3 Things St.Martha Teaches Lukewarm Catholics

Today being the memorial of St.Martha, the gospel reading at Mass gives us one of two famous Martha scenes.

St.Martha

Luke 10:38-42 gives us the kitchen scene, where Martha the busybody whines about not getting any help from Mary who sits at Jesus' feet. The Lord Jesus tells her:

"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."

The other gospel reading (depending on which one your parish priest chose for Mass today) is John 11:19-27 where Martha displays the blossoming of her faith when Jesus arrives four days after Lazarus has died. Instead of getting mad at his lateness, Martha displays the strength of her belief in Christ when she says:

"Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world."

What happened in between, you might ask? What caused the change?

Martha Listened to the Lord's Advice for Her

First off, she listened to what Jesus told her. She didn't just let it go in one ear and out the other.

If your boss tells you you're doing something wrong, you'd immediately work to correct it right? Well, in the kitchen scene, Martha was scolded by her Lord for being anxious about many things. Did she sit on that info and postpone acting on it? I'd venture to say she took it as a wake up call to stop being overly busy with all the things of the world (cooking, eating) and start prioritizing the things of God (praying, learning) and being closer to the Lord. But she'd never have re-evaluated her outlook had she not listened intently to what Jesus was telling her.

Martha Prioritized "BE" Before "DO"

You can tell she loves being busy -- cooking, feeding, serving. But after Jesus' words, she obviously realized there was a need for her to first BE a faithful, faith-filled follower of the Lord and not simply concentrate on DOING the work.

Too many of us are busy doing the Lord's work when our hearts are not purified, when we remain in mortal sin, when we shun the confessional and the sacraments. By doing so, we do the work relying on our own strength and our own flesh instead of being a pure, faithful follower who relies on God's grace. We DO instead of BE. No wonder we get so stressed out and ineffective at our ministries.

Martha Believed Christ had the Power to Raise the Dead

Her brother had died four days before. Jesus arrived late. She told him that had he been there, Lazarus may not have died. But note: she didn't wail, she didn't whine or wallow in self pity. She wasn't even angry or bitter. She merely stated a fact that her faith led her to believe -- if Jesus asked God to revive Lazarus, it would be done.

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

What faith! What strong convictions! And yet, as Christians and Catholics, do we have the strength of Martha's beliefs and love for God? How many of us live our lives only half-believing in the Lord's power to work miracles? We do not have because we do not ask. And sometimes even if we ask, we don't believe it will be given. (See James 1:6 "But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind.")



St.Martha, pray for us!
That we may first BE faith-filled followers of Jesus before we DO all the works that fill our days.
That we listen closely to what the Lord is calling us to do.
That we may rely wholly on the Lord's strength and power to do His work.
Amen!


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Christians Today Should Bring Forth the Precious Without the Vile

Today's first reading at Mass contains a poignant verse from Jeremiah 15:19 (NAB)

Thus the LORD answered me: If you repent, so that I restore you, in my presence you shall stand; If you bring forth the precious without the vile, you shall be my mouthpiece. Then it shall be they who turn to you, and you shall not turn to them;

Jeremiah. Photo of a mosaic by Sacred Destinations on Flickr.

I was struck by the wording: Precious versus vile. Pure versus disgusting. Repentant sinner versus proud, audacious sinner.

Once again, the reality of being used as an instrument by the Lord hit me. God was telling Jeremiah to clean up his act -- to repent and stay pure -- so that the prophet could become effective in his ministry.

It's the same challenge given to Christians today. Turn to Him! Turn away from the vile!

Why? He can't use someone who hasn't turned away from sin, or someone who hasn't been restored into a loving relationship with his creator, or someone who decidedly chooses to abandon the Lord's presence because of sin.

He can only use someone who chooses the precious, the pure, the holy over the vile at any given moment. Someone who makes a conscious decision to eschew the vulgarity of the modern world in favor of the holiness of God's word and His sacraments.

Someone who chooses NOT to use curse words and instead chooses to praise God through good times and trials, just like Job.

Someone who chooses NOT to watch lewd television shows and instead chooses to read the word of God.

Someone who chooses to pray for those in need, to do acts of charity, to forebear insults, to accept persecution with joy, to fast from pride.

May we learn to revile the vulgarity around us and instead cling to the Lord for our sustenance and power so that, like Jeremiah, we may work to bring about God's kingdom.


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Who am I to You?

"Jesus double." Art by Sy Parrish on Flickr.

In today's scripture readings, Jesus poses this question to his apostles: "Who do you say I am?" which could be reworded as "Who am I to you, anyway?"

That same question was posed to the people at the 7AM morning mass at my parish, and there was a surprising number of people ready with heartfelt answers: He is my Lord and savior. He is my salvation. He is king, though I don't know what king means in this day and age. He is my friend who cares for me. He is the Lord whom I follow.

All of them, sincere answers. Each of them, a homily waiting to unfold.

I would venture to add that the readings taken together posit something more, and carry a warning as well as a hope.

He is almighty and powerful.

In the first reading (Gen 9:1 to 13), He is the Lord of the covenant -- the one who wiped out man's evil from the world with a great flood, and the same one who promised Noah and his descendants that He would never do so again.

He is holy and merciful.

In the Responsorial Psalm taken from Psalm 102, He is the Lord who looks down from heaven upon the earth, the one who regards the prayer of the destitute, hears the groaning of prisoners and releases those doomed to die.

He is Messiah and Lord.

And finally in the Gospel of Mark 8:27-33, Peter speaks for us when he says that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the Lord whom we follow. And yet, a few moments later, concerned about Jesus revelation that He would suffer and die, Peter goes on to rebuke Jesus.

Rebuke is a strong word, one that means to criticize and censure angrily. And I imagine the all-too-human Peter disagreeing with Jesus, asking why this has to be so, wondering if there were a way to protect Jesus from death and suffering.

Jesus turns around and rebukes Peter in return, calling the apostle "Satan," one of the most vehement declarations from the mouth of the Lord. And why? Because if indeed He was Lord, then Peter had to trust in the divine plan, had to submit his human will to the divine will of God.

Therein lies our challenge as Catholics and Christians.

If we say He is Lord of our lives, the leader whom we follow, the almighty who cared enough to save us from sin... then do we relinquish control to Him? Do we trust in Him when the chips are down and trials surround us? Do we follow Him completely despite not understanding how we could be suffering so?

If we don't trust Him then we impose our own selfish wills on our lives and, like Peter, begin to think as humans do instead of as God does. We become "Satan" because we oppose God by going our own way and trusting our own strengths and schemes.

If indeed He is Lord to us, then His wishes are our commands. And His wish is for us to know Him, to love Him and to follow Him... even as He leads us through the dark valleys.

What Simeon and Anna Teach Us

The Presentation of our Lord

Today is the feast of the Presentation of the Lord at the temple, known as Candlemas, and also one of the joyful mysteries of the Rosary. The Scripture readings give us a picture of the two holy characters whom Jesus and the Holy Family meet on the day of the consecration.

First there is Simeon, who is described as righteous and devout, and patient! Luke's gospel portrays him as one waiting patiently and prayerfully for Israel's consolation. In return for living a life in the will of God, the Holy Spirit has revealed to Simeon that he will not die till he sees the messiah. In fact, it says Simeon even comes into the temple "in the Spirit."

Then there is the prophetess Anna, an 84-year-old widow who lives and worships in the temple day and night with prayer and fasting. She sees the child Jesus and cannot hold in her joy.

What did the two have in common?

• They both led lives of continuous prayer. Simeon was described as devout and righteous, Anna as prayerful and pious. Anna never left the temple because her life was entirely devoted to prayer and worship.
  
  
• This continuous prayer led to the constant presence of the Lord in their lives. Anna devotes her years to nothing less than the things of God -- away from the world, away from obsession with material goods, away from sin. Simeon lived his life in the Spirit, allowing the Holy Spirit to lead his steps and enfuse his character. What a close relationship! Thus, the Lord is ever-present in their lives.
  
  
• As gifts, they both were given communicative powers which allow them to share their testimonies with others -- ultimately allowing them to be vessels through whom God speaks. Anna gives thanks to God and speaks about the child to all awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem. I can imagine her excited voice, her praise and thanksgiving as she shares with strangers the fact that the messiah is come. Simeon bursts out in his canticle of joy, his beautiful prayer of praise at seeing the child Jesus. At the same time, his words to Mother Mary contain prophetic statements that could only have come from God.
  
  
• Finally they both had a consecrated pleasure, a holy peace and joy in their lives. With the Lord in their daily walk, they had everything they needed or wanted. By allowing God to work through their talents and their availability, they experienced the most special gift of all -- being able to see the Lord Jesus face-to-face.

"Now, Master, you may let your servant go
in peace, according to your word,
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples..."
- Luke 2:29-31 -

My 2009 Bible and CCC Reading Challenge

Reposted from Friday, January 9th, 2009

It took me a while to truly get into this. Partly because of stubbornness, laziness, and mostly because of sinfulness. But I’m in it now, I’m sticking to it, and maybe by blogging about it here and telling you what I’m up to, I can help others get into it as well.

Into what exactly? I’m reading the Holy Bible (NAB version) and the Catechism of the Catholic Church in a systematic manner, daily, in order to get through both books by the end of 2009. And despite my original hesitation, I’m thoroughly enjoying this study and this challenge, finding joy in the things I read.

• I found this print-ready reading guide [PDF download] on www.chnetwork.org which has a daily checklist of chapters to read from both books.
  
• And I finally bought myself a cheap, second-hand copy of the CCC and opened it with a mechanical pencil in hand, ready for margin notes.
  
• To top it all off, randomly reading some Catholic blogposts, I stumbled across a free Catholic Holy Bible software with concordance and a module for the CCC. It’s called Jerome, named after St.Jerome, and is a freeware project born out of the eSword Bible project. Lovely!

“120 year old Bible title page (as of 2005) American.” Flickr photo by Wonderlane. Follow the link and read about how she donated the old bible to a church in Mexico.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been reading my Bible regularly this past year, more than any other year in my life, primarily going over the scripture readings for the daily Mass. But never have I finished reading it from cover to cover. What’s more, I’ve never read the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), relying mainly on websites and compendia of the CCC rather than going through the original text. Which in a word, is shameful. More and more, I am discovering I do not know enough about my faith to give a reasonable defense of it. So, how else to know God’s Word than to study it daily?

Psalm 1:2-3 says it so wonderfully: (1:2) Rather, the law of the LORD is their joy; God’s law they study day and night. (1:3) They are like a tree planted near streams of water, that yields its fruit in season; Its leaves never wither; whatever they do prospers.

Why not try a new year’s resolution that’s more meaningful? Why not read the Bible this year?

May we all grow towards the Lord this 2009 in mind and heart, that by doing so, we may hide His law in our hearts and make His words come to life in our daily actions.