Icons of Dominican Life - Martha and Mary: Homily for Monday, July 29, 2024

Icons of Dominican Life – Martha and Mary: Homily for Monday, July 29, 2024

Icons. Today, we have, I would suggest, in St. Martha, one half of the Dominican charism. With her sister, she makes the Dominican charism. Martha was busy. Type A, we might say today. Always about many things. Wanting to make a good impression when Jesus came to their home. Wanting to be the perfect hostess. And getting frustrated because Mary simply listened to Jesus.

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Icons of Dominican Life – Martha and Mary

Today, we have, I would suggest, in St. Martha, one half of the Dominican charism. With her sister, she makes the Dominican charism. Martha was busy. Type A, we might say today. Always about many things. Wanting to make a good impression when Jesus came to their home. Wanting to be the perfect hostess. And getting frustrated because Mary simply listened to Jesus.

Now Martha and Mary, as examples of Dominicans who are active contemplatives, I think serve as a good place for us to really kind of do an examination of conscience. If we’re going to be like Dominicans, in a parish staffed by Dominicans, with Dominican laity, when we put these things together, we have to ask ourselves, do we choose always the path of Martha? Or do we choose the better part, which was the path of Mary?

Now we have to be careful, because better doesn’t mean that the opposite is worthless. We’re comparing two things. One is better than the other. And as one of our former provincials says, as Dominicans, we’re active contemplatives, but we always need to remember that the noun is contemplative. Active is the adjective.

Now I know that I’m susceptible to being too much like Martha and not enough like Mary. Martha serves as a good example to us of how important it is to do what is necessary to serve the Lord. Mary serves as a great example of what it means to sit at the feet of the Lord in contemplation, waiting for God to speak to us, strengthening our friendship with God by cooperating more fully with His grace. We ask the Lord today, through the intercession of St. Martha, to help us to recognize how to keep a balance between the active service that we do and the deep contemplation to which we are called.

religious icons inside the bellapais abbey — Photo by Mehmet Turgut Kirkgoz on Pexels.com

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