Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 07-29-04, Memorial, St. Martha

USCCB.org/New American Bible ^ | 07-29-04 | New American Bible

[Salvation]

July 29, 2004
Memorial of Saint Martha

Psalm: Thursday 33 Reading I Responsorial Psalm Gospel

Reading I
Jer 18:1-6


This word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
Rise up, be off to the potter's house;
there I will give you my message.
I went down to the potter's house and there he was,
working at the wheel.
Whenever the object of clay which he was making
turned out badly in his hand,
he tried again,
making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased.
Then the word of the LORD came to me:
Can I not do to you, house of Israel,
as this potter has done? says the LORD.
Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter,
so are you in my hand, house of Israel.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 146:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6ab

R (5a) Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, O my soul;
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.
R Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R Alleluia.
Put not your trust in princes,
in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation.
When his spirit departs he returns to his earth;
on that day his plans perish.
R Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R Alleluia.
Blessed he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God.
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them.
R Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R 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."

[Salvation]

For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

[Salvation]

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[Salvation]

From: John 11:19-27


The Raising of Lazarus (Continuation)

---

[19] And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them
concerning their brother. [20] When Martha heard that Jesus was
coming, she went and met Him, while Mary sat in the house. [21] Martha
said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have
died. [22] And even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God
will give You." [23] Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise
again." [24] Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in
the resurrection at the last day." [25] Jesus said to her, "I am the
resurrection and the life, he who believes in Me, though he die, yet
shall he live, [26] and whoever lives and believes in Me shall never
die. Do you believe this?" [27] She said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I
believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, He who is coming into
the world."

---

Commentary:


1-45. This chapter deals with one of Jesus' most outstanding miracles.
The Fourth Gospel, by including it, demonstrates Jesus' power over
death, which the Synoptic Gospels showed by reporting the raising of
the daughter of Jairus (Matthew 9:25 and paragraph) and of the son of
the widow of Nain (Luke 7:12).


The Evangelist first sets the scene (verses 1-16); then he gives Jesus'
conversation with Lazarus' sisters (verses 17-37); finally, he reports
the raising of Lazarus four days after his death (verses 38-45).
Bethany was only about three kilometers (two miles) from Jerusalem
(verse 18). On the days prior to His passion, Jesus often visited this
family, to which He was very attached. St. John records Jesus'
affection (verses 3, 5, 36) by describing His emotion and sorrow at the
death of His friend.


By raising Lazarus our Lord shows His divine power over death and
thereby gives proof of His divinity, in order to confirm His disciples'
faith and reveal Himself as the Resurrection and the Life. Most Jews,
but not the Sadducees, believed in the resurrection of the body.
Martha believed in it (cf. verse 24).


Apart from being a real, historical event, Lazarus' return to life is a
sign of our future resurrection: we too will return to life. Christ,
by His glorious resurrection through He is the "first-born from the
dead" (1 Corinthians 15:20; Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5), is also
the cause and model of our resurrection. In this His resurrection is
different from that of Lazarus, for "Christ being raised from the dead
will never die again" (Romans 6:9), whereas Lazarus returned to earthly
life, later to die again.


21-22. According to St. Augustine, Martha's request is a good example
of confident prayer, a prayer of abandonment into the hands of God, who
knows better than we what we need. Therefore, "she did not say, But
now I ask You to raise my brother to life again. [...] All she said
was, I know that You can do it; if you will, do it; it is for you to
judge whether to do it, not for me to presume" ("In Ioann. Evang.", 49,
13). The same can be said of Mary's words, which St. John repeats at
verse 32.


24-26. Here we have one of those concise definitions Christ gives of
Himself, and which St. John faithfully passes on to us (cf. John 10:9;
14:6; 15:1): Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. He is the
Resurrection because by His victory over death He is the cause of the
resurrection of all men. The miracle He works in raising Lazarus is a
sign of Christ's power to give life to people. And so, by faith in
Jesus Christ, who arose first from among the dead, the Christian is
sure that he too will rise one day, like Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians
15:23; Colossians 1;18). Therefore, for the believer death is not the
end; it is simply the step to eternal life, a change of dwelling-place,
as one of the Roman Missal's Prefaces of Christian Death puts it:
"Lord, for your faithful people life is changed, not ended. When the
body of our earthly dwelling lies in death, we gain an everlasting
dwelling place in Heaven".


By saying that He is Life, Jesus is referring not only to that life
which begins beyond the grave, but also to the supernatural life which
grace brings to the soul of man when he is still a wayfarer on this
earth.


"This life, which the Father has promised and offered to each man in
Jesus Christ, His eternal and only Son, who 'when the time had fully
come' (Galatians 4:4), became incarnate and was born of the Virgin
Mary, is the final fulfillment of man's vocation. It is in a way the
fulfillment of the 'destiny' that God has prepared for him from
eternity. This 'divine destiny' is advancing, in spite of all the
enigmas, the unsolved riddles, the twists and turns of 'human destiny'
in the world of time. Indeed, while all this, in spite of all the
riches of life in time, necessarily and inevitably leads to the
frontiers of death and the goal of the destruction of the human body,
beyond that goal we see Christ. 'I am the resurrection and the life,
He who believes in Me...shall never die.' In Jesus Christ, who was
crucified and laid in the tomb and then rose again, 'our hope of
resurrection dawned...the bright promise of immortality' ("Roman
Missal", Preface of Christian Death, I), on the way to which man,
through the death of the body, shares with the whole of visible
creation the necessity to which matter is subject" ([Pope] John Paul
II, "Redemptor Hominis", 18).

---

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

[Salvation]

FEAST OF THE DAY

Martha was the sister of Mary and Lazarus. In the Gospel according
to John, we learn that Jesus had a special relationship with this
family and that "Jesus loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus."

Martha plays a prominent role in several places in the Gospels. She
in the Gospel of Luke the Lord and the Apostles are traveling through
Bethany and they are invited to stay at the home of Martha and
Mary. Martha welcomes them into her home and immediately goes
to work to serve them. Instead of helping Martha, her sister Mary
showed what was most important thing to do by sitting at the Lord's
feet listening to him speak.

When the Lord comes to Bethany after hearing of the death of
Lazarus, Martha has learned what is truly important and goes
immediately to the Lord. Martha is the patron saint of housewives,
waiters, waitresses and cooks.


QUOTE OF THE DAY

And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort
them about their brother. 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 her, my brother would not have died.
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 everyone 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 Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is
coming into the world. -Jn 11:19-27


TODAY IN HISTORY

479 Death of St. Lupus of Troyes
1095 Death of St. Ladislaus I, King of Hungary
1099 Death of St. Urban II, Pope
1644 Death of Pope Urban VIII


TODAY'S TIDBIT

IHS is a symbol of Jesus Christ that is often found inscribed in
churches or on other holy objects. It is the first three letters of the
name of Jesus in Greek.


INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray, through the intercession of St. Martha, for all who make
their living by serving other people, especially for those working in
the food industry.

[Convert from ECUSA]

John 11:19-27 - Martha may have been busy with many things and complained to the Lord, but despite her grief at Lazarus' death, she had great faith in Christ. Would that all of us would imitate her faith.

[Salvation]

Martha is the patron saint of housewives,
waiters, waitresses and cooks.

[Salvation]

**Would that all of us would imitate her faith.**

Amen!

[Salvation]

Thursday, July 29, 2004
St. Martha (Memorial)

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel:

Jeremiah 18:1-6 Psalm 146:1-6 John 11:19-27 Right reason, that is, reason rightly exercised, leads the mind to the Catholic faith, and plants it there, and teaches it in all its religious speculations to act under its guidance.  -- St. John Henry Cardinal Newman

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Thursday, July 29, 2004

Meditation
John 11:19-27



St. Martha

When Lazarus became gravely ill, Martha sent for Jesus. She knew he could heal the sick, and hoped that he would arrive before her brother died. Martha’s understanding of Jesus seems to have been limited. She had not yet grasped that he was much more than a miracle worker. So, when Jesus came, he not only raised Lazarus from the dead but also raised Martha’s faith to a much higher level.

On an earlier visit to Bethany, Jesus had sought refreshment and rest from his busy ministry in Martha’s home. A conscientious hostess, she had warmly received him, and knowing that he must have been hungry and tired, she had hurriedly set about preparing a good meal for him (Luke 10:38-42). As Cardinal Anastasio Ballestrero, the former archbishop of Turin, noted, Martha shows an immediate realization of Jesus’ humanity . . . [and] comprehends all the concrete reality of the Incarnation: This Jesus is a man, and men have their needs. Human beings live surrounded by many cares, many necessities. . . . Jesus is true man, and that is just how Martha welcomes him. She allows herself to be involved in the experience of the Incarnation in a very real way. (Martha and Mary: Meeting Christ as Friend)

At Lazarus’ graveside, Jesus drew Martha step by step into a deeper faith—a faith that saw beyond his humanity to recognize his divinity. When he promised that her brother would rise again, Martha’s understanding was still limited: She thought he meant “at the last day” (John 11:23-24). But Jesus pressed beyond her incomprehension, declaring himself to be “the resurrection and life” and explaining, “whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live.” Finally, he challenged Martha: “Do you believe this?” (11:25-26). In a burst of understanding, she grasped what Jesus was saying and boldly proclaimed: “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God” (11:27).

It was through an ever-deepening conversion that Martha came to recognize Jesus. Just so, may our faith mature as Jesus reveals himself to us through the circumstances of our lives. May we all respond to his invitation to trust him and allow him to take us deeper!

“All glory to you, Lord Jesus! I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God! Increase my faith as I follow you.”

[Salvation]

“All glory to you, Lord Jesus! I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God! Increase my faith as I follow you.”

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

All Issues > Volume 20, Number 4

<< Thursday, July 29, 2004 >>

St. Martha

Jeremiah 18:1-6

Psalm 146

John 11:19-27
or Luke 10:38-42

View Readings

THE ROADSTOP

“ ‘Do you believe this?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ she replied. ‘I have come to believe that You are the Messiah, the Son of God: He Who is to come into the world.’ ” —John 11:26-27

Martha went out to meet Jesus on the road near her home. At this place on the road, Jesus challenged and graced Martha to believe that He is the Resurrection and the Life (Jn 11:25-26). Martha responded by making what is possibly one of the greatest acts of faith ever (Jn 11:27). Thus, this place on the road became a place of faith.

Jesus stopped at this spot (Jn 11:30), and soon Mary, Martha’s sister, and many of her friends came to meet Jesus. They all began to weep, and Jesus likewise wept (Jn 11:33, 35). Why was Jesus weeping? He knew that He would raise Lazarus from the dead. So why would He mourn Lazarus’ death? He may have been weeping because of the people’s lack of faith. Jesus wept over Jerusalem for this reason on another occasion (Lk 19:41ff). Jesus may have been weeping because Martha’s place of faith had so quickly changed into a place lacking faith.

Are there any places of faith in your life where the faith is disappearing? Look at your street, neighborhood, home, and workplace. Are these places of faith? Don’t make Jesus cry. Live and profess your faith publicly, freely, and with perseverance.

Prayer: Father, increase my faith (Lk 17:5).

Promise: “Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in My hand.” —Jer 18:6

Praise: St. Martha used her gifts of faith and hospitality to give a banquet for Jesus (Jn 12:2).

[Salvation]

American Cathlic's Saint of the Day

July 29, 2004

St. Martha

Martha, Mary and their brother Lazarus were evidently close friends of Jesus. He came to their home simply as a welcomed guest, rather than as one celebrating the conversion of a sinner like Zacchaeus or one unceremoniously received by a suspicious Pharisee. The sisters feel free to call on Jesus at their brother’s death, even though a return to Judea at that time seems almost certain death.

No doubt Martha was an active sort of person. On one occasion (see Luke 10:38-42) she prepares the meal for Jesus and possibly his fellow guests and forthrightly states the obvious: All hands should pitch in to help with the dinner.

Yet, as Father John McKenzie points out, she need not be rated as an “unrecollected activist.” The evangelist is emphasizing what our Lord said on several occasions about the primacy of the spiritual: “...[D]o not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear….But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:25b, 33a); “One does not live by bread alone” (Luke 4:4b); “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness…” (Matthew 5:6a).

Martha’s great glory is her simple and strong statement of faith in Jesus after her brother’s death. “Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone 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 Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world’” (John 11:25-27).

Comment:

Scripture commentators point out that in writing his account of the raising of Lazarus, St. John intends that we should see Martha’s words to Mary before the resurrection of Lazarus as a summons that every Christian must obey. In her saying “The teacher is here and is asking for you,” Jesus is calling every one of us to resurrection—now in baptismal faith, forever in sharing his victory over death. And all of us, as well as these three friends, are in our own unique way called to special friendship with him.

Quote:

“Even in this life the Spirit transforms us.... When Moses turned towards the Lord, his face shone in the reflection of God: when the believer turns towards the Lord Jesus and contemplates his glorious face, he is transformed into an ever brighter image of that same glory. And this irradiating power which transforms us into beings of light only comes from Christ because he himself is wholly penetrated by that Spirit” (Durrwell, The Resurrection).

[Pyro7480]

St. Martha is one of my mom's patron saints. She took her name at her confirmation, if I remember correctly. She is the patron saint of homemakers, among various other occupations.

[Salvation]

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Title:	Send Forth Your Spirit & We Shall be Recreated!
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D
Date:	Thursday, July 29, 2004

Jeremiah 18:1-6 / John 11:19-27

Most of us have the habit of thinking too small. Whether at home or at work, in friendships or in business, we miss too many possibilities and we expect too little. We end up making do with far less than we need to: We settle for moribund relationships, boring jobs, and aimless lives. And nowhere is this settling for second best more visible than in our relationship with God.

How strange that we can praise and thank God for the wonders of His universe and for the gift of our own lives, and simultaneously ask and expect so little of Him in the present. As Jeremiah notes in today’s first reading, the fact is that God has the power to refashion and re-create us from within. Indeed, "re-creation" is the word that the Apostles used to describe what happened inside them on Pentecost.

Send forth your Spirit, O God, and we shall be re-created, and You will renew the face of the earth!

[Salvation]

**Patronage
butlers, cooks, dietitians, domestic servants, homemakers, hotel-keepers, housemaids, housewives, innkeepers, laundry workers, maids, manservants, servants, servers, single laywomen, travellers **

Catholic Forum has so much information! What a site!

[Smartass]

Laus Deo..."Praise be to God!"

On the aluminum cap atop the Washington Monument in Washington DC are two words: Laus Deo. No one can see these words. In fact ... most visitors to the monument have no idea they are even there and ... for that matter ... probably could care less! But there they are ... 555 feet, 5.125 inches high ... perched atop the monument to the father of our nation ... overlooking the 69 square miles which comprise the District of Columbia ... capital of the United States of America.

Laus Deo! Two seemingly insignificant, unnoticed words ...out of sight and, one might think, out of mind ... but very meaningfully placed at the highest point over what is the most powerful city in the world. And what might those two words ... comprised of just four syllables and only seven letters ... mean? Very simply ... "Praise be to God!"

Though construction of this giant obelisk began in 1848 when James Polk was President of the United States, it was not until 1888 that the monument was inaugurated and opened to the public. It took twenty five years to finally cap the memorial with the tribute Laus Deo! Praise be to God!

From atop this magnificent granite and marble structure ... a visitor can take in the beautiful panoramic view of the city with its division into four major segments. And from that vantage point one can also easily see the original plan of the designer, Pierre Charles l'Enfant ... a perfect cross imposed upon the landscape ... with the White House to the north ... the Jefferson Memorial to the south ... the Capitol to the east ... and the Lincoln Memorial to the west. A cross ... you say? How interesting! And ... no doubt ... intended to carry a meaning for those who bother to notice. Praise be to God!

Within the monument itself are 898 steps and 50 landings. As one climbs the steps and pauses at the landings the memorial stones share a message. On the 12th Landing is a prayer offered by the City of Baltimore; on the 20th is a memorial presented by some Chinese Christians; on the 24th a presentation made by Sunday School children from New York and Philadelphia quoting Proverbs 10:7, Luke 18:16 and Proverbs 22:6. Praise be to God!

When the cornerstone of the Washington Monument was laid on July 4th, 1848 deposited within it were many items including the Holy Bible presented by the Bible Society. Praise be to God! Such was the discipline, the moral direction, the spiritual mood given by the founder and first President of our unique democracy ... "one nation, under God." I am awed by Washington's prayer for America. Have you never read it? Well now is your opportunity ... read on!

"Almighty God; We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United states at large." "And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." Laus Deo!

As you might have guessed ... I kind of like the idea that our Pledge of Allegiance includes the phrase "under God." It is clear when one studies the history of our great nation that Washington's America was one of the few countries in all the world established under the guidance, direction and banner of Almighty God, to whom was given all praise, honor and worship by the great men who formed and fashioned her pivotal foundations.

"And I have the right to feel so about you all, because I have you in my heart, all of you . . .
For God is my witness how I long for you all in the heart of Christ Jesus." (Phil 1: 7-8)

[NYer]

Thursday July 29, 2004   Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading (1 John 4:7-16)   Gospel (St. John 11:19-27)

In the first reading today, Saint John tells us about the love of God, and he tells us that love exists in the fact that God has loved us first. The fact that God has loved us means that into our hearts God has infused His own love; therefore, the love that we have to be able to love God and to love one another is the very love of God Himself. That is why Saint John would say, If God has so loved us, we also must love one another. It is because God loves each one, and therefore if God loves each of us, we have an obligation to do the same. How can we hate what God loves? It does not make much sense. And so if God loves us, we in turn need to make sure that, first of all, we are loving God and that we are loving one another, but we also need to recognize the dignity which is ours in that God has given us His own love. It is not something we manufacture, it is not something we can do by ourselves, but rather it is a share in the very love of God Himself.

If this is the case, then we have to look at how God has loved us. We are told that love consists in that God has sent His Son as an expiation for our sins. It is in that that we recognize true love, that God has come into this world in human form, and He suffered for us and He died for us. In that is the fullness and perfection of love. Saint John goes on to tell us that, if we love, God’s love is going to be brought to perfection in us. And if God’s love is brought to perfection in us, it is going to look exactly like the love of Christ. Therefore, if our love is God’s love in us, and God’s love in us is demonstrated through the suffering and death of Our Lord, and His love will be brought to perfection in us, then the perfection of love in us is going to be demonstrated through suffering and through a willingness to die to self in order to live for God and for others. It is exactly what Our Lord tells us, that only those who will lose their life will save it. Those who are willing to die to self will be able to have new life in God.

This is precisely what Martha came to understand. Martha, of course, gets kind of a bad rap because of the scene which took place when she was serving and Mary was sitting at the Lord’s feet. She was chastised by the Lord, but now we see Martha in a different light. She comes to Our Lord in love. She is willing to recognize Who He is and make that act of faith, but in that act of faith she is blessed because she has come to the point of being able to accept the love of God and she has come to the point also of being able to acknowledge the fullness of the truth of Who Jesus is. After being told that her brother will rise and that Jesus Himself is the Resurrection and the Life, she is asked by the Lord, Do you believe this? and she is the one to be able to make that act of faith: Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, He Who is to come into this world. It is precisely because of that act of faith that she is able to unite herself with the suffering of Christ. She is able now to love, where before she was being selfish. She no longer is looking out only for herself. Even though she would have liked to have had her brother restored and she was able to come to Our Lord and say, If You had been here, my brother would not have died, she was not asking the Lord to necessarily bring her brother back; she was willing to accept God’s Will. And it was because she was willing to let go, because she was willing to do whatever God wanted, that she received her brother in return. But more than receiving her brother, she received the gift of God’s love because she was willing to put aside herself, she was willing to get any kind of selfish inclinations out of the way, and therefore her heart was open to be able to receive the love that Our Lord wanted to give to her.

We too have to open our hearts to Christ, but that means we have to get out of the way. We have to allow Him to be able to love us. As much as we want to be able to love God, which we have to do, we can never initiate love; we can only respond to it. That means we have to be able to accept the love of God first and then we respond in like kind. And if we want that love to be brought to perfection, we have to get out of the way; we have to die to self so that we can live for God. That dying to self in order to live for God means to be able, first of all, to accept God’s Will in our lives, and secondly, it means being willing to go to Calvary with Christ, to take up our cross daily, to follow Him, to be crucified with Him, to share in His suffering and His death so as to share in His resurrection and His life. That is the perfection of love: to give ourselves for the sake of others. That is the call God is giving us. That is the perfection of love. We see it, certainly, first and foremost in Our Lord, but a person like Martha gives to us the greatest hope that we who, in our selfishness, come to the Lord are even able to overcome that selfishness and get to the point of making a pure act of faith; and in so doing to get out of the way and allow Our Lord to work in us, to live in us, to love in us, so that we in turn will love God and one another with the very love of God which He Himself has poured forth into our hearts.

[NYer]

What a great story! Thanks for posting it.

[fatima]

Mass bump.Smartass,Thank you for that info.

[Smartass]

Thank you all...