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.
Christopher’s Corner
· Ballet Anyone. Ballerina Evelyn Cisneros-Legate born 1958
- Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance of the Angels
· Pray the Rosary. Fast too today is “Occult Day”
· Monday: Litany of Humility
o Start your day with a hearty breakfast of vichyssoise soup, celebrating National Vichyssoise Day in style.
o Head to a local school to volunteer during American Education Week.
o Embrace your inner child by watching classic Disney cartoons featuring Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse.
o Afterwards, indulge in some apple cider while watching a documentary about undersea sports like underwater hockey.
o Take a moment to honor Housing Day by decluttering and organizing your living space.
o Wear a tiara or a crown to celebrate National Princess Day, embracing your royal side.
o Educate yourself on issues of violence against men on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Men.
NOVEMBER 18 Monday
Monday
Night at the Movies
Michael Anderson, The Shoes of the Fisherman, 1968.
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.”
- According to
the story, Tobit was among those who were exiled to Nineveh during the
reign of Shalmaneser (727-722 BCE). Most scholars, however, think
the deportation of Naphtali occurred under Tiglath-pileser (745-727 BCE).
- Tobit was a
“young man” when this happened.
- He continued
to be an observant Jew while in exile, refusing to eat Gentile food.
- As an
observant Jew, he followed not only the spirit but also the letter of the
law, even in Nineveh.
- Because he was
faithful to the covenant, he was blessed by God.
- He was in good
standing with Shalmaneser and worked in his court. It seems that his
position might have been “buyer of provisions.” This allowed him to
travel frequently to Media, where he had family.
- His was an
important position in Shalmaneser’s court.
- In gratitude
for his services, Shalmaneser gave him ten talents of silver.
Scholars argue over the value of this amount, but it might have been
$10,000-$20,000, surely a tidy sum in antiquity.
- On one of his
trips to Media, he managed to give this money to his cousins for
safekeeping.
- In addition to
his work in the court, Tobit gave alms to poor people in Nineveh and made
sure that every dead Jew had a proper burial.
- Ironically, it
would be those good deeds that would get him into trouble.
- When
Sennacherib took over in 705 BCE, he instituted a new policy that the
bodies of dead Jews should be left to rot as a message for others.
Undaunted, Tobit defied this law and carried off the bodies to bury them.
- For a Jew to
remain unburied and have his body rot in the open or eaten by animals was
the ultimate degradation.
- Burying bodies
is the main “good work” of the book of Tobit. After the new king
came to power, such actions became very risky. Tobit was essentially
risking his life each time he did it.
- It was not
long before his neighbors turned him in.
- When the
authorities heard what Tobit was doing, they confiscated all of his
possessions and would have killed him if he had not vanished, taking his
wife and son with him.
Catechism of the Catholic
Church
PART TWO: THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN
MYSTERY
SECTION ONE-THE
SACRAMENTAL ECONOMY
CHAPTER TWO-THE SACRAMENTAL CELEBRATION OF
THE PASCHAL MYSTERY
Article 1-CELEBRATING THE CHURCH'S LITURGY
III. When is the Liturgy Celebrated?
Day 159
Liturgical seasons
1163 "Holy Mother Church
believes that she should celebrate the saving work of her divine Spouse in a
sacred commemoration on certain days throughout the course of the year. Once
each week, on the day which she has called the Lord's Day, she keeps the memory
of the Lord's resurrection. She also celebrates it once every year, together
with his blessed Passion, at Easter, that most solemn of all feasts. In the
course of the year, moreover, she unfolds the whole mystery of Christ .... Thus
recalling the mysteries of the redemption, she opens up to the faithful the
riches of her Lord's powers and merits, so that these are in some way made
present in every age; the faithful lay hold of them and are filled with saving
grace."
1164 From the time of the
Mosaic law, the People of God have observed fixed feasts, beginning with
Passover, to commemorate the astonishing actions of the Savior God, to give him
thanks for them, to perpetuate their remembrance, and to teach new generations
to conform their conduct to them. In the age of the Church, between the
Passover of Christ already accomplished once for all, and its consummation in
the kingdom of God, the liturgy celebrated on fixed days bears the imprint of
the newness of the mystery of Christ.
1165 When the Church celebrates
the mystery of Christ, there is a word that marks her prayer:
"Today!" - a word echoing the prayer her Lord taught her and the call
of the Holy Spirit. This "today" of the living God which man is
called to enter is "the hour" of Jesus' Passover, which reaches
across and underlies all history:
Life extends
over all beings and fills them with unlimited light; the Orient of orients
pervades the universe, and he who was "before the daystar" and before
the heavenly bodies, immortal and vast, the great Christ, shines over all
beings more brightly than the sun. Therefore a day of long, eternal light is
ushered in for us who believe in him, a day which is never blotted out: the
mystical Passover.
The Lord's day
1166 "By a tradition
handed down from the apostles which took its origin from the very day of
Christ's Resurrection, the Church celebrates the Paschal mystery every seventh
day, which day is appropriately called the Lord's Day or Sunday." The
day of Christ's Resurrection is both the first day of the week, the memorial of
the first day of creation, and the "eighth day," on which Christ
after his "rest" on the great sabbath inaugurates the "day that
the Lord has made," the "day that knows no evening." The
Lord's Supper is its center, for there the whole community of the faithful
encounters the risen Lord who invites them to his banquet:
The Lord's
day, the day of Resurrection, the day of Christians, is our day. It is called
the Lord's day because on it the Lord rose victorious to the Father. If pagans
call it the "day of the sun," we willingly agree, for today the light
of the world is raised, today is revealed the sun of justice with healing in
his rays.
Daily Devotions/Practice
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Absent
Fathers (Physically & Spiritually)
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
No comments:
Post a Comment