Give God the Glory

Homily for Saturday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Today we come to the conclusion of the Book of Tobit. The happy conclusion of the trials and journey of Tobit, Tobiah, and Sarah is accompanied by an exhortation from the angel Raphael who reveals himself as “one of the seven angels who enter and serve before the Glory of the Lord." While the Roman Catholic Church names only three of these angels, the Eastern Rite churches celebrate and name seven.

Raphael exhorts Tobit’s family to give praise to God for all the good which has come about. The good works of God should be made known, he says. It is often only in such extremities as had overtaken Tobit and his family that we understand how little we should take anything for granted.

When life looks like it will stretch on forever and our health, vigor, and prosperity seem to guarantee this, it is often difficult to think of everything as gift. When all seems lost or gone awry, we often awake to the truth. If only we could see every day and hour, every good in our life as undeserved gifts, what a difference it would make in our attitude! Perhaps we would be more generous, gentle, loving, patient, and just plain happy.

We can rightly suspect that recognition of everything as gift propelled the poor widow in today’s Gospel to give of the little she had. The words of Raphael should echo in our minds all day long. “"Thank God! Give God the praise and the glory. Before all the living, acknowledge the many good things God has done for you, by blessing and extolling God’s name in song.” As we continue our liturgy this morning, let us give voice to our gratitude for all that God has done for us.