20170610 EXEMPLARY PARENTHOOD
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Tobit
12:1,5-15,20 ©
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When the feasting was
over, Tobit called his son Tobias and said, ‘My son, you ought to think about
paying the amount due to your fellow traveller; give him more than the figure
agreed on.’ So Tobias called his companion and said, ‘Take half of what you
brought back, in payment for all you have done, and go in peace.’
Then
Raphael took them both aside and said, ‘Bless God, utter his praise before all
the living for all the favours he has given you. Bless and extol his name.
Proclaim before all men the deeds of God as they deserve, and never tire of
giving him thanks. It is right to keep the secret of a king, yet right to
reveal and publish the works of God. Thank him worthily. Do what is good, and no
evil can befall you.
‘Prayer
with fasting and alms with right conduct are better than riches with iniquity.
Better to practise almsgiving than to hoard up gold. Almsgiving saves from
death and purges every kind of sin. Those who give alms have their fill of
days; those who commit sin and do evil, bring harm on themselves.
‘I am
going to tell you the whole truth, hiding nothing from you. I have already told
you that it is right to keep the secret of a king, yet right too to reveal in
worthy fashion the works of God. So you must know that when you and Sarah were
at prayer, it was I who offered your supplications before the glory of the Lord
and who read them; so too when you were burying the dead. When you did not
hesitate to get up and leave the table to go and bury a dead man, I was sent to
test your faith, and at the same time God sent me to heal you and your
daughter-in-law Sarah. I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand ever
ready to enter the presence of the glory of the Lord.
‘Now
bless the Lord on earth and give thanks to God. I am about to return to him
above who sent me.’
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Tobit 13:2,6-8 ©
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Blessed be God,
who lives for ever.
By turns he punishes
and pardons;
he sends
men down to the depths of the underworld
and draws them up
from supreme Destruction;
no one
can escape his hand.
Blessed be God,
who lives for ever.
If you return to him
with all
your heart and all your soul,
behaving
honestly towards him,
then he will return
to you
and hide
his face from you no longer.
Blessed be God,
who lives for ever.
Consider how well he
has treated you;
loudly
give him thanks.
Bless the Lord of
justice
and extol
the King of the ages.
Blessed be God,
who lives for ever.
I for my part sing
his praise
in the
country of my exile;
I make his power and
greatness known
to a
nation that has sinned.
Blessed be God,
who lives for ever.
Sinners, return to
him;
let your
conduct be upright before him;
perhaps he will be
gracious to you
and take
pity on you.
Blessed be God,
who lives for ever.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Lk8:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are those
who,
with a noble and
generous heart,
take the word of God
to themselves
and yield a harvest
through their perseverance.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Mt5:3
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Alleluia, alleluia!
How happy are the
poor in spirit:
theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 12:38-44 ©
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This poor widow
has put in more than all
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In his teaching Jesus
said, ‘Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be
greeted obsequiously in the market squares, to take the front seats in the
synagogues and the places of honour at banquets; these are the men who swallow
the property of widows, while making a show of lengthy prayers. The more severe
will be the sentence they receive.’
He sat
down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the
treasury, and many of the rich put in a great deal. A poor widow came and put
in two small coins, the equivalent of a penny. Then he called his disciples and
said to them, ‘I tell you solemnly, this poor widow has put more in than all
who have contributed to the treasury; for they have all put in money they had
over, but she from the little she had has put in everything she possessed, all
she had to live on.’
EXEMPLARY
PARENTHOOD
We have come to the end of the story of
Tobit. This book belonging to the Deuterocanonical books written in Greek
has much to share with us about the struggles of the dispersed Jews in trying
to live out their faith in foreign lands where they were a minority.
It is never easy to remain firm to the faith when we are a minority. This
is particularly relevant in our times when Catholicism is no longer the
majority in most countries. More so for most parts of Asia and Africa
where there are many religions. In Europe and America, many have lost
their Christian tradition and now declare themselves humanists, freethinkers,
agnostics or atheists. Consequently, for us living in such challenging
times, we can learn much from Tobit as to how we can remain faithful to our faith
even when we are a minority.
Firstly, Tobit teaches us that we must
praise God in everything. The angel Raphael said, “Bless God, utter his
praise before all the living for all the favours he has given you. Bless
and extol his name.” So too the refrain for our responsorial psalm
invites us, “Blessed be God, who lives forever.” The reading concluded
with Raphael urging us, “Now bless the Lord on earth and give thanks to God. I
am about to return to him above who sent me.” So too when Tobit recovered
his eyesight. His immediate response was to bless God for healing
him. He said, “Blessed art thou, O God, and blessed is thy name for ever,
and blessed are all thy holy angels.” (Tobit 11:14)
To “Sarah his daughter-in-law, he blessed her, saying, ‘Welcome,
daughter! Blessed is God who has brought you to us, and blessed are your father
and your mother.’” (Tobit 11:17)
Earlier on, he instructed Tobias before he set out on the journey. “Bless
the Lord God on every occasion; ask him that your ways may be made straight and
that all your paths and plans may prosper. For none of the nations has
understanding; but the Lord himself gives all good things, and according to his
will he humbles whomever he wishes.” (Tobit 4:19)
Secondly, we must give thanks by
proclaiming His name and His works. “Proclaim before all men the
deeds of God as they deserve, and never tire of giving him thanks. Thank him
worthily.” The psalmist says, “Consider how well he has treated
you; loudly give him thanks. Bless the Lord of justice and extol the King of
the ages. I for my part sing his praise in the country of my exile; I
make his power and greatness known to a nation that has sinned.” Even the
angel Raphael could not keep the secret from Tobit. He said, “I am going
to tell you the whole truth, hiding nothing from you. I have already told
you that it is right to keep the secret of a king, yet right too to reveal in
worthy fashion the works of God.” We read after he was healed, “those who
saw him as he went were amazed because he could see. And Tobit gave thanks before
them that God had been merciful to him.” (Tobit 11:16) There
is no greater way to thank God than to announce His glory and mercy to all the
nations.
Thirdly, we give praise and thanks by living
a righteous life. Raphael advised them, “Do what is good, and no
evil can befall you. Conversely, “those who commit sin and do evil, bring
harm on themselves.” Tobit was that kind of person. He said,
“I, Tobit, walked in the ways of truth and righteousness all the days of my
life.” (Tobit 1:3a)
We remember how he wrongly faulted his wife for taking what was not her’s
when she came back with a kid which was a gift from her employer. (Cf Tobit 2:11-14) He was a
fair and just man. “Tobit called his son Tobias and said, ‘My son, you
ought to think about paying the amount due to your fellow traveller; give him
more than the figure agreed on.’ So Tobias called his companion and said,
‘Take half of what you brought back, in payment for all you have done, and go
in peace.’” In the same vein, the psalmist says, “If you return to
him with all your heart and all your soul, behaving honestly towards him, then
he will return to you and hide his face from you no longer.” If we
seek the mercy of God, then the psalmist urges us, “Sinners, return to him; let
your conduct be upright before him; perhaps he will be gracious to you and take
pity on you.”
In the gospel, Jesus warns us about the
danger of hypocrisy. He said, “Beware of the scribes that like to walk
about in long robes, to be greeted obsequiously in the market squares, to take
the front seats in the synagogue and the places of honour at banquets; these
are the men that swallow the property of widows, while making a show of lengthy
prayers. The more severe will be the sentence they receive.” By
failing to live authentically, we will only destroy ourselves because we lack
integrity in life.
Fourthly, we give thanks by giving to the
poor. This is the advice of the angel, “Prayer with fasting and alms with
right conduct are better than riches with iniquity. Better to practise
almsgiving than to hoard up gold. Almsgiving saves from death and purges
every kind of sin. Those who give alms have their fill of days.”
Again that was the way, Tobit lived his life. “I performed many acts of
charity to my brethren and countrymen who went with me into the land of the
Assyrians, to Nin′eveh.” (Tobit 1:3b)
“I performed many acts of charity to my brethren. I would give my bread to
the hungry and my clothing to the naked; and if I saw any one of my people dead
and thrown out behind the wall of Nin′eveh, I would bury him. (Tobit 1:16f) What he
did, he instructed his son to do likewise. “Give of your bread to the
hungry, and of your clothing to the naked. Give all your surplus to charity,
and do not let your eye begrudge the gift when you made it. Place your
bread on the grave of the righteous.” (Tobit 4:16f)
This too is the command of our Lord when
He taught us the importance of charity towards those in need in the parable of
the Last Judgement. (Cf Mt 25:31-46) The
story of the Good Samaritan reminds us of the importance of caring for our
neighbours who are suffering. (cf Lk 10:25-37)
The poor widow at the Temple sums up the perfect example of one who gives
praise and thanks to God by her life. The Lord noticed her generosity and
held her as an example of true giving. “A poor widow came and put in two
small coins, the equivalent of a penny.”
As a consequence, God will bless us for
our faith and generosity as He did Tobit who was a righteous man and a man of
compassion for the poor. The angel Raphael revealed to Tobit how the Lord
sent him to test his faith in Him. Because of his faith, his righteous
living and generosity, God blessed him generously. “So you must know that
when you and Sarah were at prayer, it was I who offered your supplications
before the glory of the Lord and who read them; so too when you were burying
the dead. When you did not hesitate to get up and leave the table to go
and bury a dead man, I was sent to test your faith, and at the same time God
sent me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah. I am Raphael, one of the
seven angels who stand ever ready to enter the presence of the glory of the
Lord.”
In the same vein, The poor widow was
praised by the Lord. “Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘I
tell you solemnly, this poor widow has put more in than all who have
contributed to the treasury; for they have all put in money they had over, but
she from the little she had has put in everything she possessed, all she had to
live on.” We are once again reminded how those who love and serve
the poor belong to the Kingdom of Heaven. “Then the King will say to
those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me
food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed
me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in
prison and you came to me.’” (Mt 25:34-36)
In the final analysis, by far the
greatest lesson we can learn from the book of Tobit is not just how Tobit lived
his faith concretely, courageously and authentically, but the example he showed
to his wife, his son Tobias and his fellowmen. Even his friend
remembered his generosity and kindness. When Rag′uel met Tobias, “he
blessed him and exclaimed, ‘Son of that good and noble man!’ When he heard that
Tobit had lost his sight, he was stricken with grief and wept.” (Tobit 7:7) Such was
the exemplary and noble life of Tobit that inspired everyone. How many
parents are living examples of faith today? How many of our children look
up to their parents in terms of lifestyle, conduct and values? All these
talk of secularization, the lack of Catholic education and Catholic values in
schools have some validity, but the real cause is that parents, the first
educators of the faith, lack the faith and integrity to transmit their faith
values to their children. If only our parents were like Tobit, our
children will also learn to live a righteous and charitable life.
Written by The Most
Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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