Readings for June 5, 2009

Tb 11:5-15
5Now Anna was sitting there, scanning the road along which her son should return. 6She saw Tobias and Raphael coming in the distance and said to the father of Tobias, “Your son is coming with the man who accompanied him.”
7While Tobias and Raphael were still going along the road, Raphael said to Tobias, “I am sure that your father will regain his sight. 8Rub his eyes with the fish gall and when he feels his eyes itching, he will rub them and the film will come away like scales from his eyes. He will regain his sight and see the light.”
9Anna ran to meet Tobias and threw her arms around his neck saying, “At last I have seen you again, my child. Now I can die!” And both of them began to cry. 10Tobit also got up and, stumbling, arrived at the door of the courtyard. Tobias ran to him 11with the fish gall in his hand. He breathed on his father’s eyes, embraced him and said, “Father, have confidence!” 12Then he spread the fish gall on Tobit’s eyes. Tobias waited. 13When his eyes began to itch, Tobit rubbed them and with both hands scaled off the film from the corners of his eyes. When Tobit saw his son he threw his arms around Tobias’ neck 14and began to weep. He said, “Blessed be you, O God. Blessed be your Name forever. Blessed be your holy angels. 15You have punished me, but you have taken pity on me, and now I can see my son, Tobias.”
Tobias was very happy. After entering the house he told his father about the important things that had happened in Media. He told his father about the successful outcome of his journey, how he got the money, and how he married Sara, daughter of Ragouel, who just then was approaching the gates of Nineveh.


Psalms 146:2-10
2I will sing to the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to God while I live.
3Do not put your trust in princes,
in a great one who cannot save.
4Not sooner his spirit has left,
that he goes back to the earth;
on that very day, any plan comes to nothing.
5Blessed are they whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God,
6maker of heaven and earth,
the sea and all they contain.
The Lord is forever faithful;
7he gives justice to the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free.
8The Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord straightens the bent.
9The Lord protects the stranger,
sustains the widow and the orphan.
8c The Lord loves the virtuous,
but he brings to ruin the way of the wicked.
10The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion,
from generation to generation. Alleluia!


Mk 12:35-37
35As Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he said, “The teachers of the Law say that the Messiah is the son of David. How can that be? 36For David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit declared: The Lord said to my Lord: sit at my right until I put your enemies under your feet. 37If David himself calls him Lord, in what way can he be his son?”
Many people came to Jesus and listened to him gladly.

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.