SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Thursday - July 29, 2021

Thursday - July 29, 2021

Those who imagine they can attain to holiness by any wisdom or strength of their own will find themselves after many labors, and struggles, and weary efforts, only the farther from possessing it, and this in proportion to their certainty that they of themselves have gained it.

~~St. John of Avila

July 29, 2021

Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus
Lectionary: 404/607

 

Reading 1                                                     Ex 40:16-21, 34-38

Moses did exactly as the LORD had commanded him.

On the first day of the first month of the second year

the Dwelling was erected.

It was Moses who erected the Dwelling.

He placed its pedestals, set up its boards, put in its bars,

and set up its columns.

He spread the tent over the Dwelling

and put the covering on top of the tent,

as the LORD had commanded him.

He took the commandments and put them in the ark;

he placed poles alongside the ark and set the propitiatory upon it.

He brought the ark into the Dwelling and hung the curtain veil,

thus screening off the ark of the commandments,

as the LORD had commanded him.

 

Then the cloud covered the meeting tent,

and the glory of the LORD filled the Dwelling.

Moses could not enter the meeting tent,

because the cloud settled down upon it

and the glory of the LORD filled the Dwelling.

Whenever the cloud rose from the Dwelling,

the children of Israel would set out on their journey.

But if the cloud did not lift, they would not go forward;

only when it lifted did they go forward.

In the daytime the cloud of the LORD was seen over the Dwelling;

whereas at night, fire was seen in the cloud

by the whole house of Israel

in all the stages of their journey.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              99:5, 6, 7, 9

 

R.    (2)    How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!

 

My soul yearns and pines

    for the courts of the LORD.

My heart and my flesh

    cry out for the living God.

R.     How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!

Even the sparrow finds a home,

    and the swallow a nest

    in which she puts her young–

Your altars, O LORD of hosts,

    my king and my God!

R.     How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!

Blessed they who dwell in your house!

    continually they praise you.

Blessed the men whose strength you are!

They go from strength to strength.

R.    How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!

I had rather one day in your courts

    than a thousand elsewhere;

I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God

    than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

R.    How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!

 

Alleluia                                                                      Jn 8:1214:23

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

I am the light of the world, says the Lord;

whoever follows me will have the light of life.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                       Jn 11:19-27

Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary

to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died].

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,

she went to meet him;

but Mary sat at home.

Martha said to Jesus,

“Lord, if you had been here,

my brother would not have died.

But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,

God will give you.”

Jesus said to her,

“Your brother will rise.”

Martha said to him,

“I know he will rise,

in the resurrection on the last day.”

Jesus told her,

“I am the resurrection and the life;

whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,

and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.

Do you believe this?”

She said to him, “Yes, Lord.

I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,

the one who is coming into the world.”

 

OR:

 

Lk 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.”

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PROACTIVE PRAYER AND CONTEMPLATIVE LISTENING

 

The sisters Martha and Mary had two different ways of seeking help from Jesus. Martha was proactive: She told Jesus exactly what she wanted from him, which bad situation needed to be corrected and who should be healed. And Mary was contemplative: She quietly listened.

 

In one of today's options for the Gospel reading (John 11:19-27), Jesus arrives after Lazarus has died. Martha hurries out to Jesus to tell him in no uncertain terms that her brother's life could have been spared if only he had come sooner. Mary, however, stays home.

 

In the other option for today's Gospel reading (Luke 10:38-42), Martha is being a good hostess. She takes care of everyone as a kindness, a gift for Jesus, while Mary sits at his feet to learn from him. Martha the doer tells him that she needs help and Mary isn't doing her fair share.

 

Speaking to God about injustices, telling him our needs, and asking for his help is right and good. But when the asking comes with the implication that God doesn't already understand the situation, we're being anxious like Martha. When we think God is late, we're not trusting him. When we pray repeatedly and persistently in an ongoing state of worry, it's time to sit still and listen, like the quiet Mary.

 

Notice what Martha did after she made her demands. She, too, listened. And then she realized that Jesus understood much more of the situation than she ever could.

 

During the intercessory prayers of Mass when we say, "Lord hear our prayer" or "Hear us, O Lord," I feel like I'm telling God to listen, as if he wasn't already. In truth, he's trying to get me to listen. He never stops listening and caring. He knows our needs long before we begin to ask. We need to remember that "Lord hear our prayer" really means "Lord, receive this gift of prayer. Thank you for hearing us. Help us to hear your reply."

 

Anxiety and worry lead to: "God isn't convinced yet, so I have to keep begging, and if he doesn't act fast enough, oops, too late, Lazarus died." Look at the confidence Jesus tried to instill in Martha when he arrived four days late. Look at the loving way he handled her anxiety, and see him treating you the same way.

 

God is never late! His timing is always perfect. His answers to our prayers are always exactly when and what is best and most loving. To calm down and rest in this truth, we have to sit still and listen in quiet awareness of God's goodness.

 

Hush .......... Sit still ........... Listen .......... He's here!

 

Today's Prayer

Lord, increase my faith and help me to cling to it during trials. Amen.

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God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”