The Book of Tobit 6:1 วิจารณ์

But what shall I say about the dogs, to whom it is ingrained by a certain nature to show gratitude and pretend anxious guard for the safety of their masters? Hence Scripture cries out against those ungrateful for kindness and lazy and idle: 'Dumb dogs, who cannot bark' (Isaiah 56:10). So there are dogs who know how to bark for their masters, who know how to defend their own dwelling places. Therefore, you too learn to raise your voice for Christ, when heavy wolves invade the sheepfold of the Church. Learn to hold the word in your mouth, so that you do not seem to have abandoned the custody of faith like a mute dog with the silence of transgression. Such a dog is a traveler and companion of angels, whom Raphael in the prophetic book thought it was not without purpose to join to himself and to the son of Tobias, when he went to chase away Asmodaeus and to strengthen the conjugal bond (Tob. VI, 1, and XI, 9). For with the grace of a mindful affection, the demon is driven away and the marriage is established. The holy angel Raphael, in the guise of a mute beast, instructed the young Tobias, whom he had taken upon himself to protect, about the experience of grace. For who would not be ashamed not to repay gratitude to those who deserve it well, when even beasts are seen to shun the crime of ingratitude? And those animals preserve the memory of the bestowed nourishment, do you not preserve the memory of the received salvation?

Therefore, Tobias set out, and the dog followed him. When the Lord came to save the nations, his holy preachers followed in his footsteps, because they fulfilled what he commanded: "Go and teach all nations" (Matt. XXVIII). Indeed, the Lord first filled the house of Cornelius with the Holy Spirit, and then Peter washed it with water (Acts X). The doctors are called dogs because they defend the house, substance, and spiritual sheep of their Creator from thieves and beasts, that is, from unclean spirits and heretical men.

Tobias, guided by the angel, stayed the first night near the river Tigris; and he went out to wash his feet, and behold, a huge fish came out to devour him. Here again, the sacrament of the Lord's passion is more clearly signified. The huge fish, which was killed by Tobias when it attempted to devour him, as taught by the angel, represents the ancient devourer of the human race, that is, the devil, who, while seeking the death of our Redeemer in the flesh, was captured by the power of divinity. The river Tigris, named for its swift current from the swift beast, the tiger, indicates the course of our death and mortality. In which the huge fish was hiding, because the invisible seducer of the human race held dominion over death. Tobias stayed by the streams of the Tigris, because the Lord, appearing in the world, lived among sinners and mortals, but the wave of sin did not touch him, nor did the prince of darkness find anything of his own in him. Tobias went out into the river to wash his feet; and the Lord accepted death, to which he owed nothing, so that he might cleanse all the faithful, namely his members, from the contagion of sin and death. The fish came upon Tobias, desiring to devour him; and the devil came to the Lord suffering on the cross, seeking if he might find any sin in his soul.