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Turn to Him

As Jesus approached Jericho
a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging,
and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening.
They told him,
“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!”
The people walking in front rebuked him,
telling him to be silent,
but he kept calling out all the more,
“Son of David, have pity on me!”
Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him;
and when he came near, Jesus asked him,
“What do you want me to do for you?”
He replied, “Lord, please let me see.”
Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.”
He immediately received his sight
and followed him, giving glory to God.
When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.

—Luke 18:35–43

Dear friends,

How good it is to be writing for Frassati again! Rather than speak as if I were lecturing at the bully pulpit, I’ll speak to reach hearts and minds and try and be as succinct as possible. (No promises.)

In today’s Gospel, we are given the story of the healing of the blind man. The blind man, pleading to be recognized by Jesus, has his sight restored. Jesus tells the blind man, “Have sight, your faith has saved you.” It is an indeed an example of Christ’s miracles, but there are several takes I have on this narrative, especially in our climate these days in regards to our faith in Our Lord and in Holy Mother Church.

In my life, this Gospel narrative has several personal elements that deeply resonate with me. There are three crucial moments as I reflect on today’s Gospel:

  1. There is the crowd “rebuk[ing] him” and “telling him to be silent.”
  2. Christ then tells the man, “…Your faith has saved you.”
  3. The final element of my reflection pertains to “giving glory to God” after such a miracle has occurred.

First, how often in our lives have we reached out to the Lord? For many of us, especially at the beginning of this pandemic rife with mortal and economic loss, many of us may have felt brief or extended moments of confusion, heartbreak, maybe even despair. For me, it was a particularly turbulent moment in my life—I had no choice but to leave my PhD, the academic career I had envisioned for over a decade was now gone, and I found myself suddenly unemployed. I couldn’t find work for many, many months, and I was diagnosed with PTSD. With social distancing mechanisms in place, I, and many others, may have felt displaced from our prayer communities. I felt directionless. Some friends told me, in the midst of their despair, their belief that the Church, too, seemed in crisis. They subsequently said all was in flux, the Church was now in crisis, and they thought the world was ending.

Mind you, let me stop right here. I am not a “doomer.” I tried to be as empathetic as I possibly could with my friends, completely understanding how deeply lonely and heartbreaking this time was and still is. Some have been more active in talking to me; a lot of folks simply needed personal space. This time was and is turbulent in different ways for many of us, in a myriad of ways. I lost several family members and friends. I later contracted COVID-19 and became sick for quite some time in the spring. I was later reinfected with COVID-19 in late August. However, despite these times of trial and tribulation, my faith in Him was strengthened. This was also a sentiment I found with several of my friends: their faith was strengthened, not weakened. But how? Why? Amidst all this, how often have we given into stinging “rebuke?” Either from friends from ourselves? Perhaps we are not literally gathered amongst large crowds now, but the threat of stinging rebuke is still there. From ourselves. The maxim that “we can be our harshest critic” is not entirely without merit. Especially if we sometimes struggle with catastrophizing our interior lives. (Anyone? Sometimes I struggle with this! Struggling with anxiety is a real thing! But praise be to Jesus that I offer this to Him!) How often in the midst of these tragedies have we remained “silent,” instead of turning to Him, the Lord and Savior who died for our sins? He who wept when His friend Lazarus died? He who showed mercy to a thief being crucified next to Him? Turn to Him—He truly understands. If you’ve ever been mad at God or disappointed, whether it be with life, anxiety, or singleness, you can tell Him. He can take it. And Jesus will love you all the same.

Second, in my life, getting to the point of “your faith has saved you” could be the most difficult. Because we sometimes we may thrive on a quick, immediate emotional response in our consumerist society. We may want things now. In my life, I have realized that upon getting what we have wanted from prayer, we may then become lukewarm. We may sometimes have the tendency to turn to the Lord only in moments in despair. (More on this in my third point.) But the larger issue I want to point out is that no prayer is wasted. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI once said to a group of pilgrims that, “We can be sure that there is no such thing as a superfluous or useless prayer. No prayer is lost.” Often, I have been told that when we pray, God may think with His divine intellect one of the following things: “Yes;” “Yes, but not the way you expect, here is something even better;” “No;” or “Later.” While we cannot ascertain with our mortal intellect the divine intellect, we have probably had one of these moments that our prayers were answered in magnitudes even greater than we could have ever wanted!

Imagine a world where there was no guarantee the blind man could have ever been healed. The blind man must have realized this small possibility. Obviously, Christ was always going to heal the blind man, but this was never a certainty in the mind of the blind man. I think the larger point to “Your faith has saved you” is to realize the point that it’s always possible that our prayers may never be answered in the ways we expect. And yet, we turn to Him. And we should. I think the larger issue that some of us may not realize is that in the midst of our tribulations, we may subconsciously believe we are beyond reproach or may not need to repent. How often do we feel relieved when we go to confession? Like a clean slate. The blind man felt lost—literally and figuratively. The issue we may not realize from reading this Gospel narrative is that we pretend we are beyond reproach, pretend we are not sinners, and we then become literally and spiritually “blind” to even our own spiritual blindness. Like if you desperately needed glasses to see. Like a glass half full. Like if you went out in the cold without a coat. One way we grow into much better young Catholics is to recognize how lost we are—how truly we actually need Jesus. Do we recognize this in prayer? It may be a hard thing to admit, mainly because it requires a large amount of humility in our lives. When the pandemic first hit, when I was first diagnosed with PTSD, and when I found myself temporarily directionless, I turned to Jesus. Who else would I turn to? I was a blind man, begging to see, temporarily becoming a recluse for many, many months. There was nobody I would rather turn to. Tell Jesus you love Him and how much you need Him. You’ll be surprised how readily He welcomes you with open arms. There are still many moments where I struggle with spiritual blindness, for our path to sainthood is a continual process for the rest of our lives. Remember you want to aim for Heaven, not purgatory, because you don’t want to miss. (Bad joke, I know.) Would I say I’m a much more mature and confident man than I was at the beginning of the year? Absolutely. Am I a saint yet? No, but I’m trying, Jesus.

Finally, comes the role of “giving glory to God.” This is the both the easiest and potentially the most difficult. Mainly because once we receive something in our prayer lives, we are immediately humbled, enormously thankful. How many times do we shout “Alleluia!” once our prayers are answered? But do we keep the faith afterwards? Even after we know Our Lord is with us and truly loves us? It has once been said we are “an Easter people,” who should always strive to shout, “Alleluia!” The most pressing example of this is what Our Lady must have felt at the Annunciation. Consider this moment from the Gospel of Luke:

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:38)

There is the moment of revelation. There is the moment where Our Lady accepts the Lord’s will. However, what people forget is what comes after. Do we try to emulate Our Lady’s example, keeping the faith? Imagine being a young woman, being given such a great mission, probably illiterate, probably scared, coming from Nazareth, where it is said that no good comes from there. (See John 1:46.) Mary kept the faith; we can, too.

Don’t be afraid to pray to God for relief of your burdens. If relief is not in sight, ask Him for the graces you need to endure in these troubled times. He will help you.

Don’t Look Back, Look Forward to Heaven

During holy week at my grandma’s house two things will happen, we will make habichuelas con dulce and we will watch some very old Bible-stories made movies on TV. For some reason one of the most vivid memories about this family tradition is watching the very old Bible-stories made movies. One scene in particular stands out to me, Lot’s wife looking back and turning into a pile of salt and then being blown away by the wind. 

In today’s Gospel Jesus tells us to “remember the wife of Lot”. It’s one verse in the middle of a parable and it doesn’t seem to make sense, until you look a little deeper at Scripture. If we are unfamiliar with Lot or his wife, we might be asking ourselves why does Jesus want me to remember her? In the Bible, Lot is the nephew of Abraham (patriarchal father) and his wife was a Sodomite woman. They lived in Sodom. Two angels had come to their family, urging them to leave the city at once because it was going to be destroyed, but they should not look behind them as they flee. Lot’s wife disobeys this order from God and as she looked behind to the city of Sodom, which was in flames, she turned to salt. My little kid brain just could not comprehend this – I was like, woah! God that’s kind of dramatic, all she did was look back. It was nothing, right?

The Father gives us everything that is good and all of himself. He is love himself and He gives all of Himself to us. All we have to do on our part is accept his love. Once we accept God and decide to walk with Him our lives change. They change for the better. A life in Christ is filled with peace, joy, and love. Nothing is missing from this life. 

However, being human as we are, we begin to think of all that we have to give up to walk with God. We give up being angry and mean towards other people. We give up getting drunk and using drugs. We give up being selfish to our own desires. We give up the pleasures of the world. We give up lying to get our ways. There are many things we give up – and sometimes we look back to those moments of “easy fun in the world” and start to want them back. We start to think “just a little bit of it won’t hurt”. What we need to realize when we do this is that we are telling God that He is not enough. By looking back to our old life, as Lot’s wife looked back to her old life, we are telling Jesus that his death is not enough. These are the lies that Satan whispers in our ear. 

Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it. – Luke 17:33

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is warning us to not look back on our old life. To live in Christ we must die to our old selves. When we choose to follow Christ we should follow him 100% of the way, not half way or part of the way. We shouldn’t just follow him when it’s convenient and easy for us, then turn around when it’s hard and requires work. We should follow Jesus all the way to heaven! All the riches awaiting for us in heaven are so much grandeur than anything of the world. This is why Jesus says that the man on the rooftop doesn’t need to go back into the house for his possessions. Or, that someone doesn’t need to go back into the field for something that was left behind. God always provides for us! 

We are never alone when we are in the middle of our sins. If ever we feel like we’ve done too much wrong to ever be made right with the Father, know that to be a lie! Lot, his wife, and their daughters were in the middle of Sodom, a pagan city that had sinned against God, and the Father sent two angels to help them escape. God the Father sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to this world to die so we could be set free. And the grace of the sacrament of reconciliation is always available to us. God never leaves you alone when you need Him. Do not look back on your old sinful life, look forward to the new and eternal life that awaits for you in heaven.

Image Credit: Lot’s Wife turning to Salt [Public Domain]

Live a Godly Life

We live in a flawed world that seems to increasingly “forget” what it means to be devoted, upstanding and genuinely good. People are losing faith and falling into despair because they are accepting lies as truth. Only the Father’s truth remains constant and His will never waver.

“For the grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope.” —Tim 2:11

Our salvation is promised, thanks to Jesus Christ’s death on a cross. He has already defeated the sins plaguing our world today. We still have the responsibility to live our lives by following the example Jesus set for us. We need to do what our Master commands.

“When you have done all you have been commanded, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.” —Luke 17:10

What are we obliged to do at this time? Jesus also suggested we behave like servants staying awake because we do not know the hour the Master will return, and we must be vigilant so we are ready when He does. In the face of all the trials in the world, now is the best time to follow these commands, to live our lives as examples for others and thereby reveal a life governed by Christ as our King.

Hail to the True King

Today the eyes of the world will focus on this nation because we will elect the next leader of our country. This election has reached the point where everyone believes that its result will either make or break the United States. In light of all the issues the world currently faces, it is understandable that our next president would be the determining factor in how this nation proceeds in dealing with these issues. So much pressure placed on one election and to an extent, one person! It also instills a great deal of trepidation on the citizens of the free world. What if we elect the “wrong” person?

The good news is that we are first and foremost brothers and sisters in Christ, and U.S. citizens second. Our foundation and our identities are rooted in our faith, which means we have already chosen our true leader and He is Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” Matthew 21:22. Yes, it is our civic responsibility to cast our vote and to do so in accordance with the teaching of the Church, but more than that, it is our responsibility to give ourselves to our Lord.

“God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:10-11

Under the leadership of Jesus Christ, we can rest assured that we will always be provided for in every way that matters. God has been governing us since the beginning of time; He created us and He loves us. We can place our hope in Him, confident that His plan will be accomplished. Jesus humbled Himself on the cross and has conquered all the trials we are currently enduring in the world. Who we elect as our next government leaders is yet to be determined, but the true King of our hearts and souls has already been revealed after His death on that cross on Calvary.

Friends for the Journey: A Reflection on the Saints

I remember always loving All Saints’ Day as a child.  My knowledge of the feast must have begun around the age of six when my family returned to the Catholic faith and I was baptized.  I didn’t know much about any particular saint, but I had an affinity for this beautiful feast. 

As the years have gone on, my love for the feast has remained while my appreciation of it has deepened, as has my knowledge of certain Saints.  Over time it became more and more apparent that my childhood love was less a result of myself seeking out these Saints, and more that certain Saints were actually seeking me out. 

In my late teen and early adult years I seemed to have an unexplained draw to St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi.  Of course, St. Francis is among the well-known Saints and appeals to many, but I just felt a kindred spirit to the Assisi duo.  In my sophomore year, I chose St. Clare as my confirmation saint.  The parish where I’d be confirmed, Santa Clara de Asis, was under her patronage and I thought it would be interesting to write my required saint report on her.  In my young adult years, Francis and Clare continued making their guidance in my life known to me, sometimes less subtly than others.  I read more about Clare, found beauty and comfort in their images and statues at a church of St. Francis when I first moved away from home, and eventually grew to find a kindred spirit in the community of the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Renewal in NYC.  It wasn’t until a few years into my deepening relationship with Francis and Clare that I finally learned that I was born on the day of St. Francis’ death, his Transitus, or transition into Heaven.  The moment I realized this was a profound one.  I had a sense that this draw I had felt for years toward these two Saints of Assisi was a connection orchestrated by God Himself placed in me when He formed me in the womb. 

In more recent years, I have experienced the strong and loving guidance of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Growing up in Southern California I saw images of her often, especially with the strong devotion of many California families with a Mexican Catholic heritage.  I didn’t feel a specific connection to her though until she made her maternal presence very clear to me in my time of discerning my vocation and marriage to my husband.  In her strong motherly way, she was making her love for me known.  It was then, as I looked back, that I realized she had been there all along.  (A friend once told me he had a similar experience with Our Lady of Guadalupe in his discernment of religious life. So it seems she is a wonderful mother to call on during vocational discernment!)

As I have reflected and prayed on these relationships in my own life, I am once again awed by our God who knows each of us so well.  Not only are all of the Saints, the great cloud of witnesses (Heb. 12:1), praying for us all, but I believe He has gifted each of us with specific Heavenly friends unique to each of our earthly journeys.  I have already seen specific Saints seem to seek out my children while they are still in my womb.  St. Therese often came to mine and my husband’s mind as we prayed for our firstborn in the womb, and this Saint was called upon by friends who prayed over her in the womb on separate occasions.  Her middle name, Rose, is meant to reflect this and I hope and pray she continues to develop a lifelong friendship with St. Therese.  Our second child is currently in my womb and my husband has already felt a connection to Padre Pio for this baby. The uniqueness of God’s love for each of us from conception is so evident to me! 

Some of us may have a longstanding deep sense of these particular Saints in our own lives, and some of us may not feel like we know any of the Saints.  I encourage you to open your heart and senses to the subtle and gentle ways a certain Saint may be seeking you out and revealing his or her love, prayers, and desired relationship with you!  Praise God for how He has gifted us with these mentors, these beautiful witnesses of the faith, for our own journeys.  As Paul says in today’s first reading, “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6).  What a beautiful promise of the Lord! 

As we approach the Feast of All Saints, let us open our hearts to the specific men and women God has connected each of us with, so that through their saintly prayers and guidance, He may continue to complete the good work He has begun in us.  This is indeed something to celebrate!  May God bless and keep you – Happy All Saints’ Day!! All you Holy men and women, pray for us!   

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith.”

Hebrews 12:1-2

All We Are

Jesus went up to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God.
When day came, he called his disciples to himself,
and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:
Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew,
Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the son of James,
and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

—Luke 6:12–16

I never had the pleasure to attend, but I worked at a sleepaway camp! I was the counselor to very lively little girls between ages 9 and 10, nicknamed the Super Debs. They were quiet and awkward, and these girls could not have been any more different from each other. Despite what seemed to be many barriers, they became the best of friends in the four weeks they spent together! Camp relationships are like that. You tend to spend an incredible amount of time with a small group of people. You learn what you think is everything about them, and you do all the activities together. On the last day, forget it! You cannot say goodbye! Summer is over! You are overwhelmed and cry for these amazing friends you did not choose! Friends that loved you. Although my Super Debs may not have stayed friends beyond that summer, that friendship, I am sure, changed them forever.

Every friendship we experience changes us. The friendships that spark fast, burn out quickly, the friendships that weaken over time, the ones that we work hard for and make stronger…the ones we pick up over and over again as if time never stops, the fun friendships, the life-giving ones…the friendships we take for granted or actively avoid. Which of these friendships is real? They all are real. Each one touches us and transforms us. As we grow in friendship, our heart’s capacity to love grows too.

Who are Simon the Zealot and Saint Jude? There are very little Scripture references besides the Gospel today, which tells us that they were disciples and Jesus’ very close friends. Christ prayed for them and loved them as the gift they are from the Father. Saint Jude has a hospital named after him, he’s the saint of impossible causes…but how? Why am I looking for Saint Jude’s résumé? Why am I asking what sort of man Simon the Zealot was, when I should be asking what his love for Christ inspired?  It does not matter who they were before, because their friendship with Christ—and our friendship with Christ—is transformative.

Jesus loved them all until to the very end. These very imperfect men, who appeared to be of little consequence, were chosen for this friendship that allowed them to learn who Love is and how to love.

Being in friendship with Christ doesn’t always feel like smooth sailing! We read in the Scriptures that the Apostles competed, quarreled amongst each other, and frankly were always a bit confused. Jesus, I am sure, was patient. But like the disciples, like Peter, we stay, because to whom else shall we go? (John 6:68) Jesus is the greatest love: the way, the truth, the life.  Judas Iscariot was loved, he was chosen by Christ himself. That friendship ended badly, or we could say that friendship ended and God’s plan for our salvation continued its motion. We can be Catholic and say both/and.

When we enter into friendship with Christ, on the good days and the bad days all that we are is who God wants us to be. When we love our neighbor, all we are doing is loving them because he loves us first. Yes, we are imperfect; we are sinners, and yet God invites us each, unworthy though we may be, into friendship daily.

Lord, help us to grow in friendship, love, and service. Lord, place a desire in our heart to meet you in every person at work, at home, at camp, to grow in friendship with you every day. God our Father, our best friend, help us to be your hands and to lead a life that points to you.

Saint Simon and Saint Jude, pray for us!

It seems as though the Bible is filled with images and information far past what our meagre human brains can grasp. The best approach is to regard these as mysteries; we know and understand them to a point but will not fully comprehend their meaning until we meet our Lord in the kingdom of Heaven. However, we still continue to try to figure these mysteries out before our death.

By the grace of Jesus Christ, there are metaphors He provided by which we can draw a kind of comparison to what we seek to understand better. In this gospel, Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a mustard seed “a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.” Luke 13:19 While this comparison may not give us a vivid picture of the kingdom of God, we do gain a different way to conceptualize this kingdom. I used to read this gospel assuming that Jesus was talking about His kingdom in Heaven, but now I realize He is speaking of the kingdom of God. This kingdom refers not only to the paradise awaiting us after death, but this kingdom is here on earth as well. We are part of the kingdom of God right now.

Jesus asks us to tend the mustard seed or mix the yeast in with the wheat, as He describes in a later comparison to the kingdom of God. When the mustard seed grew or when the yeast was fully combined with the wheat, they both provided sustenance or shelter for many. Jesus longs for His kingdom to grow and flourish; He loves this world and wants nothing less than for all the people in it to gain entrance to the kingdom of Heaven. We have the responsibility of growing the kingdom of God, we have the power to share the word of God, and only by sharing the gifts we have received can the kingdom of God grow.

We are experiencing a difficult time in our history and people crave hopeful signs of better times to come. The word of God is the only truth we can count on in this life, and we can rest knowing we are in a safe haven like the birds who dwell in the branches of the plant that came from the mustard seed. There is still room in the kingdom of God for many others and we need to bring more people into its shelter so they too can find peace.

Blessed Are The Servants

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus calls us to stay awake and be vigilant! The time of our Lord’s return is unknown, therefore, we must always be ready for that day. During the recent period of quarantine, we had to abstain from receiving the Body of Christ, and the message of this gospel seems to emphasize our situation of being cut off from that valuable source of sustenance.

Paul tells us: “Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you are also being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:22. Jesus gave us the wonderful gift of Himself through the Eucharist. When we go to church every Sunday, it is not simply to listen to a priest preach and read scripture; we to to enter into the community of the Lord. The ceremony of the Mass is celebrated not only by human beings, but by the angels and saints alike. While we celebrate the Mass, the heavens open up and all who reside there join in our celebration. We share a meal and take in the presence of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Because of COVID-19, we were forced to be denied receiving Christ in the Eucharist. Churches had to close their doors, and we were asked to remain in our homes. By the grace of God, we were able to attend Mass virtually and receive spiritual communion through prayer, but now churches are open again and we can return to Christ’s home, the Church. We do have to ask ourselves, are we still vigilant servants? The new reality of life in this world created by the pandemic has resulted in so much fear that people are afraid to leave their homes. Jesus calls us to be awake and vigilant by going back to His Bride, the Church, and receiving Him through the Eucharist.

The ability to attend Mass with fellow believers is a gift and can be taken away. We should be eager to go to church each Sunday and receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever we can, as well as the Eucharist. We do not know what day the Master will return, and that day may be closer than we think.

Have Mercy on Me

How many times have we told ourselves–if we only prayed more, went to daily Mass, said the rosary everyday, gave more to charity…as humans we can easily believe that our actions are what will save us. Perhaps we fall into this trap because we can control our actions and we want to have control over achieving salvation. Reality has the ability to generate fear within our hearts. The road to redemption is only by the mercy of our Savior Jesus Christ, and it can be scary to realize that there is nothing we can do to climb the ranks and gain entrance to heaven over another.

Paul articulates this perfectly with great simplicity and understanding: “For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” Gal 5:6

The Pharisees had succumbed to several false beliefs, but on the outside they did everything right. They observed the law and believed that made them clean. Jesus Christ revealed the truth: “The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil.” Luke 11:39

While good faith practices are always important because these will bring us closer to the Lord, finding intimacy with Jesus Christ is the way to fulfillment and ensuring we are walking the path the Lord intends us to tread. However, this will guarantee our salvation only through the mercy of Christ.

Let your mercy come to me, O Lord.Let your mercy come to me, O Lord,your salvation according to your promise.

By the grace of God, if we accept the Lord’s mercy, we will be able to live the life ordained by Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth and the light. Whenever we lose our way or struggle with our faith, we are called to return to Him and He will have mercy on us. Praise the Lord!

Mary and Martha

Today’s gospel reading seems like a “tale as old as time.” The story of the two sisters who welcomed Jesus into their home so often was told to me over and over again throughout my childhood. Mary was always presented in a somewhat more favorable light than Martha. After whoever presented the story finished it, the question that always seemed to follow was “are you a Mary or a Martha?” Are you someone who worries constantly and is anxious or are you a person who simply seeks Jesus first?

This is really not the most appropriate question–we cannot always be as contemplative as Mary and hopefully those of us who lean toward Martha-behavior can’t always be fretting over every detail. The truth is we can be both a Martha and a Mary; neither one should be perceived as having the better approach to life. There is a time for everything, from doing the housework involved in preparing for a guest to sitting still and listening to that most important guest, Jesus. Maybe Jesus was trying to convince these sisters (as well as all of us who read this gospel today) to look at their lives and ask themselves if they were in balance.

“Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” Luke 11:28

Mary and Martha heard the Lord’s word and observed it, but in different ways. Mary obviously devoted her time with Jesus to focusing on everything He said, but Martha honored her Lord by serving Him and seeing to His physical comforts. Unfortunately, she let her stress and anxiety get the better of her in this situation. We can all become caught up in the present moment and lose sight of what is most important while having the best intentions. Mary may have “chosen the better part,” but Martha made sure her house was comfortable and clean so Jesus could share His words in a pleasant, relaxing atmosphere. Whether we are Marys or Marthas, we need to remember to look to the Lord for guidance in everything we do.