It is a pity that the story of Tobias is not more widely read by Christians and that it is used so little in the religious instruction of children. Although one of the inspired books of the Old Testament, it is also, as the Monks of Maredsous have pointed out, 'a true guide for the righteous which the Christian can use with practically no modification'.

For the ordinary person, hemmed in by his everyday and often monotonous job, it is very difficult to see any link between his life and the love of God. Exasperating anxieties with regard to meeting his financial commitments, and often worries with regard to health and well-being of his family, seem to preclude any connection between his life as he has to live it and that love of God as exemplified in the lives of saints and possibly 'good' people he happens to know. He may be punctilious about his religious duties, and feel in some dim way that God does hear his prayers, but somehow the love of God is not a reality for him. He wants to love God but does not know how!

'Little children, love one another.' Do we really love our neighbours as we should? And are we to love them as the world thinks we should? How often do we hear people accuse us of appearing to be unkind, or harsh or callous. 'Look here', they say, pointing out some case of social injustice, or one or hardship. 'Do you call that loving your neighbour?' And they scoff: 'Call yourselves followers of Christ?' One old man I met told me that he believed that organized religion was the prime cause of all the trouble in the world today. We try to console ourselves that these people fail to understand Christ's teaching, but if that is so we should surely try to enlighten them.

The Mass is constructed round the Passion of Christ. After the consecration the priest says, 'Wherefore, O Lord, we thy servants, as also thy holy people, calling to mind the blessed passion of the same Christ thy Son…' In every church there is at least one crucifix, every Catholic home has a crucifix in a place of honour and at the end of every rosary there hangs a crucifix. Yet so often our thoughts shy away from meditating on the Passion of Christ. The more one thinks on the Passion, especially on the crucifixion, the more unbearable does it seem to be. Nevertheless the great saints have always stressed this necessity of meditating on the Passion.