We
hear a very long reading from the book of Tobit today, which we have been
hearing from all week as our first readings.
In answer to the prayers of Tobit and Sarah, God sends the Angel Raphael
to answer their prayers as a special messenger.
The Angel tells Tobit’s son Tobiah to go to the house of Raguel to
arrange a marriage with his daughter Sarah.
In our modern way of thinking, we might be put off by the way Tobiah and
Raguel arrange this marriage. Tobias
seems unafraid and very trusting in the Lord, even when he hears that seven
other men married Sarah and did not live past their wedding night.
What should touch our hearts, however, is the
prayer that Tobias and Sarah offer God in order to bless their marriage. Tobiah
and Sarah acknowledge that their marriage not only fulfills their love for each
other and their desire to be husband & wife, but that their marriage comes
from God, that their marriage is instituted by God. In their prayer, Tobiah and Sarah pray to
God, saying: “It is you who created Adam, you who created Eve his wife, to be
his help and support. It was you who
said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone.’” Because they know in their
hearts that their marriage comes from God, Sarah & Tobiah pray confidently
to God, asking for his help in their marriage.
This wedding prayer from the book of Tobit is commonly chosen for
Catholic weddings, with many brides and grooms identifying with the wishes
offered up to God on their wedding night.
This prayer that we hear from Tobit today
reminds us of the call to holiness that all of us have in life, of the way we
are to pledge our lives to God in the vocation we choose. May this be our wish.
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