Tobit 1:3; 2:1a-8
#353 Weekday Year I Context (Monday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time)
I, Tobit, have walked all the days of my life
on the paths of truth and righteousness.
I performed many charitable works for my kinsmen and my people
who had been deported with me to Nineveh, in Assyria.
On our festival of Pentecost, the feast of Weeks,
a fine dinner was prepared for me, and I reclined to eat.
The table was set for me,
and when many different dishes were placed before me,
I said to my son Tobiah: "My son,
go out and try to find a poor man
from among our kinsmen exiled here in Nineveh.
If he is a sincere worshiper of God, bring him back with you,
so that he can share this meal with me.
Indeed, son, I shall wait for you to come back."
Tobiah went out to look for some poor kinsman of ours.
When he returned he exclaimed, "Father!"
I said to him, "What is it, son?"
He answered, "Father, one of our people has been murdered!
His body lies in the market place where he was just strangled!"
I sprang to my feet, leaving the dinner untouched;
and I carried the dead man from the street
and put him in one of the rooms,
so that I might bury him after sunset.
Returning to my own quarters, I washed myself
and ate my food in sorrow.
I was reminded of the oracle
pronounced by the prophet Amos against Bethel:
"All your festivals shall be turned into mourning,
and all your songs into lamentation."
And I wept.
Then at sunset I went out, dug a grave, and buried him.
The neighbors mocked me, saying to one another:
"He is still not afraid!
Once before he was hunted down for execution
because of this very thing;
yet now that he has scarcely escaped,
here he is again burying the dead!"
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Commentary on Tb 1:3; 2:1a-8
This section of the Book of Tobit introduces us to some of the main characters in the story and sets up the trials of the author. In this passage we hear that the festival Pentecost (the Hebrew festival of Weeks, not the Christian Solemnity) is taking place. The virtues of the author in alms giving and charity are described. Tobit is held up as a strict follower of Mosaic Law during this time when a majority of the faithful are lapsing. The second part of the selection speaks about the murder of one of the people and subsequent acts set the stage for fulfillment of earlier prophecies and further events in the story the prophet tells. The fact that the Jews abandoned their dead shows how far the faith had degraded. In burying his dead compatriot, Tobit attempts to capture the spirit of the law and reverse this trend. It is dangerous for him to do so.
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Tobit 2:9-14
#354 Weekday Year I Context (Tuesday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time)
On the night of Pentecost, after I had buried the dead,
I, Tobit, went into my courtyard
to sleep next to the courtyard wall.
My face was uncovered because of the heat.
I did not know there were birds perched on the wall above me,
till their warm droppings settled in my eyes, causing cataracts.
I went to see some doctors for a cure
but the more they anointed my eyes with various salves,
the worse the cataracts became,
until I could see no more.
For four years I was deprived of eyesight, and
all my kinsmen were grieved at my condition.
Ahiqar, however, took care of me for two years,
until he left for Elymais.
At that time, my wife Anna worked for hire
at weaving cloth, the kind of work women do.
When she sent back the goods to their owners, they would pay her.
Late in winter on the seventh of Dystrus,
she finished the cloth and sent it back to the owners.
They paid her the full salary
and also gave her a young goat for the table.
On entering my house the goat began to bleat.
I called to my wife and said: "Where did this goat come from?
Perhaps it was stolen! Give it back to its owners;
we have no right to eat stolen food!"
She said to me, "It was given to me as a bonus over and above my wages."
Yet I would not believe her,
and told her to give it back to its owners.
I became very angry with her over this.
So she retorted: "Where are your charitable deeds now?
Where are your virtuous acts?
See! Your true character is finally showing itself!"
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Commentary on Tb 2:9-14
This story from the Book of Tobit describes how the prophet became blind. The event would have been viewed as a punishment from God by members of the community. The once wealthy Tobit has come to a point where his wife works as a weaver. Tobit, in either his pride or his suspicion, tells his wife to give back a goat given to her as an additional payment. In her response, his wife provides the moral lesson of the story as she points out that charitable deeds and virtuous acts begin in the home.
#353 Weekday Year I Context (Monday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time)
I, Tobit, have walked all the days of my life
on the paths of truth and righteousness.
I performed many charitable works for my kinsmen and my people
who had been deported with me to Nineveh, in Assyria.
On our festival of Pentecost, the feast of Weeks,
a fine dinner was prepared for me, and I reclined to eat.
The table was set for me,
and when many different dishes were placed before me,
I said to my son Tobiah: "My son,
go out and try to find a poor man
from among our kinsmen exiled here in Nineveh.
If he is a sincere worshiper of God, bring him back with you,
so that he can share this meal with me.
Indeed, son, I shall wait for you to come back."
Tobiah went out to look for some poor kinsman of ours.
When he returned he exclaimed, "Father!"
I said to him, "What is it, son?"
He answered, "Father, one of our people has been murdered!
His body lies in the market place where he was just strangled!"
I sprang to my feet, leaving the dinner untouched;
and I carried the dead man from the street
and put him in one of the rooms,
so that I might bury him after sunset.
Returning to my own quarters, I washed myself
and ate my food in sorrow.
I was reminded of the oracle
pronounced by the prophet Amos against Bethel:
"All your festivals shall be turned into mourning,
and all your songs into lamentation."
And I wept.
Then at sunset I went out, dug a grave, and buried him.
The neighbors mocked me, saying to one another:
"He is still not afraid!
Once before he was hunted down for execution
because of this very thing;
yet now that he has scarcely escaped,
here he is again burying the dead!"
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Commentary on Tb 1:3; 2:1a-8
This section of the Book of Tobit introduces us to some of the main characters in the story and sets up the trials of the author. In this passage we hear that the festival Pentecost (the Hebrew festival of Weeks, not the Christian Solemnity) is taking place. The virtues of the author in alms giving and charity are described. Tobit is held up as a strict follower of Mosaic Law during this time when a majority of the faithful are lapsing. The second part of the selection speaks about the murder of one of the people and subsequent acts set the stage for fulfillment of earlier prophecies and further events in the story the prophet tells. The fact that the Jews abandoned their dead shows how far the faith had degraded. In burying his dead compatriot, Tobit attempts to capture the spirit of the law and reverse this trend. It is dangerous for him to do so.
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Tobit 2:9-14
#354 Weekday Year I Context (Tuesday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time)
On the night of Pentecost, after I had buried the dead,
I, Tobit, went into my courtyard
to sleep next to the courtyard wall.
My face was uncovered because of the heat.
I did not know there were birds perched on the wall above me,
till their warm droppings settled in my eyes, causing cataracts.
I went to see some doctors for a cure
but the more they anointed my eyes with various salves,
the worse the cataracts became,
until I could see no more.
For four years I was deprived of eyesight, and
all my kinsmen were grieved at my condition.
Ahiqar, however, took care of me for two years,
until he left for Elymais.
At that time, my wife Anna worked for hire
at weaving cloth, the kind of work women do.
When she sent back the goods to their owners, they would pay her.
Late in winter on the seventh of Dystrus,
she finished the cloth and sent it back to the owners.
They paid her the full salary
and also gave her a young goat for the table.
On entering my house the goat began to bleat.
I called to my wife and said: "Where did this goat come from?
Perhaps it was stolen! Give it back to its owners;
we have no right to eat stolen food!"
She said to me, "It was given to me as a bonus over and above my wages."
Yet I would not believe her,
and told her to give it back to its owners.
I became very angry with her over this.
So she retorted: "Where are your charitable deeds now?
Where are your virtuous acts?
See! Your true character is finally showing itself!"
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Commentary on Tb 2:9-14
This story from the Book of Tobit describes how the prophet became blind. The event would have been viewed as a punishment from God by members of the community. The once wealthy Tobit has come to a point where his wife works as a weaver. Tobit, in either his pride or his suspicion, tells his wife to give back a goat given to her as an additional payment. In her response, his wife provides the moral lesson of the story as she points out that charitable deeds and virtuous acts begin in the home.
"Tobit's situation parallels that of everyone who strives to be faithful. As St Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:8-10, 'We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.' The Vulgate version of the Bible includes after v. 10 some reflections on why Tobit should have had to suffer in this way: see the RSVCE note on p. 615." [2]
CCC: Tb 2:12-18 Vulg. 312
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Tobit 3:1-11a, 16-17a
#355 Weekday Year I Context (Wednesday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time)
Grief-stricken in spirit, I, Tobit, groaned and wept aloud.
Then with sobs I began to pray:
"You are righteous, O Lord,
and all your deeds are just;
All your ways are mercy and truth;
you are the judge of the world.
And now, O Lord, may you be mindful of me,
and look with favor upon me.
Punish me not for my sins,
nor for my inadvertent offenses,
nor for those of my ancestors.
"We sinned against you,
and disobeyed your commandments.
So you handed us over to plundering, exile, and death,
till you made us the talk and reproach of all the nations
among whom you had dispersed us.
"Yes, your judgments are many and true
in dealing with me as my sins
and those of my ancestors deserve.
For we have not kept your commandments,
nor have we trodden the paths of truth before you.
"So now, deal with me as you please,
and command my life breath to be taken from me,
that I may go from the face of the earth into dust.
It is better for me to die than to live,
because I have heard insulting calumnies,
and I am overwhelmed with grief.
"Lord, command me to be delivered from such anguish;
let me go to the everlasting abode;
Lord, refuse me not.
For it is better for me to die
than to endure so much misery in life,
and to hear these insults!"
On the same day, at Ecbatana in Media,
it so happened that Raguel's daughter Sarah
also had to listen to abuse,
from one of her father's maids.
For she had been married to seven husbands,
but the wicked demon Asmodeus killed them off
before they could have intercourse with her,
as it is prescribed for wives.
So the maid said to her:
"You are the one who strangles your husbands!
Look at you!
You have already been married seven times,
but you have had no joy with any one of your husbands.
Why do you beat us? Is it on account of your seven husbands,
Because they are dead?
May we never see a son or daughter of yours!"
The girl was deeply saddened that day,
and she went into an upper chamber of her house,
where she planned to hang herself.
But she reconsidered, saying to herself:
"No! People would level this insult against my father:
'You had only one beloved daughter,
but she hanged herself because of ill fortune!'
And thus would I cause my father in his old age
to go down to the nether world laden with sorrow.
It is far better for me not to hang myself,
but to beg the Lord to have me die,
so that I need no longer live to hear such insults."
At that time, then, she spread out her hands,
and facing the window, poured out her prayer:
"Blessed are you, O Lord, merciful God,
and blessed is your holy and honorable name.
Blessed are you in all your works for ever!"
At that very time,
the prayer of these two suppliants
was heard in the glorious presence of Almighty God.
So Raphael was sent to heal them both:
to remove the cataracts from Tobit's eyes,
so that he might again see God's sunlight;
and to marry Raguel's daughter Sarah to Tobit's son Tobiah,
and then drive the wicked demon Asmodeus from her.
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Commentary on Tb 3:1-11a, 16-17a
We take up the story of Tobit once more. In the beginning of this passage we hear Tobit’s prayer of penitence probably stimulated by the chastisement he received from his wife at the end of the previous chapter. (It is also likely that his mood was amplified by his malady which he would interpret as a punishment from God for his sins and the sins of his forebears.)
While the prayer of Tobit rises we begin to hear the story of Sarah whose part in the story becomes important. She too has suffered chastisement (note: we see more evidence here of the influence of Near Eastern myth at the introduction of the demon Asmodeus as the murderer of Sarah’s seven husbands.) The number seven is in Hebrew numerology the perfect number. In her sorrow, she also turns to prayer and both prayers reach God who decides to intervene. He sends the Archangel Raphael to heal both their hurts and to intertwine their fates.
CCC: Tb 3:11-16 2585
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Tobit 6:10-11; 7:1bcde, 9-17; 8:4-9a
#356 Weekday Year I Context (Thursday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time)
When the angel Raphael and Tobiah had entered Media
and were getting close to Ecbatana,
Raphael said to the boy,
"Tobiah, my brother!"
He replied: "Here I am!"
He said: "Tonight we must stay with Raguel, who is a relative of yours.
He has a daughter named Sarah."
So he brought him to the house of Raguel,
whom they found seated by his courtyard gate.
They greeted him first.
He said to them, "Greetings to you too, brothers!
Good health to you, and welcome!"
And he brought them into his home.
Raguel slaughtered a ram from the flock
and gave them a cordial reception.
When they had bathed and reclined to eat, Tobiah said to Raphael,
"Brother Azariah, ask Raguel to let me marry
my kinswoman Sarah."
Raguel overheard the words; so he said to the boy:
"Eat and drink and be merry tonight,
for no man is more entitled
to marry my daughter Sarah than you, brother.
Besides, not even I have the right to give her to anyone but you,
because you are my closest relative.
But I will explain the situation to you very frankly.
I have given her in marriage to seven men,
all of whom were kinsmen of ours,
and all died on the very night they approached her.
But now, son, eat and drink.
I am sure the Lord will look after you both."
Tobiah answered,
"I will eat or drink nothing until you set aside what belongs to me."
Raguel said to him: "I will do it.
She is yours according to the decree of the Book of Moses.
Your marriage to her has been decided in heaven!
Take your kinswoman;
from now on you are her love, and she is your beloved.
She is yours today and ever after.
And tonight, son, may the Lord of heaven prosper you both.
May he grant you mercy and peace."
Then Raguel called his daughter Sarah, and she came to him.
He took her by the hand and gave her to Tobiah with the words:
"Take her according to the law.
According to the decree written in the Book of Moses
she is your wife.
Take her and bring her back safely to your father.
And may the God of heaven grant both of you peace and prosperity."
Raguel then called Sarah's mother and told her to bring a scroll,
so that he might draw up a marriage contract
stating that he gave Sarah to Tobiah as his wife
according to the decree of the Mosaic law.
Her mother brought the scroll,
and Raguel drew up the contract, to which they affixed their seals.
Afterward they began to eat and drink.
Later Raguel called his wife Edna and said,
"My love, prepare the other bedroom and bring the girl there."
She went and made the bed in the room, as she was told,
and brought the girl there.
After she had cried over her, she wiped away the tears and said:
"Be brave, my daughter.
May the Lord grant you joy in place of your grief.
Courage, my daughter."
Then she left.
When the girl's parents left the bedroom
and closed the door behind them,
Tobiah arose from bed and said to his wife,
"My love, get up.
Let us pray and beg our Lord to have mercy on us
and to grant us deliverance."
She got up, and they started to pray
and beg that deliverance might be theirs.
And they began to say:
"Blessed are you, O God of our fathers,
praised be your name forever and ever.
Let the heavens and all your creation
praise you forever.
You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve
to be his help and support;
and from these two the human race descended.
You said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone;
let us make him a partner like himself.'
Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine
not because of lust,
but for a noble purpose.
Call down your mercy on me and on her,
and allow us to live together to a happy old age."
They said together, "Amen, amen," and went to bed for the night.
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Commentary on Tb 6:10-11; 7:1bcde, 9-17; 8:4-9a
This is the story of Tobiah, Tobit’s son (or Tobias in other translations). He and the Archangel Raphael come to the place where Sarah and her family live. We see that the Jewish customs related to marriage are followed. The warning about what has happened to Sarah’s seven previous husbands on their wedding night is delivered, but this union is ordained by God and so we see it contracted and consummated, the latter with prayer for deliverance which concludes the reading today.
Excluded from the story were Raphael’s instructions (somewhat mystical regarding the use of a fish liver and gall) and the archangel's victory over the demon that had killed Sarah’s seven previous husbands. While this all seems fanciful, it is clear that prayer and divine intervention are the keys to Tobiah’s and Sarah’s successful marriage.
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Tobit 7:6-14
#801 Ritual Mass (VI. For the Conferral of the Sacrament of Marriage, 4.)
Raphael and Tobiah entered the house of Raguel and greeted him.
Raguel sprang up and kissed Tobiah, shedding tears of joy.
But when he heard that Tobit had lost his eyesight,
he was grieved and wept aloud.
He said to Tobiah:
"My child. God bless you!
You are the son of a noble and good father.
But what a terrible misfortune
that such a righteous and charitable man
should be afflicted with blindness!"
He continued to weep in the arms of his kinsman Tobiah.
His wife Edna also wept for Tobit;
and even their daughter Sarah began to weep.
Afterward, Raguel slaughtered a ram from the flock
and gave them a cordial reception.
When they had bathed and reclined to eat,
Tobiah said to Raphael, "Brother Azariah,
ask Raguel to let me marry my kinswoman Sarah."
Raguel overheard the words;
so he said to the boy:
"Eat and drink and be merry tonight,
for no man is more entitled to marry my daughter Sarah
than you, brother.
Besides, not even I have the right to give her to anyone but you,
because you are my closest relative.
But I will explain the situation to you very frankly.
I have given her in marriage to seven men,
all of whom were kinsmen of ours,
and all died on the very night they approached her.
But now, son, eat and drink.
I am sure the Lord will look after you both."
Tobiah answered, "I will eat or drink nothing
until you set aside what belongs to me."
Raguel said to him: "I will do it.
She is yours according to the decree of the Book of Moses.
Your marriage to her has been decided in heaven!
Take your kinswoman;
from now on you are her love,
and she is your beloved.
She is yours today and ever after.
And tonight, son, may the Lord of heaven prosper you both.
May he grant you mercy and peace."
Then Raguel called his daughter Sarah, and she came to liim.
He took her by the hand and gave her to Tobiah with the words:
"Take her according to the law.
According to the decree written in the Book of Moses she is your wife.
Take her and bring her back safely to your father.
And may the God of heaven grant both of you peace and prosperity."
He then called her mother and told her to bring a scroll,
so that he might draw up a marriage contract
stating that he gave Sarah to Tobiah as his wife
according to the decree of the Mosaic law.
Her mother brought the scroll,
and he drew up the contract,
to which they affixed their seals.
Afterward they began to eat and drink.
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Commentary on Tb 7:6-14
God’s marriage plan for Tobiah unfolds in this meeting between he and Raguel (accompanied by the Archangel Raphael). In the story we see the traditional Hebrew requirement for hospitality carried out according to Mosaic Law and tradition. Sarah’s father, an upright man, does not want there to be any hidden danger for Tobiah so he discloses the fate of Sarah’s previous suitors. In the Vulgate translation, this is encouraged by the angel “Be not afraid to give her to this man, for to him who feareth God is thy daughter due to be his wife. Therefore another could not have her.”[1]
Undaunted by the previous interference, the wedding takes place. This is the first time in Sacred Scripture the Mosaic Wedding Contract is laid down. The passage concludes with the contract being drawn up, since along with marriage, Raguel’s property is given as an inheritance in this action.
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Tobit 8:4b-8
#737 Commons Context (Common of Holy Men and Women)
#801 Ritual Mass Context (VI. For the Conferral of the Sacrament of Marriage, 5.)
On their wedding night Tobiah arose from bed and said to his wife,
"My love, get up. Let us pray and beg our Lord
to have mercy on us and to grant us deliverance."
She got up, and they started to pray
and beg that deliverance might be theirs.
He began with these words:
"Blessed are you, O God of our fathers;
praised be your name forever and ever.
Let the heavens and all your creation
praise you forever.
You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve
to be his help and support;
and from these two the human race descended.
You said, 'it is not good for the man to be alone;
let us make him a partner like himself.'
Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine
not because of lust,
but for a noble purpose.
Call down your mercy on me and on her,
and allow us to live together to a happy old age."
They said together, "Amen, amen."
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Commentary on Tb 8:4b-8
Previously, in the story of Tobit, the unrecognized archangel Raphael, who was in the guise of a traveling companion of Tobiah (son of Tobit), had warned him (Tobiah) that his bride Sarah was hounded by a demon that had killed seven previous husbands on their wedding night. He gave instructions as to how this demon could be driven off using the liver and heart of a fish (see Tobit 6:14-18). The prayer of husband (Tobiah) and wife (Sarah) demonstrates the couple’s recognition that God has commanded this union and that the demon that represented lust was banished by their prayerful approach to the sacred union quoting Genesis 2:18.
CCC: Tb 8:4-9 2361; Tb 8:6 360
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Tobit 11:5-17
#357 Weekday Year I Context (Friday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time)
Anna sat watching the road by which her son was to come.
When she saw him coming, she exclaimed to his father,
"Tobit, your son is coming, and the man who traveled with him!"
Raphael said to Tobiah before he reached his father:
"I am certain that his eyes will be opened.
Smear the fish gall on them.
This medicine will make the cataracts shrink and peel off from his eyes;
then your father will again be able to see the light of day."
Then Anna ran up to her son, threw her arms around him,
and said to him,
"Now that I have seen you again, son, I am ready to die!"
And she sobbed aloud.
Tobit got up and stumbled out through the courtyard gate.
Tobiah went up to him with the fish gall in his hand,
and holding him firmly, blew into his eyes.
"Courage, father," he said.
Next he smeared the medicine on his eyes, and it made them smart.
Then, beginning at the corners of Tobit's eyes,
Tobiah used both hands to peel off the cataracts.
When Tobit saw his son, he threw his arms around him and wept.
He exclaimed, "I can see you, son, the light of my eyes!"
Then he said:
"Blessed be God,
and praised be his great name,
and blessed be all his holy angels.
May his holy name be praised
throughout all the ages,
Because it was he who scourged me,
and it is he who has had mercy on me.
Behold, I now see my son Tobiah!"
Then Tobit went back in, rejoicing and praising God with full voice
for everything that had happened.
Tobiah told his father that
the Lord God had granted him a successful journey;
that he had brought back the money;
and that he had married Raguel's daughter Sarah,
who would arrive shortly,
for she was approaching the gate of Nineveh.
Tobit and Anna rejoiced
and went out to the gate of Nineveh
to meet their daughter-in-law.
When the people of Nineveh saw Tobit walking along briskly,
with no one leading him by the hand, they were amazed.
Before them all Tobit proclaimed
how God had mercifully restored sight to his eyes.
When Tobit reached Sarah, the wife of his son Tobiah,
he greeted her: "Welcome, my daughter!
Blessed be your God for bringing you to us, daughter!
Blessed is your father, and blessed is my son Tobiah,
and blessed are you, daughter!
Welcome to your home with blessing and joy.
Come in, daughter!"
That day there was joy for all the Jews who lived in Nineveh.
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Commentary on Tb 11:5-17
As the story of Tobit continues, Tobiah, Tobit’s son, had completed the task for which he was sent to Media. He had recovered the money Tobit had deposited there before their exile, and, in addition, he had married Sarah. We see that Tobit’s first reaction, like that of his son and Sarah, was to thank God and praise him for his help. In the prayer of Tobit we find a formula for praise and thanksgiving.
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Tobit 12:1, 5-15, 20
#358 Weekday Year I Context (Saturday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time)
Tobit called his son Tobiah and said to him,
"Son, see to it that you give what is due to the man
who made the journey with you; give him a bonus too."
So he called Raphael and said,
"Take as your wages half of all that you have brought back,
and go in peace."
Raphael called the two men aside privately and said to them:
"Thank God! Give him the praise and the glory.
Before all the living,
acknowledge the many good things he has done for you,
by blessing and extolling his name in song.
Honor and proclaim God's deeds,
and do not be slack in praising him.
A king's secret it is prudent to keep,
but the works of God are to be declared and made known.
Praise them with due honor.
Do good, and evil will not find its way to you.
Prayer and fasting are good,
but better than either is almsgiving accompanied by righteousness.
A little with righteousness is better than abundance with wickedness.
It is better to give alms than to store up gold;
for almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin.
Those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life;
but those habitually guilty of sin are their own worst enemies.
"I will now tell you the whole truth;
I will conceal nothing at all from you.
I have already said to you,
'A king's secret it is prudent to keep,
but the works of God are to be made known with due honor.'
I can now tell you that when you, Tobit, and Sarah prayed,
it was I who presented and read the record of your prayer
before the Glory of the Lord;
and I did the same thing when you used to bury the dead.
When you did not hesitate to get up
and leave your dinner in order to go and bury the dead,
I was sent to put you to the test.
At the same time, however,
God commissioned me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah.
I am Raphael, one of the seven angels
who enter and serve before the Glory of the Lord."
"So now get up from the ground and praise God.
Behold, I am about to ascend to him who sent me;
write down all these things that have happened to you."
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Commentary on Tb 12:1, 5-15, 20
At this point in the story of Tobit, the prophet asks his son to pay the “man” that had accompanied him, not realizing that who they thought was a man was really Raphael, the Archangel. When they approached him to give a generous reward, Raphael unmasked himself and instructed them to give praise to God for the saving acts.
Special emphasis is made, in Raphael’s instruction, to act in accordance with the Law of Moses (righteousness) and acts of charity (almsgiving). These two public actions are even better than prayer and fasting, private worship of God. Echoing this idea, we find the recurring statement: “A king’s secret it is prudent to keep, but the works of God are to be declared and made known.”
CCC: Tb 12:8 1434; Tb 12:12 336
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Tobit 12:6-14a
#517A Proper of Saints Context (St. Marianne Cope, Virgin, Jan 23) *
#529 Proper of Saints Context (St. Jerome Emiliani, Feb 8)
#737 Commons Context (Common of Holy Men and Women)
The angel Raphael said to Tobit and his son:
"Thank God! Give him the praise and the glory.
Before all the living,
acknowledge the many good things he has done for you,
by blessing and extolling his name in song.
Honor and proclaim God's deeds,
and do not be slack in praising him.
A king's secret it is prudent to keep,
but the works of God are to be declared and made known.
Praise them with due honor.
Do good, and evil will not find its way to you.
Prayer and fasting are good,
but better than either is almsgiving accompanied by righteousness.
A little with righteousness is better than abundance with wickedness.
It is better to give alms than to store up gold;
for almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin.
Those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life;
but those habitually guilty of sin are their own worst enemies.
"I will now tell you the whole truth;
I will conceal nothing at all from you.
I have already said to you,
'A king's secret it is prudent to keep,
but the works of God are to be made known with due honor.'
I can now tell you that when you, Tobit, and Sarah prayed,
it was I who presented and read the record of your prayer
before the Glory of the Lord;
and I did the same thing when you used to bury the dead.
When you did not hesitate to get up
and leave your dinner in order to go and bury the dead,
I was sent to put you to the test."
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Commentary on Tb 12:6-13
* Transferred from Jan 22nd, Author's selection.
At this point in the story of Tobit, the prophet asks his son to pay the “man” that had accompanied him, not realizing that who they thought was a man was really Raphael, the archangel. When they approach him to give a generous reward, Raphael unmasks himself and instructs them to give praise to God for the saving acts.
Special emphasis is made in Raphael’s instruction to act in accordance with the Law of Moses (righteousness) and perform acts of charity (almsgiving). These two actions are better even than prayer and fasting, private worship of God and: “A king’s secret it is prudent to keep, but the works of God are to be declared and made known.”
CCC: Tb 12:8 1434; Tb 12:12 336
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Tobit 13:2, 6efgh, 7, 8
#358 Weekday Year I Context (Saturday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time)
#451 Weekday Year I Context (Wednesday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time)
#929 Masses for Various Needs Context (III. In Various Public Circumstances, 22. For Refugees and Exiles, 1.)
R. (1b) Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
He scourges and then has mercy;
he casts down to the depths of the nether world,
and he brings up from the great abyss.
No one can escape his hand.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
So now consider what he has done for you,
and praise him with full voice.
Bless the Lord of righteousness,
and exalt the King of ages.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
In the land of my exile I praise him
and show his power and majesty to a sinful nation.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Bless the Lord, all you his chosen ones,
and may all of you praise his majesty.
Celebrate days of gladness, and give him praise.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
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Commentary on Tb 13:2, 6efgh, 7, 8
This psalm and response are taken from the Book of Tobit. It is Tobit's response to the Archangel Raphael’s instruction to give thanks to God for his blessings. It is a hymn of praise and thanksgiving to God for his help and salvation. It recalls the Diaspora and the restoration of Israel. Echoing the prayer of Ezra (Ezra 9:6), it recalls that it was through God’s mercy that these things were accomplished rather than the merit of a sinful people.
CCC: Tb 13:2 269
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[1] The Navarre Bible: “Chrnicles-Maccabees”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 323.
CCC: Tb 2:12-18 Vulg. 312
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Tobit 3:1-11a, 16-17a
#355 Weekday Year I Context (Wednesday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time)
Grief-stricken in spirit, I, Tobit, groaned and wept aloud.
Then with sobs I began to pray:
"You are righteous, O Lord,
and all your deeds are just;
All your ways are mercy and truth;
you are the judge of the world.
And now, O Lord, may you be mindful of me,
and look with favor upon me.
Punish me not for my sins,
nor for my inadvertent offenses,
nor for those of my ancestors.
"We sinned against you,
and disobeyed your commandments.
So you handed us over to plundering, exile, and death,
till you made us the talk and reproach of all the nations
among whom you had dispersed us.
"Yes, your judgments are many and true
in dealing with me as my sins
and those of my ancestors deserve.
For we have not kept your commandments,
nor have we trodden the paths of truth before you.
"So now, deal with me as you please,
and command my life breath to be taken from me,
that I may go from the face of the earth into dust.
It is better for me to die than to live,
because I have heard insulting calumnies,
and I am overwhelmed with grief.
"Lord, command me to be delivered from such anguish;
let me go to the everlasting abode;
Lord, refuse me not.
For it is better for me to die
than to endure so much misery in life,
and to hear these insults!"
On the same day, at Ecbatana in Media,
it so happened that Raguel's daughter Sarah
also had to listen to abuse,
from one of her father's maids.
For she had been married to seven husbands,
but the wicked demon Asmodeus killed them off
before they could have intercourse with her,
as it is prescribed for wives.
So the maid said to her:
"You are the one who strangles your husbands!
Look at you!
You have already been married seven times,
but you have had no joy with any one of your husbands.
Why do you beat us? Is it on account of your seven husbands,
Because they are dead?
May we never see a son or daughter of yours!"
The girl was deeply saddened that day,
and she went into an upper chamber of her house,
where she planned to hang herself.
But she reconsidered, saying to herself:
"No! People would level this insult against my father:
'You had only one beloved daughter,
but she hanged herself because of ill fortune!'
And thus would I cause my father in his old age
to go down to the nether world laden with sorrow.
It is far better for me not to hang myself,
but to beg the Lord to have me die,
so that I need no longer live to hear such insults."
At that time, then, she spread out her hands,
and facing the window, poured out her prayer:
"Blessed are you, O Lord, merciful God,
and blessed is your holy and honorable name.
Blessed are you in all your works for ever!"
At that very time,
the prayer of these two suppliants
was heard in the glorious presence of Almighty God.
So Raphael was sent to heal them both:
to remove the cataracts from Tobit's eyes,
so that he might again see God's sunlight;
and to marry Raguel's daughter Sarah to Tobit's son Tobiah,
and then drive the wicked demon Asmodeus from her.
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Commentary on Tb 3:1-11a, 16-17a
We take up the story of Tobit once more. In the beginning of this passage we hear Tobit’s prayer of penitence probably stimulated by the chastisement he received from his wife at the end of the previous chapter. (It is also likely that his mood was amplified by his malady which he would interpret as a punishment from God for his sins and the sins of his forebears.)
While the prayer of Tobit rises we begin to hear the story of Sarah whose part in the story becomes important. She too has suffered chastisement (note: we see more evidence here of the influence of Near Eastern myth at the introduction of the demon Asmodeus as the murderer of Sarah’s seven husbands.) The number seven is in Hebrew numerology the perfect number. In her sorrow, she also turns to prayer and both prayers reach God who decides to intervene. He sends the Archangel Raphael to heal both their hurts and to intertwine their fates.
CCC: Tb 3:11-16 2585
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Tobit 6:10-11; 7:1bcde, 9-17; 8:4-9a
#356 Weekday Year I Context (Thursday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time)
When the angel Raphael and Tobiah had entered Media
and were getting close to Ecbatana,
Raphael said to the boy,
"Tobiah, my brother!"
He replied: "Here I am!"
He said: "Tonight we must stay with Raguel, who is a relative of yours.
He has a daughter named Sarah."
So he brought him to the house of Raguel,
whom they found seated by his courtyard gate.
They greeted him first.
He said to them, "Greetings to you too, brothers!
Good health to you, and welcome!"
And he brought them into his home.
Raguel slaughtered a ram from the flock
and gave them a cordial reception.
When they had bathed and reclined to eat, Tobiah said to Raphael,
"Brother Azariah, ask Raguel to let me marry
my kinswoman Sarah."
Raguel overheard the words; so he said to the boy:
"Eat and drink and be merry tonight,
for no man is more entitled
to marry my daughter Sarah than you, brother.
Besides, not even I have the right to give her to anyone but you,
because you are my closest relative.
But I will explain the situation to you very frankly.
I have given her in marriage to seven men,
all of whom were kinsmen of ours,
and all died on the very night they approached her.
But now, son, eat and drink.
I am sure the Lord will look after you both."
Tobiah answered,
"I will eat or drink nothing until you set aside what belongs to me."
Raguel said to him: "I will do it.
She is yours according to the decree of the Book of Moses.
Your marriage to her has been decided in heaven!
Take your kinswoman;
from now on you are her love, and she is your beloved.
She is yours today and ever after.
And tonight, son, may the Lord of heaven prosper you both.
May he grant you mercy and peace."
Then Raguel called his daughter Sarah, and she came to him.
He took her by the hand and gave her to Tobiah with the words:
"Take her according to the law.
According to the decree written in the Book of Moses
she is your wife.
Take her and bring her back safely to your father.
And may the God of heaven grant both of you peace and prosperity."
Raguel then called Sarah's mother and told her to bring a scroll,
so that he might draw up a marriage contract
stating that he gave Sarah to Tobiah as his wife
according to the decree of the Mosaic law.
Her mother brought the scroll,
and Raguel drew up the contract, to which they affixed their seals.
Afterward they began to eat and drink.
Later Raguel called his wife Edna and said,
"My love, prepare the other bedroom and bring the girl there."
She went and made the bed in the room, as she was told,
and brought the girl there.
After she had cried over her, she wiped away the tears and said:
"Be brave, my daughter.
May the Lord grant you joy in place of your grief.
Courage, my daughter."
Then she left.
When the girl's parents left the bedroom
and closed the door behind them,
Tobiah arose from bed and said to his wife,
"My love, get up.
Let us pray and beg our Lord to have mercy on us
and to grant us deliverance."
She got up, and they started to pray
and beg that deliverance might be theirs.
And they began to say:
"Blessed are you, O God of our fathers,
praised be your name forever and ever.
Let the heavens and all your creation
praise you forever.
You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve
to be his help and support;
and from these two the human race descended.
You said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone;
let us make him a partner like himself.'
Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine
not because of lust,
but for a noble purpose.
Call down your mercy on me and on her,
and allow us to live together to a happy old age."
They said together, "Amen, amen," and went to bed for the night.
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Commentary on Tb 6:10-11; 7:1bcde, 9-17; 8:4-9a
This is the story of Tobiah, Tobit’s son (or Tobias in other translations). He and the Archangel Raphael come to the place where Sarah and her family live. We see that the Jewish customs related to marriage are followed. The warning about what has happened to Sarah’s seven previous husbands on their wedding night is delivered, but this union is ordained by God and so we see it contracted and consummated, the latter with prayer for deliverance which concludes the reading today.
Excluded from the story were Raphael’s instructions (somewhat mystical regarding the use of a fish liver and gall) and the archangel's victory over the demon that had killed Sarah’s seven previous husbands. While this all seems fanciful, it is clear that prayer and divine intervention are the keys to Tobiah’s and Sarah’s successful marriage.
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Tobit 7:6-14
#801 Ritual Mass (VI. For the Conferral of the Sacrament of Marriage, 4.)
Raphael and Tobiah entered the house of Raguel and greeted him.
Raguel sprang up and kissed Tobiah, shedding tears of joy.
But when he heard that Tobit had lost his eyesight,
he was grieved and wept aloud.
He said to Tobiah:
"My child. God bless you!
You are the son of a noble and good father.
But what a terrible misfortune
that such a righteous and charitable man
should be afflicted with blindness!"
He continued to weep in the arms of his kinsman Tobiah.
His wife Edna also wept for Tobit;
and even their daughter Sarah began to weep.
Afterward, Raguel slaughtered a ram from the flock
and gave them a cordial reception.
When they had bathed and reclined to eat,
Tobiah said to Raphael, "Brother Azariah,
ask Raguel to let me marry my kinswoman Sarah."
Raguel overheard the words;
so he said to the boy:
"Eat and drink and be merry tonight,
for no man is more entitled to marry my daughter Sarah
than you, brother.
Besides, not even I have the right to give her to anyone but you,
because you are my closest relative.
But I will explain the situation to you very frankly.
I have given her in marriage to seven men,
all of whom were kinsmen of ours,
and all died on the very night they approached her.
But now, son, eat and drink.
I am sure the Lord will look after you both."
Tobiah answered, "I will eat or drink nothing
until you set aside what belongs to me."
Raguel said to him: "I will do it.
She is yours according to the decree of the Book of Moses.
Your marriage to her has been decided in heaven!
Take your kinswoman;
from now on you are her love,
and she is your beloved.
She is yours today and ever after.
And tonight, son, may the Lord of heaven prosper you both.
May he grant you mercy and peace."
Then Raguel called his daughter Sarah, and she came to liim.
He took her by the hand and gave her to Tobiah with the words:
"Take her according to the law.
According to the decree written in the Book of Moses she is your wife.
Take her and bring her back safely to your father.
And may the God of heaven grant both of you peace and prosperity."
He then called her mother and told her to bring a scroll,
so that he might draw up a marriage contract
stating that he gave Sarah to Tobiah as his wife
according to the decree of the Mosaic law.
Her mother brought the scroll,
and he drew up the contract,
to which they affixed their seals.
Afterward they began to eat and drink.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Tb 7:6-14
God’s marriage plan for Tobiah unfolds in this meeting between he and Raguel (accompanied by the Archangel Raphael). In the story we see the traditional Hebrew requirement for hospitality carried out according to Mosaic Law and tradition. Sarah’s father, an upright man, does not want there to be any hidden danger for Tobiah so he discloses the fate of Sarah’s previous suitors. In the Vulgate translation, this is encouraged by the angel “Be not afraid to give her to this man, for to him who feareth God is thy daughter due to be his wife. Therefore another could not have her.”[1]
Undaunted by the previous interference, the wedding takes place. This is the first time in Sacred Scripture the Mosaic Wedding Contract is laid down. The passage concludes with the contract being drawn up, since along with marriage, Raguel’s property is given as an inheritance in this action.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tobit 8:4b-8
#737 Commons Context (Common of Holy Men and Women)
#801 Ritual Mass Context (VI. For the Conferral of the Sacrament of Marriage, 5.)
On their wedding night Tobiah arose from bed and said to his wife,
"My love, get up. Let us pray and beg our Lord
to have mercy on us and to grant us deliverance."
She got up, and they started to pray
and beg that deliverance might be theirs.
He began with these words:
"Blessed are you, O God of our fathers;
praised be your name forever and ever.
Let the heavens and all your creation
praise you forever.
You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve
to be his help and support;
and from these two the human race descended.
You said, 'it is not good for the man to be alone;
let us make him a partner like himself.'
Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine
not because of lust,
but for a noble purpose.
Call down your mercy on me and on her,
and allow us to live together to a happy old age."
They said together, "Amen, amen."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Tb 8:4b-8
Previously, in the story of Tobit, the unrecognized archangel Raphael, who was in the guise of a traveling companion of Tobiah (son of Tobit), had warned him (Tobiah) that his bride Sarah was hounded by a demon that had killed seven previous husbands on their wedding night. He gave instructions as to how this demon could be driven off using the liver and heart of a fish (see Tobit 6:14-18). The prayer of husband (Tobiah) and wife (Sarah) demonstrates the couple’s recognition that God has commanded this union and that the demon that represented lust was banished by their prayerful approach to the sacred union quoting Genesis 2:18.
CCC: Tb 8:4-9 2361; Tb 8:6 360
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Tobit 11:5-17
#357 Weekday Year I Context (Friday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time)
Anna sat watching the road by which her son was to come.
When she saw him coming, she exclaimed to his father,
"Tobit, your son is coming, and the man who traveled with him!"
Raphael said to Tobiah before he reached his father:
"I am certain that his eyes will be opened.
Smear the fish gall on them.
This medicine will make the cataracts shrink and peel off from his eyes;
then your father will again be able to see the light of day."
Then Anna ran up to her son, threw her arms around him,
and said to him,
"Now that I have seen you again, son, I am ready to die!"
And she sobbed aloud.
Tobit got up and stumbled out through the courtyard gate.
Tobiah went up to him with the fish gall in his hand,
and holding him firmly, blew into his eyes.
"Courage, father," he said.
Next he smeared the medicine on his eyes, and it made them smart.
Then, beginning at the corners of Tobit's eyes,
Tobiah used both hands to peel off the cataracts.
When Tobit saw his son, he threw his arms around him and wept.
He exclaimed, "I can see you, son, the light of my eyes!"
Then he said:
"Blessed be God,
and praised be his great name,
and blessed be all his holy angels.
May his holy name be praised
throughout all the ages,
Because it was he who scourged me,
and it is he who has had mercy on me.
Behold, I now see my son Tobiah!"
Then Tobit went back in, rejoicing and praising God with full voice
for everything that had happened.
Tobiah told his father that
the Lord God had granted him a successful journey;
that he had brought back the money;
and that he had married Raguel's daughter Sarah,
who would arrive shortly,
for she was approaching the gate of Nineveh.
Tobit and Anna rejoiced
and went out to the gate of Nineveh
to meet their daughter-in-law.
When the people of Nineveh saw Tobit walking along briskly,
with no one leading him by the hand, they were amazed.
Before them all Tobit proclaimed
how God had mercifully restored sight to his eyes.
When Tobit reached Sarah, the wife of his son Tobiah,
he greeted her: "Welcome, my daughter!
Blessed be your God for bringing you to us, daughter!
Blessed is your father, and blessed is my son Tobiah,
and blessed are you, daughter!
Welcome to your home with blessing and joy.
Come in, daughter!"
That day there was joy for all the Jews who lived in Nineveh.
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Commentary on Tb 11:5-17
As the story of Tobit continues, Tobiah, Tobit’s son, had completed the task for which he was sent to Media. He had recovered the money Tobit had deposited there before their exile, and, in addition, he had married Sarah. We see that Tobit’s first reaction, like that of his son and Sarah, was to thank God and praise him for his help. In the prayer of Tobit we find a formula for praise and thanksgiving.
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Tobit 12:1, 5-15, 20
#358 Weekday Year I Context (Saturday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time)
Tobit called his son Tobiah and said to him,
"Son, see to it that you give what is due to the man
who made the journey with you; give him a bonus too."
So he called Raphael and said,
"Take as your wages half of all that you have brought back,
and go in peace."
Raphael called the two men aside privately and said to them:
"Thank God! Give him the praise and the glory.
Before all the living,
acknowledge the many good things he has done for you,
by blessing and extolling his name in song.
Honor and proclaim God's deeds,
and do not be slack in praising him.
A king's secret it is prudent to keep,
but the works of God are to be declared and made known.
Praise them with due honor.
Do good, and evil will not find its way to you.
Prayer and fasting are good,
but better than either is almsgiving accompanied by righteousness.
A little with righteousness is better than abundance with wickedness.
It is better to give alms than to store up gold;
for almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin.
Those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life;
but those habitually guilty of sin are their own worst enemies.
"I will now tell you the whole truth;
I will conceal nothing at all from you.
I have already said to you,
'A king's secret it is prudent to keep,
but the works of God are to be made known with due honor.'
I can now tell you that when you, Tobit, and Sarah prayed,
it was I who presented and read the record of your prayer
before the Glory of the Lord;
and I did the same thing when you used to bury the dead.
When you did not hesitate to get up
and leave your dinner in order to go and bury the dead,
I was sent to put you to the test.
At the same time, however,
God commissioned me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah.
I am Raphael, one of the seven angels
who enter and serve before the Glory of the Lord."
"So now get up from the ground and praise God.
Behold, I am about to ascend to him who sent me;
write down all these things that have happened to you."
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Commentary on Tb 12:1, 5-15, 20
At this point in the story of Tobit, the prophet asks his son to pay the “man” that had accompanied him, not realizing that who they thought was a man was really Raphael, the Archangel. When they approached him to give a generous reward, Raphael unmasked himself and instructed them to give praise to God for the saving acts.
Special emphasis is made, in Raphael’s instruction, to act in accordance with the Law of Moses (righteousness) and acts of charity (almsgiving). These two public actions are even better than prayer and fasting, private worship of God. Echoing this idea, we find the recurring statement: “A king’s secret it is prudent to keep, but the works of God are to be declared and made known.”
CCC: Tb 12:8 1434; Tb 12:12 336
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Tobit 12:6-14a
#517A Proper of Saints Context (St. Marianne Cope, Virgin, Jan 23) *
#529 Proper of Saints Context (St. Jerome Emiliani, Feb 8)
#737 Commons Context (Common of Holy Men and Women)
The angel Raphael said to Tobit and his son:
"Thank God! Give him the praise and the glory.
Before all the living,
acknowledge the many good things he has done for you,
by blessing and extolling his name in song.
Honor and proclaim God's deeds,
and do not be slack in praising him.
A king's secret it is prudent to keep,
but the works of God are to be declared and made known.
Praise them with due honor.
Do good, and evil will not find its way to you.
Prayer and fasting are good,
but better than either is almsgiving accompanied by righteousness.
A little with righteousness is better than abundance with wickedness.
It is better to give alms than to store up gold;
for almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin.
Those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life;
but those habitually guilty of sin are their own worst enemies.
"I will now tell you the whole truth;
I will conceal nothing at all from you.
I have already said to you,
'A king's secret it is prudent to keep,
but the works of God are to be made known with due honor.'
I can now tell you that when you, Tobit, and Sarah prayed,
it was I who presented and read the record of your prayer
before the Glory of the Lord;
and I did the same thing when you used to bury the dead.
When you did not hesitate to get up
and leave your dinner in order to go and bury the dead,
I was sent to put you to the test."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Tb 12:6-13
* Transferred from Jan 22nd, Author's selection.
At this point in the story of Tobit, the prophet asks his son to pay the “man” that had accompanied him, not realizing that who they thought was a man was really Raphael, the archangel. When they approach him to give a generous reward, Raphael unmasks himself and instructs them to give praise to God for the saving acts.
Special emphasis is made in Raphael’s instruction to act in accordance with the Law of Moses (righteousness) and perform acts of charity (almsgiving). These two actions are better even than prayer and fasting, private worship of God and: “A king’s secret it is prudent to keep, but the works of God are to be declared and made known.”
CCC: Tb 12:8 1434; Tb 12:12 336
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Tobit 13:2, 6efgh, 7, 8
#358 Weekday Year I Context (Saturday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time)
#451 Weekday Year I Context (Wednesday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time)
#929 Masses for Various Needs Context (III. In Various Public Circumstances, 22. For Refugees and Exiles, 1.)
R. (1b) Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
He scourges and then has mercy;
he casts down to the depths of the nether world,
and he brings up from the great abyss.
No one can escape his hand.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
So now consider what he has done for you,
and praise him with full voice.
Bless the Lord of righteousness,
and exalt the King of ages.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
In the land of my exile I praise him
and show his power and majesty to a sinful nation.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Bless the Lord, all you his chosen ones,
and may all of you praise his majesty.
Celebrate days of gladness, and give him praise.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
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Commentary on Tb 13:2, 6efgh, 7, 8
This psalm and response are taken from the Book of Tobit. It is Tobit's response to the Archangel Raphael’s instruction to give thanks to God for his blessings. It is a hymn of praise and thanksgiving to God for his help and salvation. It recalls the Diaspora and the restoration of Israel. Echoing the prayer of Ezra (Ezra 9:6), it recalls that it was through God’s mercy that these things were accomplished rather than the merit of a sinful people.
CCC: Tb 13:2 269
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[1] The Navarre Bible: “Chrnicles-Maccabees”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 323.
[2] The Navarre Bible: “Chrnicles-Maccabees”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 308
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