Dusting and Chopping in Prayer

~~~ Memorial of Saint Martha ~~~

~~~ 1 John 4:7-16 ~~~ Psalm 34 ~~~ Luke 10: 38-42 ~~~

We all know the familiar story of Martha and Mary...

one preferred using her time for prayer

the other, Martha, preferred honing her culinary skills.

Even though Martha got great satisfaction

 from preparing delicious meals,

she thought her sister, Mary, should be helping her.

She failed to see that her choices pertained to her, not to Mary.

She also failed to see that her time in the kitchen

 could also be considered prayer.

Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. 

Martha was worried about many things

causing her to miss her opportunity to pray as she prepared their meal.

Jesus says...

Mary has chosen the better part

and it will not be taken from her.

Mary has chosen the best part...

is it because of her position at the feet of Jesus

or is it because of the disposition of her soul?

Mary was open...listening to Jesus.

Martha was in the kitchen grumbling and complaining.

It is much harder to listen to Jesus when you 

are grumbling and complaining.

There is a time for balance in your life

 between spending time with Jesus in prayer 

and taking care of household chores such as meal preparation.

Both are important...

neither is better in extreme.

One may not take precedence over the other in most cases.

We cannot all be cloistered nuns or monks

dedicated to praying for hours upon hours.

Allow the Lord to bring greater balance into your life.

All that you do can be in the spirit of prayer.

Jesus speaks to you whether you are chopping onions, dusting, 

cleaning toilets or sitting at his feet in Adoration or Mass.

Blessings when you need to be 'Martha'

later you can also be 'Mary'.

~~~Peace~~~

Chill Out...Do Not be Anxious

~~~ Memorial of Saint Martha ~~~

~~~ Jeremiah 14:17-22 ~~~ Psalm 79 ~~~ 

~~~ John 11:19-27 or Luke 10:38-42  ~~~

We have two Gospels where Martha is one of the main characters.

It is clear from both of these stories

 that Martha had a close friendship with Jesus.

Martha loves Jesus, but she is also open

 and blunt with her comments to him.

She reprimands Jesus for not coming to her brother's 

sick bed before he dies.

She believes that Lazarus, her brother,

 might have not died had Jesus arrived sooner.

"Lord, if you had been here,

my brother would not have died...

She is visibly upset over her brother's death, 

but she believes that Jesus has the power to turn things around.

She believes Jesus can intercede on behalf of Lazarus.

She believes Jesus can raise him from the dead.

...But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,

God will give you."

Her strong faith most likely came as a result of her knowledge

 of the healing power of Jesus.

In the Gospel of Luke we find Jesus coming to visit Martha and Mary.

This is one of the rare accounts we have

 of the personal life of Jesus during his public ministry.

He comes to rest, to share stories, to laugh, 

to relax, and to break bread together.

Martha is the one who scampers around the house getting everything

 just right for their visitor while her sister,

Mary sits at the feet of Jesus.

Clearly Martha is distraught. 

She complains, not to her sister, 

she complains to Jesus.

“Lord, do you not care

that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? 

Tell her to help me.”

Instead of Jesus telling Mary to get up and help her sister,

he tells Martha that Mary has chosen the better.

He basically tells Martha to chill out.

She really has no reason to be anxious. 

Jesus does not have expectations of her when it comes to the house

 or what they were going to eat.

He just wanted to be able to relax and spend time with his friends.

He wanted to share with them the stories of his travels.

Jesus does not want you to be anxious when he is with you.

He wants you to sit as his feet.

He wants you to hang on every word he has to give you.

He wants you to cherish his presence in your life.

He does not want you to compare yourself to anyone,

especially other family members.

How often are you more like Martha than Mary?

Jesus came to visit his friends.

One of them was too concerned 

about making things perfect.

The other was sitting at the feet of the one

 who was perfect.

Saint Martha, pray for us.

May we be Blessed with the desire to welcome

 Jesus into our home.

~~~ Peace ~~~