he is an inspiration and example to many in
the faith.
We come to the Lord with our prayers
today, just as Boniface, Tobit, and Sarah came to him with their prayers as
well. Out of our humility, out of our
faith and steadfastness, we ask the Lord to bless us as we offer up our
blessings to him. May the Lord only increase our faithfulness through his
graces.
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