Friday, July 31, 2020
The Feast of Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Dear Friend,
What part should Jesus Christ play in our home, our families, and our daily domestic lives? For the answer, let me take you to the village of Bethany on the southeast slope of the Mount of Olives, less than two miles from Jerusalem. There we find a family: Martha and Mary who are sisters and their brother, Lazarus. Jesus “loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” (John 11:5) and was always welcome at their home.
The Gospel of Luke recounts Martha’s invitation to Jesus to visit their home in Bethany for a meal (Luke 10:38-42). In fact, this episode from the life of Our Lord featured in the Holy Gospel on Wednesday, July 29, the Feast of Saint Martha. Like any good hostess, she was working very hard to put on a good spread for this visiting prophet. But where was her usually very helpful sister, Mary?
Perhaps the most important part of hospitality is to be attentive to your guest. Mary was fulfilling that obligation. She sat at the feet of Jesus and we are told she “listened to his word,” his logos. Mary could see that this was not just a stop-over meal for Jesus. Rather, it was an opportunity for him to form another disciple. Recall, in John’s Gospel, the woman at the well. Jesus thirsted for that woman, not to receive from her anything, but rather to give her “living water” (John 4:11). Mary seemed intent on drinking from that well. She was ready to receive.
Martha then compounds her lack of hospitality by inviting her guest, Jesus, to settle a family dispute. “Tell her to help me,” concludes our cook. Martha had set a meal plan for Jesus which really did entail a lot of work and she was simply not up to doing this all by herself.
It is now that Jesus seeks to re-focus his host: “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.” Jesus was stressing what he had told the crowd when his relatives were seeking him, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it” (Luke 8:21). That is the real food.
My sisters and brothers, when we seek the Lord it is not so that we can give him anything of any worth. Rather, it is so that we can receive from him living water, living bread, the living word. Even our service of him, as we find him in others, is intended to make our hearts and souls and minds more supple to what he wants to do in us and through us. Martha was preparing many dishes for the Lord, but Mary got the best dish of all.
Assuring you of my prayers, I am sincerely yours in Christ,
+ Earl
Bishop of Lansing
Watch: A Prayerful End for Lansing's Proud Polish Parish: This Sunday, August 2, will see the holy sacrifice of the Mass offered for a final time at Saint Casimir in Lansing as the parish closes after 99 years of faithful service to Jesus Christ and his Holy Church.
Saint Casimir Parish was founded in Lansing in 1921 as an apostolic offshoot of Saint Mary Cathedral to serve a growing Polish immigrant community. In recent years, however, the parish has witnessed a declining population coupled with significant financial challenges.
This Sunday’s final Mass will be offered by Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing with several clerics who have been associated with the past and present of the parish concelebrating.
Please keep the parishioners of Saint Casimir in your prayers in the weeks to come. Saint Casimir, pray for them!
Read: "The Revised Standard Version; The English Standard Version; The King James Version; The Douay-Rheims Version; the list goes on and on: Hey, Father Joe! Why are there so many different Bibles?"
That's the big question for Father Joe Krupp, Pastor of Holy Family in Grand Blanc and Saint Mark in Goodrich, in FAITH Magazine, the official publication of the Diocese of Lansing. What's Father Joe's answer? Click here to find out.
That's the big question for Father Joe Krupp, Pastor of Holy Family in Grand Blanc and Saint Mark in Goodrich, in FAITH Magazine, the official publication of the Diocese of Lansing. What's Father Joe's answer? Click here to find out.
