There is no doubt that there is the presence of evil in this world.
From atrocities and heinous crimes to cheating and deception, such acts of evil happen every day.
The 1st reading mentions of a particular type of evil, a spiritual evil that took the lives of seven bridegrooms of the innocent Sarah.
On the wedding night of Tobias and Sarah, they were aware of the harm that the evil spirit could do, and so they turned to God and prayed for protection and for His blessings on their marriage.
In a world where we see so much evil happening, there is the temptation to return evil with evil.
But the gospel reminds us of the great commandment, and that is to love God and to love neighbour.
To carry out that commandment will entail facing resistance and opposition by the forces of evil and their agents.
We need to constantly pray for God's protection and help to live out that commandment of love.
May our Lord God protect us from evil and bless us to be instruments of His love for others.