Dear friends in Christ
Todays’ Gospel recounts the arrival of Jesus and his disciples in the house of their friends, Martha, Mary & Lazarus. In this intimate gathering there arises a tension between the sisters. Clearly Martha wanted to welcome Jesus and provide all that was needed for an enjoyable visit. Mary, on the other hand, just wanted to sit and listen to Jesus speak and teach. St Augustine comments on this encounter: In her eagerness to get the meal ready for the Lord, Martha becomes preoccupied by a million little details. Her sister Mary prefers instead to devote herself to their guest. She forgets about her sister and sits before Him, doing nothing else but listen to His word (Sermon 103.3). With the help of this example and with God’s grace, we need to see how we can live a unity of life, which consists of the union of Martha’s and Mary’s attitudes. Our love of God should be inseparable from our desire to brings souls to Him, together with our work that is done well for God.
As our Schools and Colleges come to the end of their year, and many of us prepare to take-off on holiday at home or abroad, we could remind ourselves of the necessity of combining our leisure time with our Faith. Like the two sisters, our time of recreation should be both active and reflective. All time is given to us by God for our human improvement and our spiritual flourishing. Let’s use our time well and remember whilst on holiday that we have to give God the first of our time, and the first and most important part of any week is Sunday Holy Mass; at home or away!
World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland, begins on 25th of this month. Six young adults from our Parish will be travelling with almost a hundred others from our Diocese, together with our Bishop, to meet other Catholics there from around the world and to be with our Holy Father, Pope Francis. This is a wonderful representation from our Parish and I ask that you pray for them that, this experience may deepen their Faith and devotion to Christ and His Church. May God bless you all in these days of Summer vacation!
Msgr Kevin Hale