Dear friends in Christ

The Gospel of the Mass this Sunday recounts the arrival of Jesus and his disciples at the house of their friends Martha, Mary and Lazarus in Bethany. They welcomed Him very warmly and it is clear that this was a place where He felt quite at home. Understandably, Martha wanted to welcome the Lord in the best way possible. We know that at a certain point she lost her composure and became frustrated with the situation because she felt her sister was not helping as she should be. Martha was distracted with all the preparations. Saint Augustine comments on this scenario: in her eagerness to get the meal ready for the Lord, Martha becomes preoccupied by 1 million little details. Her sister Mary prefers instead to devote herself to the guest.

She forgets about a sister and sits before him, doing nothing else but listen to his word. There has often been a mistake in insisting on the supposed inconsistency between work and prayer; action and the interior life. However, it is in the midst of our daily work and by means of it, not in spite of it, that God calls most Christians to live lives of holiness. We can make the world holy and sanctify ourselves with a life of prayer that gives meaning to everything we do. In order to keep the presence of God about us while we work we need to have simple reminders, little things that will help us to remember that all work can be for God. There is nothing that we do in this world that cannot have a supernatural meaning, and contribute to our eternal salvation, provided it is offered to God. This is the meaning of the Morning Offering that we should make at the start of every day, so that all our works, actions, sufferings and joys, can be used for the glory of God. We ask the Blessed Virgin Mary each day, to give us the diligence of Martha as well as the recollection of her sister, Mary.

God bless you all in the week ahead!

Msgr Kevin Hale