June 8.   Deacon Samuel said,“Now I want to ask you as young adults a question.  I presume that you do sometimes think of marriage and not only of work, but what do you think of arranged marriages?  Do you know of any or do you think your parents are setting you up?  In my family in the olden days our parents did make arrangements with other families, who they thought would benefit their families rather than the young people themselves.”  “I know about that too.  My dad even says, ‘you should love the one you marry, not marry the one you love.’  Maybe I should ask him why he says that.”  Deacon Samuel encouraged them all to read the whole story in Tobit so they could discuss it at their next time together. “It’s a really exciting story with a twist that you will find interesting.” 

Reflect, share, act. Scripture: “We must stay the night in the home of Raguel.  He is your relative and he has a daughter named Sarah.  He has no male heir and you as next of kin to her have before all other men a hereditary claim on her.  Also it is right for you to inherit her father’s possessions.  Moreover, the girl is sensible, brave and very beautiful and her father is a good man.” Tobit chapter 6.   Pope Francis.   Some societies still maintain the practice of polygamy or in other places arranged marriages are an enduring practice.  Surely it is right to reject older forms of the traditional family marked by authoritarianism and even violence, yet this should not lead to a criticism but a rediscovery of the authentic meaning of marriage.  AL 53