|
| Tobit |
Introduction to Tobit[1]
Tobit, a devout and
wealthy Israelite living among the captives deported to Nineveh from the
Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722/721 B.C., suffers severe reverses and is
finally blinded. Because of his misfortunes he begs the Lord to let him die.
But recalling the large sum he had formerly deposited in far-off Media, he
sends his son Tobiah there to bring back the money. In Media, at this same
time, a young woman, Sarah, also prays for death, because she has lost seven
husbands, each killed in turn on his wedding night by the demon Asmodeus. God
hears the prayers of Tobit and Sarah and sends the angel Raphael in human form
to aid them both.
TUESDAY June 6
Tobit, Chapter 1, Verse 18-19
18 Sennacherib returned from Judea, having
fled during the days of the judgment enacted against him by the King of Heaven
because of the blasphemies he had uttered; whomever he killed I buried. For in
his rage he killed many Israelites, but I used to take their bodies away by
stealth and bury them. So when Sennacherib looked for them, he could not find
them. 19 But a certain
Ninevite went and informed the king about me, that I was burying them, and I
went into hiding. When I realized that the king knew about me and that I was
being hunted to be put to death, I became afraid
and took flight.
Tobit although righteous
was also not stupid, even though he opposed the evil in his neighborhood he did
not like to suffer for it so he naturally kept his good deeds secret and did
not want to be found out by the evil oppressors.
Tobit[2]
- Both names, Tobit and Tobias (sometimes written
Tobiah), mean “Yahweh is my good.”
- Tobit was the son of Tobiel, which also means “Yahweh
is my good.”
- He was a native of Thisbe in Naphtali. Their land
allotment lay NW of the Sea of Galilee. After the division of
David’s kingdom, Naphtali was one of the northern tribes.
- Tobit lamented the split, but that concern paled in
contrast to his sadness over the people’s refusal to worship in the temple
in Jerusalem.
- Jeroboam, the king of the northern kingdom, had set up
“golden calves” at Dan (in the north) and Bethel (in the south) to make it
easier for northern citizens not to have to go to Jerusalem. Most
were taking full advantage of that. Tobit, however, continued to
make the trek to Jerusalem to worship.
- He claimed he was the only one who did so. He
obviously felt very isolated from his countrymen, though occasionally he
took his wife and relatives with him.
- Tobit offered sacrifices and gave alms to the temple,
the priests, and the poor.
- When it was time for him to marry, he took a wife from
his tribe.
- His wife’s name was Hannah, which means “Grace.”
Whit Tuesday the Sacrament
of Confirmation[3]
Samaritans
had been converted and baptized by Philip the Deacon. Peter and John
administered to them, by the imposition of hands and prayer, the Sacrament of
Confirmation.
Is
Confirmation a sacrament? Yes, for Jesus Christ has promised the Holy Ghost
not only to the apostles, but also to all the faithful, to confirm them fully in
faith and charity.
What
is the outward sign of this sacrament? The imposition of the bishop’s hands,
the anointing with the chrism, and the words of the bishop.
What
grace is conveyed through this sacrament? Through holy Confirmation, God
confirms and completes in the Christian the grace of Baptism, and strengthens
him for the combat with his spiritual enemies. Confirmation, like Baptism, cannot
be received more than once, because the grace received in these sacraments is
always efficacious if we only cooperate with it; and because in these
sacraments we receive also an indelible character, which forever distinguishes
the souls of those who have been baptized and confirmed from those who have
not.
D-Day Memorial
The
men who took the beach at D-Day were afraid
because they too knew what may happen to them, yet too, they were succored by
our Lord and our nation’s prayers.
This
is the prayer originally entitled "Let Our Hearts Be Stout" written
by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as Allied troops were invading
German-occupied Europe during World War II. The prayer was read to the Nation
on radio on the evening of D-Day, June 6, 1944, while American, British and
Canadian troops were fighting to establish five beach heads on the coast of
Normandy in northern France.
The
previous night, June 5th, the President had also been on the radio to announce
that Allied troops had entered Rome. The spectacular news that Rome had been
liberated was quickly superceded by news of the gigantic D-Day invasion which
began at 6:30 a.m. on June 6th. By midnight, about 57,000 American and 75,000
British and Canadian soldiers had made it ashore, amid losses that included
2,500 killed and 8,500 wounded.
My Fellow Americans:
Last night, when I spoke with you
about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States
and our Allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It
has come to pass with success thus far.
And so, in this poignant hour, I
ask you to join with me in prayer:
Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a
mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our
civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.
Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to
their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.
They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the
enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing
speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and
by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.
They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest -- until the
victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men's souls will
be shaken with the violences of war.
For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for
the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They
fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and goodwill among all Thy people.
They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.
Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy
heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.
And for us at home -- fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and
brothers of brave men overseas, whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them
-- help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in
this hour of great sacrifice.
Many people have urged that I call the nation into a single day of
special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask
that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to
each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our
lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.
Give us strength, too -- strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the
contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed
forces.
And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear
sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may
be.
And, O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons;
faith in each other; faith in our united crusade. Let not the keeness of our
spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal
matters of but fleeting moment -- let not these deter us in our unconquerable
purpose.
With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy.
Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogances. Lead us to the
saving of our country, and with our sister nations into a world unity that will
spell a sure peace -- a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men.
And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards
of their honest toil.
Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt -
June 6, 1944
The power of Diligence[4]
In
John McCain’s book Character is Destiny he perceived the character traits
exemplified by Winston Churchill who best displays the characteristic of
DILIGENCE. Churchill persevered through every trial and misfortune to alert his
countrymen to the approaching danger of Nazi Germany, and to save them when
they ignored his warning.
We
must be just as diligent in our pursuit to do the will of God in our lives.
Churchill’s
most famous quote is,
“Never
give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing great or small,
large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense.”
Winston
never did give in he led his country at the age of 67 living a life of many
failures to become the prime minister of England during their greatest need.
McCain
says of Churchill:
This extraordinarily diligent man, who
would not give in to many bitter trials that would have forced most of us to
surrender to a cruel and unrelenting fate, who had fought, been beaten, and
risen again so many times to take his place among the great democratic leaders
of world history, would, by the power of his speech and the unyielding courage
of his example and convictions, lead his country through the most dangerous
experience of its long history. He stood alone first, and then as Britain’s
leader as she stood alone, letting no defeat, no danger, no impossibly
overwhelming odds destroy his courage or his will. He would not give in. Never,
never, never, never. And, due in great part to the courage he inspired in
others, neither would his country.
Daily Devotions/Prayers
No comments:
Post a Comment