Readings for June 4, 2009

Tb 6:11-8:7
11Raphael said to Tobias, “Friend, we shall spend the night at the house of Ragouel. He is a relative of yours. He has no son, just an only daughter called Sara. 12I will speak to him and ask that he give her to you as your wife. 13You are the one who is nearest of kin and free to marry her. You alone are of her tribe and you should inherit her father’s goods. The girl is wise, good, courageous and very beautiful and her father is a good man. So listen, friend, tonight we will marry you to her. When we return from Rages, we shall take her with us and introduce her into your home. She belongs to you rather than to any other man according to the Law of Moses, and any trespasser would die. So I know that Ragouel will not give her to any other man.
14Then Tobias said to Raphael, “Friend Azarias, I have heard that this girl has been given in marriage to seven husbands and they all died in the bridal chamber. I am my father’s only son and I fear that once I have entered the room I shall die, like all those before me, because a demon loves her, and he harms those who approach her. 15Well, I fear death. I also fear causing my father and mother to die of grief on my account, for they have no other son to bury them.” 16The angel said to Tobias, “Do you not remember your father’s advice to marry a woman of your own tribe? Well, listen to me, my friend. She will be your wife. Do not worry about the demon as this very night she will become your wife.
17“When you enter the wedding chamber you will take some glowing embers of incense, and you will put on top of them part of the heart and liver of the fish. 18As soon as the fire begins to smoke, the demon will smell it and flee never to return. And when you go to Sara, stand up together and call on the all-merciful God. He will keep you safe because he has compassion. Do not be afraid, because from all eternity Sara has been destined to be your wife. You will save her, and she will go with us. And I am sure that she will bear you children.”
19When Tobias heard Raphael’s words, he loved Sara and his heart became strongly attached to her.
1When they arrived in Ecbatana Tobias said to Raphael, “Friend Azarias, take me straightaway to our friend Ragouel.” So Raphael led Tobias to Ragouel’s house and they found Ragouel sitting by the door of the courtyard.
2Ragouel said to his wife, Edna, “This young man is very like my cousin Tobit!” 3Edna questioned them, “Where have you come from, my friends?” They replied, “We are of the sons of Naphtali who live as exiles in Nineveh.” 4She asked them, “Do you know my kinsman, Tobit?” 5They said, “Yes, we know him.” She continued, “Is he in good health?” Then Tobias said, “Tobit is my father.”
6Ragouel ran towards him and covered him with kisses, then in tears he blessed Tobias and said to him, “Blessings on you, you are the son of a good and worthy man!” 7When he learned that Tobit had lost his sight he grieved and wept. “What a misfortune that a man who is so just and generous should become blind!” 8His wife Edna and his daughter Sara wept also and they received Tobias and Raphael with great kindness. 9They killed a sheep and served them numerous dishes.
After they had bathed and washed, as they were relaxing before the meal, Tobias said to Raphael, “Friend Azarias, tell Ragouel to give me Sara my kinswoman. Talk about what you were saying during our journey, that the matter may come about and be accomplished.” 10Ragouel overheard the conversation and he said to Tobias, “Eat, drink and be merry tonight. You are the man who has most right to take Sara my daughter because you are my kinsman. Indeed it is impossible for me to give her to any other man but you, because you are my closest relative. But, my son, I must tell you the whole story. 11I gave her to seven husbands from among our kinsmen. They each died on the wedding night. But, for the moment, my son, eat and drink and the Lord will arrange things for you.”
Tobias said, “I shall eat nothing if you do not stop now and bring this matter to a conclusion.” Ragouel said to Tobias, “Take her from now on; I give her to you according to the Law of Moses and you have to understand that God himself gives her to you. Receive your kinswoman, from now on you are her brother and she is your sister. She is yours from today and forever. Now God will bless you this night and may he give you both his mercy and peace.”
12He called his daughter Sara and taking her by the hand, he gave her to Tobias as his wife. He said, “According to Moses’ Law, take her now and bring her to your father’s house.” And he blessed them. 13Ragouel then called Edna his wife; taking a sheet of parchment, he wrote down a matrimonial contract and they both affixed their seals. 14Then they all began to eat. 15Ragouel called his wife and said to her “My sister, prepare the other room and take Sara there.” 16Edna did as Ragouel told her and she took Sara to this room and Sara began to cry. Edna dried her daughter’s tears and said, 17“Have courage, my child, the God of heaven and earth will change your sorrow into joy. Have confidence, my daughter!”
1When they had finished eating and drinking they wished to go to bed, so they escorted Tobias to the bedroom where Sara was. 2Tobias remembered Raphael’s words. He took the liver and the heart of the fish which he had in a bas.ket and put them on the hot coals of incense. 3The smell of the fish made the devil flee to the upper regions of Egypt where Raphael chained him up.
4When Sara’s parents had left the room and closed the door, Tobias got up from the bed and said to Sara, “Get up, my sister, and let us ask the Lord to have mercy on us and save us.” 5She got up and they began to pray, asking that they be given life. Tobias began like this,
“May you be blessed, O Lord God of our fathers, and may your holy and glorious Name be blessed forever. May the heavens and all creatures bless you. 6You created Adam and you gave him Eve, his wife, as a helper and companion, so that from these two the human race might be born.
You said: ‘It is not good that man should be alone, let us give him a companion who is like himself.’ 7Now, Lord, I take my sister to myself in sincerity and love, not merely seeking pleasure. Have mercy on us and grant us a long life together.”


Psalms 128:1-5
1 Blessed are you who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways.
2You will eat the fruit of your toil;
you will be blessed and favored.
3Your wife, like a vine,
will bear fruits in your home;
your children, like olive shoots
will stand around your table.
4Such are the blessings bestowed
upon the man who fears the Lord.
5May the Lord bless you from Zion.
May you see Jerusalem prosperous
all the days of your life.



Mk12:28-34
28A teacher of the Law had been listening to this discussion and admired how Jesus answered them. So he came up and asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?”
29Jesus answered, “The first is: 30and you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. 31And after this comes another one: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these two.”
32The teacher of the Law said to him, “Well spoken, Master; you are right when you say that he is one and there is no other. 33To love him with all our heart, with all our understanding and with all our strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves is more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.”
34Jesus approved this answer and said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” But after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Commentaries: TO LOVE GOD
You shall love the Lord, your God. This first commandment is not among the Ten Commandments of Moses, which only speak of “serving God.” We do read it in Deuteronomy 6:4.
To love God is not a commandment like others, because the commandments show specific actions that should be undertaken or avoided, i.e., you shall rest on the day of the Lord, or you shall not commit adultery. On the other hand, when it comes to loving God there is no limit.
The commandments of the Bible (especially the Ten Commandments of Moses) merely express in a clear manner the demands of our conscience. It should not be necessary to tell us not to steal, and not to slander others. Nevertheless, it is necessary to teach this to children and to unscrupulous persons. Paul says, “The Law was not intended for the good, but for those who do evil” (1 Tim 1:9).
It is the reason why the love of God is not presented in the New Testament as a commandment, but as the fruit of the Spirit that God gives to his sons and daughters: Rom 8, 15 and 22. God is the first to be loved (Mt 6:9-10; 1 Jn 4:17) most specially in the person of his Son: 2Cor 5:16; 1 P 1:8. There is no authentic love of neighbor without the love of God: 1 Jn 5:2.
You shall love the Lord, with all your heart. You shall love him more than you love your loved ones. You shall long for him, you shall forget yourself so that, in everything, you search for what he wants most from you.
You shall love the Lord, with all your mind. You shall devote the best of your intelligence to knowing him. Looking into your own life, you shall understand how much he has guided you. You shall try to understand how the kingdom of God is coming through world and daily events. Praying and reading the Bible regularly, you shall ask God to give you his own Spirit so that you may understand him better.
You shall love the Lord, with all your strength. Since you are very weak in this, you shall ask for his help and strive to unite with the true servants of God, using the means that the Church makes available to you.
The commandment to love your neighbor as you love yourself comes second, because it cannot be understood or fulfilled without love of God. For God asks for more than solidarity with one’s neighbor, or concern for those who are suffering. We should make an effort to look at our brothers and sisters in the same way that the Father does. We should give them what the Father wants for them. Among so many good things we could do for our neighbor, we should select those that the Holy Spirit inspires us to do. All this requires that we first know and love God.