DAY 213

Tobit 12-14

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Raphael’s Wages

12 When the wedding celebration was ended, Tobit called his son Tobias and said to him, “My child, see to paying the wages of the man who went with you, and give him a bonus as well.” 2 He replied, “Father, how much shall I pay him? It would do no harm to give him half of the possessions brought back with me. 3 For he has led me back to you safely, he cured my wife, he brought the money back with me, and he healed you. How much extra shall I give him as a bonus?” 4 Tobit said, “He deserves, my child, to receive half of all that he brought back.” 5 So Tobias[a] called him and said, “Take for your wages half of all that you brought back, and farewell.”

Raphael’s Exhortation

6 Then Raphael[b] called the two of them privately and said to them, “Bless God and acknowledge him in the presence of all the living for the good things he has done for you. Bless and sing praise to his name. With fitting honor declare to all people the deeds[c] of God. Do not be slow to acknowledge him. 7 It is good to conceal the secret of a king, but to acknowledge and reveal the works of God, and with fitting honor to acknowledge him. Do good and evil will not overtake you. 8 Prayer with fasting[d] is good, but better than both is almsgiving with righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than wealth with wrongdoing.[e] It is better to give alms than to lay up gold. 9 For almsgiving saves from death and purges away every sin. Those who give alms will enjoy a full life, 10 but those who commit sin and do wrong are their own worst enemies.

Raphael Discloses His Identity

11 “I will now declare the whole truth to you and will conceal nothing from you. Already I have declared it to you when I said, ‘It is good to conceal the secret of a king, but to reveal with due honor the works of God.’ 12 So now when you and Sarah prayed, it was I who brought and read[f] the record of your prayer before the glory of the Lord, and likewise whenever you would bury the dead. 13 And that time when you did not hesitate to get up and leave your dinner to go and bury the dead, 14 I was sent to you to test you. And at the same time God sent me to heal you and Sarah your daughter-in-law. 15 I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand ready and enter before the glory of the Lord.”

16 The two of them were shaken; they fell face down, for they were afraid. 17 But he said to them, “Do not be afraid; peace be with you. Bless God forevermore. 18 As for me, when I was with you, I was not acting on my own will, but by the will of God. Bless him each and every day; sing his praises. 19 Although you were watching me, I really did not eat or drink anything—but what you saw was a vision. 20 So now get up from the ground,[g] and acknowledge God. See, I am ascending to him who sent me. Write down all these things that have happened to you.” And he ascended. 21 Then they stood up, and could see him no more. 22 They kept blessing God and singing his praises, and they acknowledged God for these marvelous deeds of his, when an angel of God had appeared to them.

Tobit’s Thanksgiving to God

13 Then Tobit[h] said:

“Blessed be God who lives forever,
    because his kingdom[i] lasts throughout all ages.
2 For he afflicts, and he shows mercy;
    he leads down to Hades in the lowest regions of the earth,
    and he brings up from the great abyss,[j]
    and there is nothing that can escape his hand.
3 Acknowledge him before the nations, O children of Israel;
    for he has scattered you among them.
4     He has shown you his greatness even there.
Exalt him in the presence of every living being,
    because he is our Lord and he is our God;
    he is our Father and he is God forever.
5 He will afflict[k] you for your iniquities,
    but he will again show mercy on all of you.
He will gather you from all the nations
    among whom you have been scattered.
6 If you turn to him with all your heart and with all your soul,
    to do what is true before him,
then he will turn to you
    and will no longer hide his face from you.
So now see what he has done for you;
    acknowledge him at the top of your voice.
Bless the Lord of righteousness,
    and exalt the King of the ages.[l]
In the land of my exile I acknowledge him,
    and show his power and majesty to a nation of sinners:
‘Turn back, you sinners, and do what is right before him;
    perhaps he may look with favor upon you and show you mercy.’
7 As for me, I exalt my God,
    and my soul rejoices in the King of heaven.
8 Let all people speak of his majesty,
    and acknowledge him in Jerusalem.
9 O Jerusalem, the holy city,
    he afflicted[m] you for the deeds of your hands,[n]
    but will again have mercy on the children of the righteous.
10 Acknowledge the Lord, for he is good,[o]
    and bless the King of the ages,
    so that his tent[p] may be rebuilt in you in joy.
May he cheer all those within you who are captives,
    and love all those within you who are distressed,
    to all generations forever.
11 A bright light will shine to all the ends of the earth;
    many nations will come to you from far away,
the inhabitants of the remotest parts of the earth to your holy name,
    bearing gifts in their hands for the King of heaven.
Generation after generation will give joyful praise in you;
    the name of the chosen city will endure forever.
12 Cursed are all who speak a harsh word against you;
    cursed are all who conquer you
    and pull down your walls,
all who overthrow your towers
    and set your homes on fire.
    But blessed forever will be all who revere you.[q]
13 Go, then, and rejoice over the children of the righteous,
    for they will be gathered together
    and will praise the Lord of the ages.
14 Happy are those who love you,
    and happy are those who rejoice in your prosperity.
Happy also are all people who grieve with you
    because of your afflictions;
for they will rejoice with you
    and witness all your glory forever.
15 My soul blesses[r] the Lord, the great King!
16     For Jerusalem will be built[s] as his house for all ages.
How happy I will be if a remnant of my descendants should survive
    to see your glory and acknowledge the King of heaven.
The gates of Jerusalem will be built with sapphire and emerald,
    and all your walls with precious stones.
The towers of Jerusalem will be built with gold,
    and their battlements with pure gold.
The streets of Jerusalem will be paved
    with ruby and with stones of Ophir.
17 The gates of Jerusalem will sing hymns of joy,
    and all her houses will cry, ‘Hallelujah!
Blessed be the God of Israel!’
    and the blessed will bless the holy name forever and ever.”

Tobit’s Final Counsel

14 So ended Tobit’s words of praise.

2 Tobit[t] died in peace when he was one hundred twelve years old, and was buried with great honor in Nineveh. He was sixty-two[u] years old when he lost his eyesight, and after regaining it he lived in prosperity, giving alms and continually blessing God and acknowledging God’s majesty.

3 When he was about to die, he called his son Tobias and the seven sons of Tobias[v] and gave this command: “My son, take your children 4 and hurry off to Media, for I believe the word of God that Nahum spoke about Nineveh, that all these things will take place and overtake Assyria and Nineveh. Indeed, everything that was spoken by the prophets of Israel, whom God sent, will occur. None of all their words will fail, but all will come true at their appointed times. So it will be safer in Media than in Assyria and Babylon. For I know and believe that whatever God has said will be fulfilled and will come true; not a single word of the prophecies will fail. All of our kindred, inhabitants of the land of Israel, will be scattered and taken as captives from the good land; and the whole land of Israel will be desolate, even Samaria and Jerusalem will be desolate. And the temple of God in it will be burned to the ground, and it will be desolate for a while.[w]

5 “But God will again have mercy on them, and God will bring them back into the land of Israel; and they will rebuild the temple of God, but not like the first one until the period when the times of fulfillment shall come. After this they all will return from their exile and will rebuild Jerusalem in splendor; and in it the temple of God will be rebuilt, just as the prophets of Israel have said concerning it. 6 Then the nations in the whole world will all be converted and worship God in truth. They will all abandon their idols, which deceitfully have led them into their error; 7 and in righteousness they will praise the eternal God. All the Israelites who are saved in those days and are truly mindful of God will be gathered together; they will go to Jerusalem and live in safety forever in the land of Abraham, and it will be given over to them. Those who sincerely love God will rejoice, but those who commit sin and injustice will vanish from all the earth. 8,9 So now, my children, I command you, serve God faithfully and do what is pleasing in his sight. Your children are also to be commanded to do what is right and to give alms, and to be mindful of God and to bless his name at all times with sincerity and with all their strength. So now, my son, leave Nineveh; do not remain here. 10 On whatever day you bury your mother beside me, do not stay overnight within the confines of the city. For I see that there is much wickedness within it, and that much deceit is practiced within it, while the people are without shame. See, my son, what Nadab did to Ahikar who had reared him. Was he not, while still alive, brought down into the earth? For God repaid him to his face for this shameful treatment. Ahikar came out into the light, but Nadab went into the eternal darkness, because he tried to kill Ahikar. Because he gave alms, Ahikar[x] escaped the fatal trap that Nadab had set for him, but Nadab fell into it himself, and was destroyed. 11 So now, my children, see what almsgiving accomplishes, and what injustice does—it brings death! But now my breath fails me.”

Death of Tobit and Anna

Then they laid him on his bed, and he died; and he received an honorable funeral. 12 When Tobias’s mother died, he buried her beside his father. Then he and his wife and children[y] returned to Media and settled in Ecbatana with Raguel his father-in-law. 13 He treated his parents-in-law[z] with great respect in their old age, and buried them in Ecbatana of Media. He inherited both the property of Raguel and that of his father Tobit. 14 He died highly respected at the age of one hundred seventeen[aa] years. 15 Before he died he heard[ab] of the destruction of Nineveh, and he saw its prisoners being led into Media, those whom King Cyaxares[ac] of Media had taken captive. Tobias[ad] praised God for all he had done to the people of Nineveh and Assyria; before he died he rejoiced over Nineveh, and he blessed the Lord God forever and ever. Amen.[ae]

Proverbs 30:1-17

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Sayings of Agur

30 The words of Agur son of Jakeh. An oracle.

Thus says the man: I am weary, O God,
    I am weary, O God. How can I prevail?[a]
2 Surely I am too stupid to be human;
    I do not have human understanding.
3 I have not learned wisdom,
    nor have I knowledge of the holy ones.[b]
4 Who has ascended to heaven and come down?
    Who has gathered the wind in the hollow of the hand?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment?
    Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is the person’s name?
    And what is the name of the person’s child?
    Surely you know!

5 Every word of God proves true;
    he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
6 Do not add to his words,
    or else he will rebuke you, and you will be found a liar.

7 Two things I ask of you;
    do not deny them to me before I die:
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
    give me neither poverty nor riches;
    feed me with the food that I need,
9 or I shall be full, and deny you,
    and say, “Who is the Lord?”
or I shall be poor, and steal,
    and profane the name of my God.

10 Do not slander a servant to a master,
    or the servant will curse you, and you will be held guilty.

11 There are those who curse their fathers
    and do not bless their mothers.
12 There are those who are pure in their own eyes
    yet are not cleansed of their filthiness.
13 There are those—how lofty are their eyes,
    how high their eyelids lift!—
14 there are those whose teeth are swords,
    whose teeth are knives,
to devour the poor from off the earth,
    the needy from among mortals.

15 The leech[c] has two daughters;
    “Give, give,” they cry.
Three things are never satisfied;
    four never say, “Enough”:
16 Sheol, the barren womb,
    the earth ever thirsty for water,
    and the fire that never says, “Enough.”[d]

17 The eye that mocks a father
    and scorns to obey a mother
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley
    and eaten by the vultures.

Philemon 1

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Salutation

1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,[a]

To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, 2 to Apphia our sister,[b] to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house:

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philemon’s Love and Faith

4 When I remember you[c] in my prayers, I always thank my God 5 because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith toward the Lord Jesus. 6 I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we[d] may do for Christ. 7 I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.

Paul’s Plea for Onesimus

8 For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, 9 yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love—and I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus.[e] 10 I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. 11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful[f] both to you and to me. 12 I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. 13 I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel; 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced. 15 Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever, 16 no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother—especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

17 So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self. 20 Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say.

22 One thing more—prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping through your prayers to be restored to you.

Final Greetings and Benediction

23 Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you,[g] 24 and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

25 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.[h]

PART TWO
THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY

SECTION TWO
THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH

CHAPTER TWO
THE SACRAMENTS OF HEALING

ARTICLE 5
THE ANOINTING OF THE SICK

1499 "By the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of the priests the whole Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them. And indeed she exhorts them to contribute to the good of the People of God by freely uniting themselves to the Passion and death of Christ."⁹⁸

I. ITS FOUNDATIONS IN THE ECONOMY OF SALVATION

Illness in human life

1500 Illness and suffering have always been among the gravest problems confronted in human life. In illness, man experiences his powerlessness, his limitations, and his finitude. Every illness can make us glimpse death.

1501 Illness can lead to anguish, self-absorption, sometimes even despair and revolt against God. It can also make a person more mature, helping him discern in his life what is not essential so that he can turn toward that which is. Very often illness provokes a search for God and a return to him.

The sick person before God

1502 The man of the Old Testament lives his sickness in the presence of God. It is before God that he laments his illness, and it is of God, Master of life and death, that he implores healing.⁹⁹ Illness becomes a way to conversion; God's forgiveness initiates the healing.¹⁰⁰ It is the experience of Israel that illness is mysteriously linked to sin and evil, and that faithfulness to God according to his law restores life: "For I am the Lord, your healer."¹⁰¹ The prophet intuits that suffering can also have a redemptive meaning for the sins of others.¹⁰² Finally Isaiah announces that God will usher in a time for Zion when he will pardon every offense and heal every illness.¹⁰³

Christ the physician

1503 Christ's compassion toward the sick and his many healings of every kind of infirmity are a resplendent sign that "God has visited his people"¹⁰⁴ and that the Kingdom of God is close at hand. Jesus has the power not only to heal, but also to forgive sins;¹⁰⁵ he has come to heal the whole man, soul and body; he is the physician the sick have need of.¹⁰⁶ His compassion toward all who suffer goes so far that he identifies himself with them: "I was sick and you visited me."¹⁰⁷ His preferential love for the sick has not ceased through the centuries to draw the very special attention of Christians toward all those who suffer in body and soul. It is the source of tireless efforts to comfort them.

1504 Often Jesus asks the sick to believe.¹⁰⁸ He makes use of signs to heal: spittle and the laying on of hands,¹⁰⁹ mud and washing.¹¹⁰ The sick try to touch him, "for power came forth from him and healed them all."¹¹¹ And so in the sacraments Christ continues to "touch" us in order to heal us.

1505 Moved by so much suffering Christ not only allows himself to be touched by the sick, but he makes their miseries his own: "He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.".¹¹² But he did not heal all the sick. His healings were signs of the coming of the Kingdom of God. They announced a more radical healing: the victory over sin and death through his Passover. On the cross Christ took upon himself the whole weight of evil and took away the "sin of the world,".¹¹³ of which illness is only a consequence. By his passion and death on the cross Christ has given a new meaning to suffering: it can henceforth configure us to him and unite us with his redemptive Passion.