Tobit 6 : 10 – 11; 7 : 1, 9 – 17; 8 : 4 – 9a / Ps. 127 : 1-5 / Mark 12 : 28 – 34

We continue the story of Tobit and Sara, in how God sent His help to both of them, in the journey which Tobit’s son, Tobias undertook with the Archangel Raphael.

Through them, God made His plans to help both Tobit and Sara, especially that she suffered from the attacks by the demon Asmodeus, who killed all her seven husband which made her own maidservants to gossip and accuse her falsely of misdeeds which distressed her very greatly. The coming of Tobias and the Archangel Raphael in disguise brought God’s help and assistance to Sara.

When Tobias asks for ask Sara’s hand in marriage, her father Raguel was rather reluctant to do so because of everything that had happened in the recent past in Sara’s life. Nevertheless, Tobias reassured Raguel and promised to take good care of her. They began their married life by praying to God together, by entrusting themselves to the Lord and to His providence, and indeed the Lord helped them. Through the Archangel Raphael, the demon Asmodeus was defeated.

That is what God does for all who are faithful to Him. Kindly note this, my dear friends, God didn’t remove the Red Sea, rather He parted it. God doesn’t always remove your problems, but he will make a way for you to get through them. Surely, in Christ, all will be made to live.

Living a Christian life can be described as a successful quest. We, too, go into night and are threatened by death and evil. But like Tobias, we are not alone. In various ways God leads us on our journey. Through prayer and obedience, we and those whose lives we touch will be brought from night into eternal day. Our obedience is modeled on Christ, who is himself the Way (John 14:6).

My dear friend, never allow your past life to be a stumble block to your bright future, for Sara never got stacked in her past, please, have enough courage to trust love one more time. God is saying to you today, I’m going to exceed your expectations. I’m going to do things that you have never imagined. It’s your time to step into new levels. Anything that is holding you back is being broken; this is a new dawn.

Jesus on the other hand in the gospel declares that, it is only God who is to be loved with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Jesus gives what he considers to be the second most important commandment, which has a focus on ourselves, ‘you must love your neighbour as yourselves’. Jesus is saying that even in the midst of our most precious human relationships our primary focus is to be on God, because God alone is deserving of all our love. It is in loving God with all our being that our human love, including the most intimate of human love, can become complete.

Rosary Prayer: Luminous Mysteries

Mass intention: We are for Divine Protection for medical Practitioners and persons in the health sector. May God continue to use them to heal those who are having various form of sickness. Please remember to pray for my Spiritual Fr. James Mondok.