9th Week in Ord. Time, Thursday – 8th June 2023 – Tobit 6,10; 7,1.9-14; 8,4-8; Mk 12,28-34
Prayer for Marital Love
In the first reading, Tobiah and Sarah are wedded and pray together before they consummate their marriage. Until now, Sarah had been married seven times but never consummated her marriage because her husbands died first. Therefore, the young couple are deeply aware of the critical moment for both of them. They agree, first of all, to pray to the Lord for his grace and protection. They praise and bless God for the divine plan to unite husband and wife together in marriage. They also pray that they may give glory to God and fulfill the purpose for which God has united them. The prayer of Tobiah then becomes a beautiful prayer suitable for any young newly married couple today. He begins with words of praise for God as the Creator of all things. It was God who had created Adam and also his wife Eve, “to be his help and support.” And from them the whole human race had come into being. He reminds God too that the Creator had said that it was not good for the man to be alone, and that he needed a helpmate like himself. And it is in this spirit, and not because of any lustful desire, that Tobiah wishes to take Sarah as his helpmate. He concludes his prayer by begging God to have compassion on both of them and to grant them to live to an old age together. This prayer is very significant in view of what had happened to Sarah’s previous partners. This prayer, in line with Eph 5,25, reminds us that true marital love should not be centered on lust, but upon fulfilling God’s command to love one another. Marital love is a decision made to do for another and to give one’s whole self for the sake of another.
