Friday of Week 9 in Ordinary Time (Year I)
Tobit 11:5-17 | Psalm 145(146):2,7-10 | Mark 12:35-37
Blessed be God!
Blessed be his great name!
Blessed be all his holy angels!
Blessed be his great name for evermore! (Tobit 11:14)
When was the last time we gave thanks and praise to God of our own volition?
Not as part of our weekly Eucharistic obligation.
Not as part of some organized Holy Hour, or prayer session, or other congregation.
Alone, in the hustle and bustle of modern life.
Alone, while besieged by noisy children and adults on our daily journeys.
Alone, in the quiet depths of our hearts, the place where God knows us truly and thoroughly.
What stops us from praising God without end?
✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞
Tobit’s exclamation reminds me of the Divine Praises that we sing after the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. While recalling the words, I realized that there’s no logical reason to confine the words to Eucharistic adoration, and every reason to remind ourselves frequently of the authors and collaborators in our salvation.
The Holy Trinity. Mother Mary. St. Joseph, the angels and saints. All deserve our love and thanksgiving.
So, brothers and sisters, let us pray these words often, and with as much fervour as Tobit did after regaining his sight.
Because in blessing all that is holy, we too are blessed.
Blessed be God.
Blessed be His Holy Name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man.
Blessed be the Name of Jesus.
Blessed be His Most Sacred Heart.
Blessed be His Most Precious Blood.
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most Holy.
Blessed be her Holy and Immaculate Conception.
Blessed be her Glorious Assumption.
Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother.
Blessed be St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse.
Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints.
Amen.