Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Tobit 10,1-13
Every day, meanwhile, Tobit kept reckoning the days required for the journey there and the journey back. The full number went by, and still his son had not come.
Then he thought, 'I hope he has not been delayed there! I hope Gabael is not dead, so that no one will give him the silver.'
And he began to worry.
His wife Anna kept saying, 'My son is dead! He is no longer among the living!' And she began to weep and mourn over her son. She kept saying,
'Alas! I should never have let you leave me, my child, you, the light of my eyes.'
And Tobit would reply, 'Hush, my sister! Do not worry. All is well with him. Something has happened there to delay them. His companion is someone we can trust, one of our kinsmen at that. Do not lose heart, my sister.
He will soon be here.' But all she would say was, 'Leave me alone; do not try to deceive me. My child is dead.' And every day she would go abruptly out to watch the road by which her son had left. She trusted no eyes but her own. Once the sun had set she would come home again, only to weep and moan all night, unable to sleep. After the fourteen days of feasting that Raguel had sworn to keep for his daughter's marriage, Tobias came to him and said, 'Let me go now; my father and mother must have lost all hope of seeing me again. So I beg you, father, to let me return to my father's house; I have told you the plight he was in when I left him.'
Raguel said to Tobias, 'Stay, my son, stay with me. I shall send messengers to your father Tobit to give him news of you.'
But Tobias pressed him, 'No, I beg you to let me go back to my father's house.'
Without more ado, Raguel committed Sarah his bride into his keeping. He gave Tobias half his wealth, slaves, men and women, oxen and sheep, donkeys and camels, clothes and money and household things.
And so he let them leave happily. To Tobias he said these parting words, 'Good health, my son, and a happy journey! May the Lord of heaven be gracious to you and to your wife Sarah! I hope to see your children before I die.'
To his daughter Sarah he said, 'Go now to your father-in-law's house, since henceforward they are as much your parents as those who gave you life. Go in peace, my daughter, I hope to hear nothing but good of you, as long as I live.' He said goodbye to them and let them go. Edna in her turn said to Tobias, 'Dear son and brother, may it please the Lord to bring you back again! I hope to live long enough to see the children of you and my daughter Sarah before I die. In the sight of the Lord I give my daughter into your keeping. Never make her unhappy as long as you live. Go in peace, my son. Henceforward I am your mother and Sarah is your sister. May we all live happily for the rest of our lives!' And she kissed them both and saw them set out happily.
Tobias left Raguel's house with his mind at ease. In his gladness he blessed the Lord of heaven and earth, the King of all that is, for the happy issue of his travels. He gave this blessing to Raguel and his wife Edna, 'May it be my happiness to honour you for the rest of my life!'
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
During the fourteen days of celebration of Tobias and Sarah’s wedding, the author brings us back to Nineveh, where Tobias’ parents wait anxiously for their son’s return. His mother Anna is in anguish; she thinks her son is dead and she will not let herself be consoled. For his part, Tobit tries to comfort Anna and keep her from being overwhelmed by her anguish. Anna’s behaviour is heart-wrenching: "She would rush out every day and watch the road her son had taken, and would heed no one.* When the sun had set she would go in and mourn and weep all night long, getting no sleep at all" (v. 7). Even though the context is different, the father of the prodigal son has a similar experience of waiting in the parable in Luke’s Gospel. In any case, Tobit’s patience is rewarded. When the wedding feast is over, Tobias insists that his father-in-law let him return home to his parents who are waiting for him anxiously and he resists his father-in-law’s insistence that he stay with them. Raguel gives in to Tobias’ request and showers him with gifts; he gives him and "his wife Sarah, as well as half of all his property: male and female slaves, oxen and sheep, donkeys and camels, clothing, money, and household goods" (v. 10). Tobit’s waiting is rewarded abundantly. His son’s return is like a new beginning: not only is Tobias no longer an inexperienced youth, but he returns enriched with a wife and considerable wealth. Tobias and his parents can all physically touch the extraordinary strength of God’s blessing. Even if Tobias has not understood his true identity, the angel who accompanied him has helped him experience his need for companionship on the journey for assistance in overcoming obstacles and reaching the goal. Tobit and Anna will experience the multiplication of joy that the Lord gives to those who trust in Him, and even Raguel and Edna will receive the blessing that Tobias implored God to grant them.
Prayer is the heart of the life of the Community of Sant'Egidio and is its absolute priority. At the end of the day, every the Community of Sant'Egidio, large or small, gathers around the Lord to listen to his Word. The Word of God and the prayer are, in fact, the very basis of the whole life of the Community. The disciples cannot do other than remain at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary of Bethany, to receive his love and learn his ways (Phil. 2:5).
So every evening, when the Community returns to the feet of the Lord, it repeats the words of the anonymous disciple: " Lord, teach us how to pray". Jesus, Master of prayer, continues to answer: "When you pray, say: Abba, Father". It is not a simple exhortation, it is much more. With these words Jesus lets the disciples participate in his own relationship with the Father. Therefore in prayer, the fact of being children of the Father who is in heaven, comes before the words we may say. So praying is above all a way of being! That is to say we are children who turn with faith to the Father, certain that they will be heard.
Jesus teaches us to call God "Our Father". And not simply "Father" or "My Father". Disciples, even when they pray on their own, are never isolated nor they are orphans; they are always members of the Lord's family.
In praying together, beside the mystery of being children of God, there is also the mystery of brotherhood, as the Father of the Church said: "You cannot have God as father without having the church as mother". When praying together, the Holy Spirit assembles the disciples in the upper room together with Mary, the Lord's mother, so that they may direct their gaze towards the Lord's face and learn from Him the secret of his Heart.
The Communities of Sant'Egidio all over the world gather in the various places of prayer and lay before the Lord the hopes and the sufferings of the tired, exhausted crowds of which the Gospel speaks ( Mat. 9: 3-7 ), In these ancient crowds we can see the huge masses of the modern cities, the millions of refugees who continue to flee their countries, the poor, relegated to the very fringe of life and all those who are waiting for someone to take care of them. Praying together includes the cry, the invocation, the aspiration, the desire for peace, the healing and salvation of the men and women of this world. Prayer is never in vain; it rises ceaselessly to the Lord so that anguish is turned into hope, tears into joy, despair into happiness, and solitude into communion. May the Kingdom of God come soon among people!
For the sick, in memory of the dead, for peace
