I did
not learn about Tobit growing up, since it is not included in the protestant
version of the Bible. Even after I began
Catholic, I didn’t focus much on “those books that the Catholic Church added to
the Bible.” (It didn’t occur to me for
years that it was the protestant leaders that removed books from the Bible!)
Four years ago, I was introduced to Tobit through the readings at daily mass.
I enjoyed the book so much that I proposed to
my family that we read a chapter each night after dinner. My then twelve year
old and my husband rolled their eyes at each other, but acquiesced to my
suggestion.
Over the
course of three weeks or so, we read a chapter each night after dinner. The book includes Tobit, a father who leaves his
dinner table to go bury the dead. He
also sleeps outside and loses his site because bird defecates in his eyes. His son, Tobias, goes on a journey to get salve that
will bring back his father’s site and is accompanied by the Angel Raphael. This son decides to marry a woman who has had
seven other husbands, all who have died on their wedding night.
Want to
know more? The book can be found between
Nehemiah and Judith in the Old Testament. If your family has not opened the Bible
recently, this is a lovely way to begin.
You can find Tobit on line at http://www.catholic.org/bible/book.php?id=17.
Two
additional personal reflections:
By the time we got to the tenth chapter, my son was the one
who said, “Are we going to read Tobit tonight?” His comment warmed my heart.
As I was cleaning out our guest bedroom a few months after
we read Tobit, I showed my son the program from our wedding. He was looking at it and said, “Mom, you had
a reading from Tobit at your wedding?”
Yes, in fact we did!
What to
know more about the Bible? Participate
in Jeff Cavin’s Bible Study Timeline.
That dust will come off the Bible and it will bring salvation history to
life for you.
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