Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary
Luke 10:38-42
Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me.” The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”
Opening Prayer: Come, Holy Spirit, bring me your peace. Allow me to put aside any distractions and focus on your word. Allow it to change my heart to become more peaceful.
Encountering Christ:
- Wasting Time With Jesus: In this Gospel passage, Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to him. This is the position of discipleship: humbly being taught by the Lord. It looked like inactivity and seemed like a waste of time to Martha, but we can be assured that nothing spent on Jesus is ever wasted. A weekly hour of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is one way that we can lavish the gift of our time on Jesus. We may consider our schedules and think we do not have time to spend an hour doing nothing but praying at the feet of Jesus. However, the fruits of regularly spending time adoring Christ include having interior peace in the soul, a better awareness of God’s love for us, and less anxiety and stress, just to name a few. This is the “better part” that Jesus is calling us to. If your parish does not have perpetual Eucharistic adoration, you could choose a time each week to pray at the tabernacle in the sanctuary.
- Centered on One Thing: Sometimes this passage is interpreted as pitting prayer against work. This is not a teaching against working for the Lord. Instead, this passage is showing us how to work for the Lord more peacefully. Martha was “anxious and worried about many things.” Her heart was distracted by her to-do list, and she was overwhelmed by all the many tasks necessary in serving the Lord. The thorns of worldly anxieties choked out the presence of the Lord (cf. Mt 13:22). Now compare this to Mary, who sat peacefully at Jesus’ feet. Bishop Barron comments on this: “What Mary has chosen is…the focused life. She is anchored, rooted in the unum necessarium (one necessary thing).” Her whole being is centered on one thing: Jesus. The Benedictine motto ora et labora, pray and work, is a helpful way to think about this idea. We can prayerfully ground all the works we do in Christ, and he will bring us his peace.
- True God and True Man: Every Sunday we pray the Creed, and we publicly profess our faith in Jesus Christ as “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God” who “was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.” Why would God, the all-powerful Creator of the universe, become man? Why would he lower himself to the point that he could be sitting in Martha’s living room and get involved in a squabble between sisters? Isn’t that kind of thing below the dignity of God? Maybe if you think of God in some other way, it would be. But the one, true God who has revealed himself in Jesus Christ clearly shows us that our most normal human experiences, even a squabble between sisters, even an impertinent outburst flowing from stress and worry, is meant to be a place of grace, a space to encounter and embrace Jesus in a new and enriching way. Jesus speaks directly into Martha’s complaint and points out a truth that we can live by. Jesus was so close to Martha and Mary that Mary felt comfortable sitting at his feet as he spoke in the living room, and Martha felt comfortable complaining and bringing him right into the nitty-gritty of her family affairs. Is Jesus that close to me? Am I that real in my conversations with him, or do I feel as if I have to put on some kind of show and hide my true self from the Lord? To what extent has Jesus truly become incarnate in my life?
Conversing with Christ: Jesus, I believe that you bring me the peace that the world cannot give (cf. Jn 14:27). Please increase that peace in my heart. When my heart is troubled and afraid, speak my name and calm my spirit. Help me to center my life on you completely so that all the work I do to serve you and others may be rooted in the gaze of your love.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will pray the Peace Prayer of St. Francis.
For Further Reflection: Watch this short video “The Four C’s of Christian Meditation” in order to learn how to sit at Jesus’s feet and listen to his words.
Carey Boyzuck, MTS, is a wife, mother, freelance writer, pastoral assistant, and lay member of Regnum Christi. She blogs at www.word-life-light.com.
