Daily
Thoughts:
Here we are once again beating up poor Martha. Is that really what today Gospel
is about? (Luke 10: 38-42) Is Martha really doing the wrong thing? I think not!
I
have often felt that Martha has gotten a bad rap because of the way we have looked
at this Gospel over the centuries. We seem to think that a person who is
hardworking, hospitable and concerned about her guest is somehow less faithful,
less holy than a person of formal prayer and that is just not true.
Martha
is a good and faithful person, her mistake in the Gospel today is that she
focuses on someone else; she is concerned about someone else is doing rather
than focusing on what she is doing. If Martha had just done her work with joy,
enthusiasm and unselfishness this story in Luke’s Gospel would have never taken
place.
Let
us for a moment reverse the roles. Suppose Mary had come to Jesus to complain
about Martha. “You know Jesus she is always working, always running around
being hospitable. She should stop when you come into the house and sit and
listen to you!” What would Jesus have said? My guess is that he says, “Mary,
Mary, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one
thing. Martha has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”
You
see each woman in the story chooses her journey. Choose what she does best and
that becomes her better part. Martha is a worker, she does it well. Mary
sitting at the feet of Jesus, she listens and she does it well. There will
always be tension between action and contemplation, between ministry and
prayer, between work and quiet time. But the challenge is to pick what is best
for us at that moment. What is our better part at each moment or stage of our
life? What will help us to recognize God?
Martha
and Mary remind us that there are many gifts and that each gift is important.
We just need to recognize what is important for us and not be worried about
what is important for others!
Have
a great Tuesday everyone!
Daily
Prayer: O
God, Creator of the universe, Helper of those who turn to you, renew for us the
wonders of your mercy and love; send forth your Spirit to work in the inner
most depths of our hearts, that enemies may begin to dialogue, that adversaries
may shake hands, and that peoples may encounter one another in harmony. May all
commit themselves to – the sincere search for true peace which will extinguish
all arguments, for love which overcomes hate, for pardon which disarms revenge.
Amen. (Adapted from a prayer by St. John Paul II)
A
Runner’s Thoughts: “Not only in running but in much of life is a sense
of balance and proportion necessary.” (Clarence DeMar)
Daily
Blessing:
Tuesday greetings and blessings to everyone! It looks to be a beautiful sunny fall
day here in Pelham. Yes there is a chill in the air but one that creates a
positive energy. Yet I know there are some struggling areas of our country
especially North and South Carolina. Let us keep the people of those states in
our prayers today as they try to put their lives back together again after all
the flooding.
I
continue to keep the Synod on the Family taking place in Rome these days in my
prayers hoping that those involved will follow Pope Francis’ advice and become a
bridge rather than a road block.
May
God bless you and be with you today. May God show you what is good, life giving
and loving and may God’s grace help you to act justly and to love tenderly and
to walk humbly with God. Amen! Have a great Tuesday everyone. Peace in Christ’s
Passion…Fr. Paul
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