Magnificat January 2023

20 Vol. LVIII, No. 1 Magnificat son and asked him, “What can we offer this holy man who has served as your guide?” Tobias the son replied: “All that we could give him is nothing compared to the services he has rendered me. But I beseech you, Father, ask him if he would be willing to accept half of all that I have brought.” Agreeing on this, father and son implored the mysterious guide to receive this gift as a token of their gratitude. He merely replied: “Bless the Lord for His mercies unto you, and make them known to all, for if it is proper to keep the secrets of kings in the shadows, but honorable to reveal the works of God. This, therefore, is the whole truth. When you prayed with tears, when you left your dinner and hid the dead bodies to bury them by night, I was the one who offered your supplications to the Lord. Because you were pleasing to God, it was necessary that you be tested. That is why God sent me to you to heal you and to deliver Sarah, your son’s wife, from the demon that obsessed her. O holy old man, I am the Angel Raphael, one of the seven Spirits who stand before the throne of the Lord.” At this revelation, stunned and trembling, father and son fell face down, but the Angel gently reassured them, saying: “Peace be with you. I have come to you by the Will of God: He alone must be blessed and glorified. It is time that I return to Him who sent me. As for you, give glory to God by telling of the wonders you have witnessed.” And saying these words, the Angel disappeared, and they looked for him in vain. They remained prostrate for another three hours. When Tobias rose, it was to sing a hymn of praise to God who had saved him. And he said: “Thou art great, O Lord, who reignest for all time. Thy hand dost scourge and heal, kill and resurrect: who can escape it? “Children of Israel, praise the Lord before the nations. He hath scattered you among the Gentiles who know Him not, that you may declare His wonders and teach them that there is no other God besides Him. “If He hath chastised us in His justice, He shall save us in His mercy. See what He hath done with Tobias and his family, and give glory to Him in your works. “Repent, then, you sinners, and He will show His mercy unto you, and your soul will rejoice in Him.” Tobias lived for many more years, and he saw his son and grandsons walking in the way of justice. After his father’s death, the younger Tobias returned with his family to live with Raguel and his wife, and he was their consolation in the days of their old age. He himself, at the age of ninety, went to join his father, leaving a numerous posterity behind, as dear to God as to men, by the virtues of which they constantly gave the finest examples. Sources: Fr. Auguste Berthe, C.SS.R., Jéhovah et Son peuple, depuis Adam jusqu’à Jésus-Christ (Editions Magnificat: Mont-Tremblant, 2015), Vol. II, pp. 171-188; Msgr. Jean-Joseph Gaume, Catechism of Perseverance (M.H. Gill & Son: 1886, Dublin, Vol. I, Lesson 47, pp. 522-531. Tobias and his father offer the mysterious guide a large amount of goods in gratitude for services rendered.

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM4MjU1NQ==