The story of Mary and Martha, I propose, should not be over spiritualized. Martha welcomes Jesus into her house (Lk 10: 38) but is then: "distracted by her many tasks." (Lk 10: 40) Instead of listening to Jesus and being responsive to his needs she acts out her compulsion to "get things done." Even worse, she wants the Lord to rebuke her sister for not following her example: "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." (Lk 10: 40) Jesus does not tell Martha not to do her work but he does identify Mary's desire to be an attentive disciple as being the better part for she: "... sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying." (Lk (10: 39) How many of us, as lifelong Catholics would long to sit at the Lord's feet in person and listen to him! That is what you would think. Yet, how many of us Catholics find ourselves so overwhelmed with taking children to sport, visiting ageing parents, cleaning the house, doing the shopping, cooking Sunday lunch, etc that we fail to attend to the Lord's Word at Mass or, even worse, do not get to Mass at all. Sunday Mass is the source and summit of the liturgy and the foundation of our life of faith. It is the pledge of divine help in the present and of a share in God's life in the future. It is, indeed, the better part.
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