The Example of Tobiah

Homily for Friday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time

Over the last few days, we have been reading through the Book of Tobit for our first readings. They have been telling the tale of a family who has been on the receiving end of so much suffering and hardship. But more than that, they have been stories of a family’s perseverance. Despite everything Tobiah and his family had experienced, they never stopped turning to the Lord, they never stopped relating their suffering to God. They constantly saw the Lord as their strength. They knew that if they simply kept faith, God would bring them back to a place of peace and prosperity.

There’s a lesson in that for all of us. When we are faced with mounting uncertainties, when we are faced with hardship, when we encounter moments of great suffering, how do we deal with it? Do we wallow in the misery that often comes with those situations? Or, do we turn to God, asking for His help, and seeking to understand how He is working in the midst of those circumstances?

When we try to do things ourselves, when we try to figure things out on our own, it never ends in having our peace restored. That peace can only come if we humble ourselves before God and ask Him for help in getting through the trials that we face.

Whenever those trials come, it’s important for us to remember that the Lord is right there with us in the midst of them. As difficult as it might be, we are invited to unite our suffering in those trials to the sufferings of Christ on the cross. That’s the only way that we’ll get through them.

Today, as we come forward to receive our Lord in the Eucharist, let’s leave the trials that we face at the foot of the altar. Let’s ask the Lord to keep us close to Him in those moments, and beg Him for the gift of perseverance so that we may always rely on Him for strength to make it through the hardships of life.