Fourteenth Sunday of Pentecost Season
Gospel: Luke 10:38-42
Reflection
Focus on a spiritual community
The priorities of Martha and Mariam talks to our present-day church and its community. Much is made about the decline of catholic teaching amongst its adherents. Large percentage of Catholics believe in teachings that are contrary to what the Catholic Church teaches. Our Catholicism has been watered down to fit into the current society, rather than allowing our beliefs to influence the society around us. Our social climate is one which is fervently anti-Christian, and this has seeped into the church and its adherents. It’s as if we have lost sight of Jesus and are too focused on the earth. Our focus has been heavily geared towards our earthly lives, rather than our spiritual lives, and this in turn has made us lose track of what is important. Jesus praised Mariam for having her eyes focused solely on the spiritual and not the earthly. Martha was too consumed with the social elements. The dangers of concentrating on the social elements is that we may lose sight of what is truly important, as we have done now. A church community focused solely on Jesus is one which coincides with the spirituality and teachings of the church. It is one that is influential in its day, and one that attracts believers with its truth and its beauty. If we are solely concerned with Jesus, then the earthly aspects will become imbedded within the spiritual. This way, believers might be steadfast with the church, because their priority is with Jesus. By M.A
The attitude of Mary-The true disciple
Jesus opened the door to discipleship for women, as well as men, as evidenced in the story of Mary and Martha. Mary took the traditional male role of 'sitting at the feet' or studying with the rabbi. She was very courageous and exposed herself to criticism by the entire community. Nothing changed her focus from the Messiah, not even Martha’s accusations, or her reputation, which was in danger of being tarnished. She chose to be in the presence of God.
Here Jesus is highlighting one of the essential virtues for being a true disciple. Mary’s attitude reflects this through listening to the word of God and reflecting upon it.
Learn to pause every day
In our busy world, we need to learn to pause and slow down. Jesus always took time to withdraw from the crowds. He took time to pray and to fast in the desert.
A true disciple should do the same.
A thought for the week-The slave of duties
People who get very anxious about getting things done and who are always too busy and worried become like Martha the slaves of the duties.
God sees me…
God sees my heart. “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
He knows my thoughts and secrets.
God sees me when I am in trouble. His eyes are on me forever.
God sees all my faults and my failures.
"O God, you know how foolish I am; my sins cannot be hidden from you." Psalm 69:5
God sees me as His own, forever. He has sealed me with the Holy Spirit.
Reflection 2
Choosing the Better Part
Today’s Gospel challenges us to evaluate our priorities, urging us to place a higher value on our spiritual relationship with Jesus rather than becoming trapped by the busyness of life.
Mary’s decision to sit at Jesus' feet and focus on His teaching represents the “better part”—a choice that reflects a deeper understanding of what is truly important.
This gospel challenges us to examine whether we are like Martha, caught up in the busyness of tasks and anxieties, or like Mary, prioritising our relationship with Jesus above all else.
While service and duties are important, the “better part” is our intentional, heartfelt engagement with Jesus, which nourishes and sustains us in both our spiritual and everyday lives.
Hearing and accepting the word of God does not only mean listening to it with a listening ear, but also involves opening the heart to it, as happened with Lydia in the city of Philippi:
“A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening, whose heart the Lord opened to pay attention to the things spoken by Paul.” (Acts 16:14). True receptivity to God’s word comes from a heart prepared to receive and respond to His grace.
What Cannot Be Taken From Us
While everything else may be taken from us—including our service or our ability to serve—what cannot be taken from us is the spirit of the living Lord who dwells within us. We cannot be separated from the profound life of Jesus within us, as expressed in the words of the Apostle Paul: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” (Romans 8:35).
This truth is exemplified in Mary’s actions. Mary embraced the enduring presence of Christ in her life—a choice that no one could take away from her.
Mary is the symbol of a life of prayer and contemplation. She may seem like she offered nothing, compared to Martha, who was busy with many tasks, but she offered something far greater. Martha was preoccupied with what she was offering to Jesus, and she was not preoccupied with Jesus himself as Mary was. The Lord Jesus never blamed Martha for her actions, but only wanted to correct her anxiety. The need is one thing, which is attachment to Jesus, entering into fellowship with Him, and deepening our relationship with Him.
Martha and Mary
These two women, who were both well pleasing to the Lord, both objects of His love, both disciples; in these two women the two lives are figured, the life present, and the life to come, the life of labour, and the life of quiet, the life of sorrow, and the life of blessedness, the life temporal, and the life eternal. There were then in that house these two lives, and Himself, the Fountain of life. In Martha was the image of things present, in Mary of things to come. What Martha was doing, that we are now; what Mary was doing, that we hope for. Let us do the first well, that we may have the second fully. Saint Augustine (Sermon 53)
Gospel: Luke 10:38-42
Reflection
Focus on a spiritual community
The priorities of Martha and Mariam talks to our present-day church and its community. Much is made about the decline of catholic teaching amongst its adherents. Large percentage of Catholics believe in teachings that are contrary to what the Catholic Church teaches. Our Catholicism has been watered down to fit into the current society, rather than allowing our beliefs to influence the society around us. Our social climate is one which is fervently anti-Christian, and this has seeped into the church and its adherents. It’s as if we have lost sight of Jesus and are too focused on the earth. Our focus has been heavily geared towards our earthly lives, rather than our spiritual lives, and this in turn has made us lose track of what is important. Jesus praised Mariam for having her eyes focused solely on the spiritual and not the earthly. Martha was too consumed with the social elements. The dangers of concentrating on the social elements is that we may lose sight of what is truly important, as we have done now. A church community focused solely on Jesus is one which coincides with the spirituality and teachings of the church. It is one that is influential in its day, and one that attracts believers with its truth and its beauty. If we are solely concerned with Jesus, then the earthly aspects will become imbedded within the spiritual. This way, believers might be steadfast with the church, because their priority is with Jesus. By M.A
The attitude of Mary-The true disciple
Jesus opened the door to discipleship for women, as well as men, as evidenced in the story of Mary and Martha. Mary took the traditional male role of 'sitting at the feet' or studying with the rabbi. She was very courageous and exposed herself to criticism by the entire community. Nothing changed her focus from the Messiah, not even Martha’s accusations, or her reputation, which was in danger of being tarnished. She chose to be in the presence of God.
Here Jesus is highlighting one of the essential virtues for being a true disciple. Mary’s attitude reflects this through listening to the word of God and reflecting upon it.
Learn to pause every day
In our busy world, we need to learn to pause and slow down. Jesus always took time to withdraw from the crowds. He took time to pray and to fast in the desert.
A true disciple should do the same.
A thought for the week-The slave of duties
People who get very anxious about getting things done and who are always too busy and worried become like Martha the slaves of the duties.
God sees me…
God sees my heart. “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
He knows my thoughts and secrets.
God sees me when I am in trouble. His eyes are on me forever.
God sees all my faults and my failures.
"O God, you know how foolish I am; my sins cannot be hidden from you." Psalm 69:5
God sees me as His own, forever. He has sealed me with the Holy Spirit.
Reflection 2
Choosing the Better Part
Today’s Gospel challenges us to evaluate our priorities, urging us to place a higher value on our spiritual relationship with Jesus rather than becoming trapped by the busyness of life.
Mary’s decision to sit at Jesus' feet and focus on His teaching represents the “better part”—a choice that reflects a deeper understanding of what is truly important.
This gospel challenges us to examine whether we are like Martha, caught up in the busyness of tasks and anxieties, or like Mary, prioritising our relationship with Jesus above all else.
While service and duties are important, the “better part” is our intentional, heartfelt engagement with Jesus, which nourishes and sustains us in both our spiritual and everyday lives.
Hearing and accepting the word of God does not only mean listening to it with a listening ear, but also involves opening the heart to it, as happened with Lydia in the city of Philippi:
“A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening, whose heart the Lord opened to pay attention to the things spoken by Paul.” (Acts 16:14). True receptivity to God’s word comes from a heart prepared to receive and respond to His grace.
What Cannot Be Taken From Us
While everything else may be taken from us—including our service or our ability to serve—what cannot be taken from us is the spirit of the living Lord who dwells within us. We cannot be separated from the profound life of Jesus within us, as expressed in the words of the Apostle Paul: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” (Romans 8:35).
This truth is exemplified in Mary’s actions. Mary embraced the enduring presence of Christ in her life—a choice that no one could take away from her.
Mary is the symbol of a life of prayer and contemplation. She may seem like she offered nothing, compared to Martha, who was busy with many tasks, but she offered something far greater. Martha was preoccupied with what she was offering to Jesus, and she was not preoccupied with Jesus himself as Mary was. The Lord Jesus never blamed Martha for her actions, but only wanted to correct her anxiety. The need is one thing, which is attachment to Jesus, entering into fellowship with Him, and deepening our relationship with Him.
Martha and Mary
These two women, who were both well pleasing to the Lord, both objects of His love, both disciples; in these two women the two lives are figured, the life present, and the life to come, the life of labour, and the life of quiet, the life of sorrow, and the life of blessedness, the life temporal, and the life eternal. There were then in that house these two lives, and Himself, the Fountain of life. In Martha was the image of things present, in Mary of things to come. What Martha was doing, that we are now; what Mary was doing, that we hope for. Let us do the first well, that we may have the second fully. Saint Augustine (Sermon 53)