06.10.25 - Pentecost | Trinity | Book of Tobit

Opening Prayer:                                                                            

Trinity Prayer

Most holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

You have made us in accord with Your own image and likeness.

Grant that the thoughts of our minds, the words of our tongues, and all the actions of our being

Be continually transformed closer and closer to Your holy, perfect, and loving Will.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God, for ever and ever.

And as you taught us to pray together…

Our Father…

 who art in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen!

Upcoming major holy days: 

Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, Sunday, June 15, first Sun after Pentecost

TODAY:     

·        Reflection:  Completion of the Pentecost, Intro to the Trinity (comment on gender).

·        Gospel reading for Sunday (6/15), Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, John 16:12-15

·        Bible Timeline:  Tobit, Judith, Esther, Maccabees, Greeks, Romans, Herod, End of Old Testament

Quote of the Week: 

The more I get to know people, the more I understand why Noah only let animals on the boat.

Pentecost Sunday

We attended a Confirmation on Pentecost Sunday at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More (the Bishop’s Church) in Arlington. This brought to the fore several questions about grace and the Holy Spirit at Confirmation that I will speak to next.

 What is the difference between the Holy Spirit we receive at Baptism and at Confirmation?

            Degrees of grace. Before Christ came, one became a member of God’s Covenant people people via circumcision. (This obligation was put on men; women became part of the Covenant virtually through their relationship in the covenant family and their faith). Jesus was circumcised on his 8th day. In a way, this is an example of an exterior commitment, similar to how the Ten Commandments were exterior rules of Godly behavior. But once Jesus renewed human relationships to God, everthing external also becomes internal (as most of his parables and the Sermon on the Mount illustrate). Not only are we expected to better manage our inner self, but we are also given inner assistance from the Holy Spirit. Likewise, Jesus changed our ‘inclusion into God’s family’ from circumcision (exterior) to Baptism (interior and exteror).

There are many kinds of grace we can receive from the Holy Spirit. Grace is spiritual strengthening/divine help – we all need it!

Where do theses other graces come from?  

Graces are known as “actual grace” or “habitual grace” Actual graces are temporary and assist us in the moment when we need it or have asked for it. We receive actual graces through our prayers and selfless works.

Grace is known as a “habitual grace” when it stays with us and helps us develop who we are. Sanctifying grace, which we first receive at Baptism, is the primary habitual grace. 

Of all the graces, Sanctifying grace is the most important because it renews our relationship with God, which was broken at the Fall of Man, and enables us to enter Heaven.  However, Sanctifying grace is not a single, static thing – it is something we develolp and grow. Think of it as a gift of a garden. Now we must help the garden flourish.

We receive graces of both kinds through the sacraments – especially Confession and the Mass (Eucharist). Probably the biggest outpouring of grace is at our Confirmation, which is our personal Pentecost.

So then, in Baptism, the Holy Spirit opens the door and gives us our first deposit of Sanctifying grace. This grace is then greatly stabilized and strengthened through Confirmation. You could think of it like this: with Baptism you are given the “apprentice” version of Sanctifying grace, and with Confirmation you are ready for the “master” version. Now you will have the capability and assistance to carry, defend, and share the faith in all that you do.   

We all saw what happened when the Apostles had their Confirmation on the first Pentecost. Although we didn’t likely have the same experience of the Apostles, remember that their relationship with Christ was far above ours – as was the mission Jesus gave to them. Even so, if your Confirmation experience didn’t knock you off your feet (mine didn’t!), it is likely because you weren’t ready. I know now now I wasn’t ready. Mine came very slowly and didn’t truly begin until I spent a night in jail many years after my Confirmation. So just because you didn’t experience an explosion of grace like the Apostles at your Confirmation doesn’t mean you have any less of it. It’s about your personal journey, and there’s enough for your entire lifetime. The Apostles just got it all poured on them in one instant!     

Where in Scripture is this?

First, note that the Apostles had already received the Holy Spirit/Sanctifying Grace on Easter but then at Pentecost they received a more amazing dosage of Sanctifying Grace from the Holy Spirit, which prepared them speak to the thousands in the Temple grounds and convert 3000 people that same day (Acts 2:1-11). This second depost from the Holy Spirit – which we now call Confirmation – is a strengthening & sealing of the grace we receive at Baptism.

Second, in Acts 8:14-17, Peter and John travel to Samaria specifically to bring them the Holy Spirit by laying on hands and praying over them.  

Third, Acts 19:1-7 recounts Paul’s visit to Ephesus where he encounteed some disciples who had been baptized but had not received the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 6:2 refers to four key doctrines well-established in the first century: Baptism, Laying on of Hands (Confirmation), the Resurrection of the Dead, and Eternal Judgment.  

Chrism (the oil of anointing) was added to the sacrament in the very early Church (both East and West) for several reasons: 1) Jesus was the “Anointed One” and we are his followers (Chrism and Christ share the same root), and 2) Chrism was used to anoint priests throughout the Bible and, as followers of Christ, we are all called to be priests (Revelation 1:6 calls all Christians to be a “kingdom of priests”).

Note the progression of the Trinity : Easter concludes Jesus’ earthly mission to save us, the Pentecost introduces the Holy Spirit into our lives, and this coming Sunday is the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity. This is for an amazing reason.  The entire Trinity is putting itself at our disposal to help us make it to Heaven. 

Context:

That the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity follows the Holy Spirit on Pentecost is not just a matter of logical progression of topics, but to show that the entire Godhead is trying to get our attention, walk with us, and bring us to Heaven.

Why would the Creator of the universe – of all existence – be interested in tiny, rebellious, microscopic headaches like us?  

Love. Yes, hard to believe, but love is the only explanation that can answer the question. Love is all-giving. ALL-GIVING. God gave us His image and likeness in the beginning, did He not? And after we rebelled, He came here and gave His life for us, did he not? Then He gave us the Holy Spirit to help us the rest of the way. All 100% giving.  

What is the Trinity?

            First, the Trinity is not something any human would dream up in a million years because we can hardly make sense of it, and we still can’t explain it. Think about this: if we were trying to make up a religion to convince others to follow, would we make up something we can’t explain? Also, the Trinity is the perfect example of a “spiritual mystery” – it comes from the infinite realm of God, so it is a “revealed truth,” not something humans would formulate with our finite minds. That said, we can’t make some sense out of it, but we must remember that we will always fall short of a full understanding until the next life when our minds will not be as limited by finite space and time.

            Second, since God is Love then there must be more than one person since self-love isn’t love. Self-giving is love. The “Triune God” is a community of love: three, but still one.

I will give you the official language, but it isn’t likely to clear things up. Remember, we can only approach a true understanding. Okay, here goes:

-         The Father is the Unbegotten, Uncaused Origin of all things;

-         The Son is eternally begotten of the Father – begotten implies a) “uncreated” and b) the same essence/substance)

-         The Holy Spirit is the eternal love that proceeds between the Father and the Son.

We call these three “persons,” meaning they have distinct modes and relationships, but all three share one essence or substance (“consubstantial”), one nature, and one Godhead, equal and eternal.  

Further exploration of the Trinity will require another whole class, which is on our list of topics in the future. But I will supply one analogy for now – that of the family.

God not only made us in his image and likeness but also elevated the human family to resemble the Trinity.  A family is meant to be centered on love – from marriage (Gen 2:24) to procreation to the raising of the family to creating more families – all for Heaven. The ideal family – though multiple persons – is still a ONE entity that loves and serves each other, no matter what. This gives us a small inkling of the Trinity – 3 Persons in One. To further make this point, God calls all of us His his adopted sons & daughters (Rom 8:17, Gal 4:4, Eph 1:5, 1 Jn 3:2) –children of the Trinity! 

As for the Gospel Reading, we are still in Jesus’ “Last Supper Discourse” (John 14-17) – also known as the “Farewell Discourse,” and sometimes the “High Priestly Prayer.” In these deep chapters, Jesus expounds on his identity, the Holy Spirit’s identity, and the Father’s identity in ways that his disciples could not possibly comprehend at that time.    

Even for us, our short reading for this Sunday will seem a bit cryptic at first since it doesn’t tackle the mystery of the Trinity like we attempted above. But Jesus is giving some helpful hints about the Triune God that we need to know.  

 John 16:12-15

Jesus said to his disciples:

"I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.

He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming.

He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you."

What is Jesus saying here: "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now”?  

            It is clear that there are more levels of understanding that go far beyond what Jesus has already shared with his disciples. Not only about the Trinity but his other teachings and parables as well (e.g., the 8 Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount!). The Holy Spirit will work with them (the Church) to unfold their deeper meaning as our finite human minds could handle it. (Note: we didn’t coin the term “Trinity” until St. Augustine in the 5th century.)

What does this mean: “He (the Holy Spirit) will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears”?

            We are beginning to see the role of the Holy Spirit unfold here. The Holy Spirit communicates and inspires,  which is part of what love does. When we say Scripture is “inspired” (notice spirit in the word), we are saying the Holy Spirit is inspiring and guiding the authors in what they write.

            The second thing we can see is that the Holy Spirit doesn’t have a separate plan of His own. There is only one truth. In other words, the HS only communicates and explains what the Son has been telling them from the beginning.  

What does this mean: “Everything that the Father has is mine”? … What does the Father have?

         Here Jesus speaks to his equality with the Father, even the Father’s omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence.

                                                                                                                                                 Bible Timeline

Where are these books in the Bible?

I have been asked about where the books we are reading can be found in the Bible. Below is how the books are typically broken down. Let’s review briefly.

Many lists say they are in “Canonical Order.” This means that instead of listing them chronologically, the Church has grouped them by type or genre. I have also provided a second list below show the genres more clearly.  

Old Testament – 46 books     New Testament – 27 books       Total Bible– 73 books

The Prophets

 These biblical prophets are classified into “major” and “minor” prophets, which is not based on their significance but on the length of their writings.

Major Prophets: There are four major prophets in the Old Testament:

1.     Isaiah

2.     Jeremiah

3.     Ezekiel

4.     Daniel

Minor Prophets: The minor prophets consist of twelve individuals, whose writings are shorter. They are:

 1. Hosea 7. Nahum

2. Joel 8. Habakkuk

3. Amos 9. Zephaniah

4. Obadiah 10. Haggai

5. Jonah 11. Zechariah

6. Micah 12. Malachi

 The Prophet Jeremiah captures the long-awaited expectations of Israel:

All the prophets knew that the covenants God made with Israel – particularly through Abraham, Moses, and David – failed due to the people’s infidelity, but Jeremiah dreams that one day, through Yahweh’s own direct intervention, a faithful Israel will emerge, a people who consider God’s ways not an external imposition but a joy (31:31-33).

Next:  Tobit, Judith, Esther, Maccabees, Greeks, Romans, Herod, End of Old Testament

Tobit, Judith, and Esther

What is a Novella?

A novella is a short novel, a piece of fictional prose that falls somewhere between a short story and a novel in length and complexity. Novels often exceed 50,000 words where novellas typically range from 15,000 to 30,000 words. Novellas are characterized by a compact and pointed plot, often focusing on a single character or event with a more focused exploration of themes than a novel. 

The inspired authors of the books of Tobit, Judith, and Esther used this literary form of the religious novella for the purpose of instruction and edification. The seemingly historical data, names of kings, cities, etc., are used as vivid details not only to create interest and charm, but to better illustrate the negative side of the theory of retribution: the wicked are indeed punished. Good and evil are contrasted emotionally, like in a movie.

These three books, along with Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach, and Baruch make up the seven books that are not in the Protestant bibles. Although they were part of the Scriptures from the time of Jesus, they are thematically very Catholic and were rejected by Protestants at the Reformation 1500 years later.   

Today, we are reviewing the Book of Tobit.

The Book of Tobit

The Book of Tobit unfolds as a captivating tale of faith, divine intervention, and the triumph of good over adversity, set among Israelite exiles in Nineveh in the 8th century BC.

At the heart of the story is Tobit, a righteous man who, despite his piety and charitable acts, faces severe trials, including sudden blindness. Tobit becomes justifiably depressed and wishes for his own death. Tobit’s son, Tobias, is also a main player in the story.

At the same time Tobit (the blind father) is praying for death, there is a young woman named Sarah living in another city (Ecbatana) who has been tormented by a demon who has killed her seven previous husbands. The demon is called Asmodeus! Everyone, including Sarah’s parents, knows of her affliction and doesn’t know how to help her. Like Tobit, Sarah also cries out to God.

God hears both their prayers and decides to sends the Archangel Raphael to Tobit’s son, Tobias, who is being sent on a journey to Media by Tobit to retrieve money. He has also been instructed by his father Tobit to find a wife who is part of their religious clan. Archangel Raphael then comes secretly disguised as a kinsman named Azariah who will act as Tobias’ guide on the journey.

Along the way, a strange occurrence takes place. Tobias, under Raphael’s guidance, catches a fish whose inner organs possess miraculous healing properties. He tells Tobias to bring the organs with them. Yuk.

Along the way, they retrieve the money from Media (their original mission) and, of course, their travels take them to Sarah’s home. Tobit learns of Sarah’s beauty and availability, but also that her last 7 husbands died on their wedding night. He is VERY discouraged, but Raphael encourages Tobias to marry Sarah anyway, assuring him that with prayer and the burning of the fish’s organs he brought with him, the demon Asmodeus will be driven away.

The marriage takes place. That night, Tobias and Sarah pray to God and burn the fish organs as Raphael instructed. The demon attempts to flee to Egypt but is bound by Raphael and is no longer a threat.

When Tobias returns with Sarah to his father’s home in Nineveh, the blind Tobit hears of his coming and stumbles out of the house to greet him; he was worried about how much time had passed and thought something terrible happened. Raphael instructs Tobias to use the remainder of the fish’s gall on his father’s eyes. Tobias applies the fish gall to Tobit’s eyes and his sight is miraculously restored, leading to great rejoicing.

Tobit and Tobias try to give Raphael half their money, and it is then that Raphael reveals his true identity as one of God’s holy angels, sent to help and heal them because of their prayers and good deeds. They all fall to the ground in front of Raphael. Raphael tells them to give all praise to God and then ascends back to God.  

 The book concludes with Tobit’s hymn of thanksgiving, praising God’s justice and mercy. It powerfully illustrates God’s faithfulness to those who remain devoted to Him, even amidst suffering, and highlights the importance of charity, prayer, and the unseen work of angels in our lives.

Closing Prayer                                                       

Tobit rejoices! 13:14-46

Happy are those who love you,

and happy are those who rejoice in your peace.

Happy too are all who grieve over all your afflictions,

For they will rejoice over you and behold all your joy forever.

My soul, bless the Lord, the great King;

for Jerusalem will be rebuilt as his house forever.

Hail Mary

Full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. 

Amen.