Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas
John CHAP. 11
11:17–27
17. Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.
18. Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:
19. And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.
20. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.
21. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
22. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.
23. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
24. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
25. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
27. She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
ALCUIN. Our Lord delayed His coming for four days, that the resurrection of Lazarus might be the more glorious: Then when Jesus came, He found that He had lain in the grave four days already.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxii. 2) Our Lord had stayed two days, and the messenger had come the day before; the very day on which Lazarus died. This brings us to the fourth day.
AUGUSTINE. (Tract. xlix. 12) Of the four days many things may be said. They refer to one thing, but one thing viewed in different ways. There is one day of death which the law of our birth brings upon us. Men transgress the natural law, and this is another day of death. The written law is given to men by the hands of Moses, and that is despised—a third day of death. The Gospel comes, and men transgress it—a fourth day of death. But Christ doth not disdain to awaken even these.
ALCUIN. The first sin was elation of heart, the second assent, the third act, the fourth habit.
Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxii. 2) Two miles. This is mentioned to account for so many coming from Jerusalem: And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. But how could the Jews be consoling the beloved of Christ, when they had resolved that whoever confessed Christ should be put out of the synagogue? Perhaps the extreme affliction of the sisters excited their sympathy; or they wished to shew respect for their rank. Or perhaps they who came were of the better sort; as we find many of them believed. Their presence is mentioned to do away with all doubt of the real death of Lazarus.
BEDE. Our Lord had not yet entered the town, when Martha met Him: Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him: but Mary sat still in the house.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxii. 2.) Martha does not take her sister with her, because she wants to speak with Christ alone, and tell Him what has happened. When her hopes had been raised by Him, then she went her way, and called Mary.
THEOPHYLACT. At first she does not tell her sister, for fear, if she came, the Jews present might accompany her. And she did not wish them to know of our Lord’s coming.
Then saith Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxii. 3) She believed in Christ, but she believed not as she ought. She did not speak as if He were God: If Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
THEOPHYLACT. She did not know that He could have restored her brother as well absent as present.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxii. 3) Nor did she know that He wrought His miracles by His own independent power: But I know that even now, whatsoever Thou will ask of God, God will give it Thee. She only thinks Him some very gifted man.
AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xlix. 13) She does not say to Him, Bring my brother to life again; for how could she know that it would be good for him to come to life again; she says, I know that Thou canst do so, if Thou wilt; but what Thou wilt do is for Thy judgment, not for my presumption to determine.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxii. 3) But our Lord taught her the truths which she did not know: Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Observe, He does not say, I will ask God, that he may rise again, nor on the other hand does He say, I want no help, I do all things of Myself; a declaration which would have been too much for the woman; but something between the two, He shall rise again.
AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xlix. 14) Shall rise again, is ambiguous: for He does not say, now. And therefore it follows: Martha saith unto Him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day: of that resurrection I am certain; of this I am doubtful.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxii) She had often heard Christ speak of the resurrection. Jesus now declares His power more plainly: Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He needed therefore none to help Him; for if He did, how could He be the resurrection. And if He is the life, He is not confined by place, but is every where, and can heal every where.
ALCUIN. I am the resurrection, because I am the life; as through Me he will rise at the general resurrection, through Me he may rise now.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxii) To Martha’s, Whatsoever Thou shall ask, He replies, He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: shewing her that He is the Giver of all good, and that we must ask of Him. Thus He leads her to the knowledge of high truths; and whereas she had been enquiring only about the resurrection of Lazarus, tells her of a resurrection in which both she and all present would share.
AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xlix. 15) He that believeth in Me, though he were dead: i. e. though his flesh die, his soul shall live till the flesh rise again, never to die more. For faith is the life of the soul.
And whosoever liveth, in the flesh, and believeth in Me, though he die for a time in the flesh, shall not die eternally.
ALCUIN. Because He hath attained to the life of the Spirit, and to an immortal resurrection. Our Lord, from Whom nothing was hid, knew that she believed, but sought from her a confession unto salvation: Believest thou this? She saith unto Him, Yea, Lord, I believe that Thou art the Christ the Son of God, which should come into the world.
CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxii. 3) She seems not to have understood His words; i. e. she saw that He meant something great, but did not see what that was. She is asked one thing, and answers another.
AUGUSTINE. (Tr. xlix. 15) When I believed that Thou wert the Son of God, I believed that Thou wert the resurrection, that Thou wert lifeb; and that he that believeth in Thee, though he were dead, shall live.
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Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus' storyMartha, 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 felt free to call on Jesus at their brother’s death, even though a return to Judea at that time seemed to spell almost certain death.
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).
No doubt Martha was an active sort of person. On one occasion, 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. The Lord recognizes that Martha is “worried about many things,” also noting that Mary, who has spent the preparation time at Jesus’ feet listening to his words “has chosen the better part.” John 12:1-8 describes Mary’s anointing of Jesus’ feet at Bethany, an act which he praised highly.
Immediately after we are told that the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus “because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him.” Lazarus was the one of whom the Jews said, “See how much he loved him.” In their sight Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead.
Legends abound about the life of Lazarus after the death and resurrection of Jesus. He is supposed to have left a written account of what he saw in the next world before he was called back to life. Some say he followed Peter into Syria. Another story is that despite being put into a leaking boat by the Jews at Jaffa, he, his sisters, and others landed safely in Cyprus. There he died peacefully after serving as bishop for 30 years.
It is certain there was early devotion to the saint. Around the year 390, the pilgrim lady Etheria talks of the procession that took place on the Saturday before Palm Sunday at the tomb where Lazarus had been raised from the dead. In the West, Passion Sunday was called Dominica de Lazaro, and Augustine tells us that in Africa the Gospel of the raising of Lazarus was read at the office of Palm Sunday.
Reflection
In its 2021 decree on combining veneration of Mary and Lazarus with Martha, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments said, "In the household of Bethany, the Lord Jesus experienced the family spirit and friendship of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, and for this reason the Gospel of John states that he loved them. Martha generously offered him hospitality, Mary listened attentively to his words and Lazarus promptly emerged from the tomb at the command of the one who humiliated death."
Saint Martha is a Patron Saint of:
Cooks
Homemakers
Restaurant servers
Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus are Patron Saints of:
Siblings
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NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
From: Exodus 40:16-21, 34-38
Moses' Obedience to God's Commands
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[16] Thus did Moses; according to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did. [17] And in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected. [18] Moses erected the tabernacle; he laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars; [19] and he spread the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent over it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. [20] And he took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark, and set the mercy seat above on the ark; [21] and he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the testimony; as the Lord had commanded Moses.
The Glory of God Fills the Tabernacle
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[34] Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of' the Lord filled the tabernacle. [35] And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud abode upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. [36] Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would go onward; [37] but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not go onward till the day that it was taken up. [38] For throughout all their journeys the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.
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Commentary:
40:34-38. The book of Exodus ends by speaking once again about the Lord's presence among his people, mentioning the cloud and the glory of God (cf. Ex 13:21-22). The cloud will stay with the people throughout their journey in the desert (cf. Num 9:15ff), showing them the way to go. In Christian tradition the cloud is seen as an image of faith, which guides the Christian night and day as he makes his pilgrim way to the promised land. The Fathers also saw this cloud as a figure of Christ: "He is the pillar who, keeping himself upright and strong, cures our infirmity. By night he sheds light, by day he becomes opaque, so that those who do not see are enabled to see and those who see become blind" (St Isidore of Seville, Quaestiones In Exodum, 18, 1).
Or, for the feast:
From: 1 John 4:7-16
God is Love. Brotherly Love, the Mark of Christians
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[7] Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. [8] He who does not love does not know God; for God is love. [9] In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. [10] In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins. [11] Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. [12] No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
[13] By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his own Spirit. [14] And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. [15] Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. [16] So we know and believe the love God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
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Commentary:
7-21. St John now expands on the second aspect of the divine commandment (cf. 1 Jn 3:23)--brotherly love. The argument is along these lines: God is love and it was he who loved us to begin with (vv. 7-10); brotherly love is the response which God's love calls for (vv. 11 16); when our love is perfect, we feel no fear (vv. 17-18); brotherly love is an expression of love of God (vv. 19-21).
This is not tiresome repetition of the ideas already discussed (2:7-11; 3:11-18): contrary to the false teaching which is beginning to be spread, charity is the sure mark, the way to recognize the genuine disciple.
St Jerome hands down a tradition concerning the last years of St John's life: when he was already a very old man, he used always say the same thing to the faithful: "My children, love one another!" On one occasion, he was asked why he insisted on this: "to which he replied with these words worthy of John: 'Because it is the Lord's commandment, and if you keep just this commandment, it will suffice"' (Comm. in Gal., III, 6, 10).
7. The divine attributes, God's perfections, which he has to the highest degree, are the cause of our virtues: for example, because God is holy, we have been given a capacity to be holy. Similarly, because God is love, we can love. True love, true charity, comes from God.
8. "God is love": without being strictly speaking a definition (in 1:5 he says "God is light"), this statement reveals to us one of the most consoling attributes of God: "Even if nothing more were to be said in praise of love in all the pages of this epistle", St Augustine explains, "even if nothing more were to be said in all the pages of Sacred Scripture, and all we heard from the mouth of the Holy Spirit were that 'God is love', there would be nothing else we would need to look for" (In Epist. Ioann. Ad Parthos, 7, 5).
God's love for men was revealed in Creation and in the preternatural and supernatural gifts he gave man prior to sin; after man's sin, God's love is to be seen, above all, in forgiveness and redemption (as St John goes on to say: v. 9), for the work of salvation is the product of God's mercy: "It is precisely because sin exists in the world, which 'God so loved . . . that he gave his only Son' (Jn 3:16), that God, who 'is love' (1 Jn 4:8), "cannot reveal himself other than as mercy". This corresponds not only to the most profound truth of that love which God is, but also to the whole interior truth of man and of the world which is man's temporary homeland" (John Paul II, Dives In Misericordia, 13).
9. God has revealed his love to men by sending his own Son; that is, it is not only Christ's teachings which speak to us of God's love, but, above all, his presence among us: Christ himself is the fullness of revelation of God (cf. Jn 1:18; Heb 1:1) and of his love for men. "The source of all grace is God's love for us, and he has revealed this not just in words but also in deeds. It was divine love which led the second Person of the most holy Trinity, the Word, the Son of God the Father, to take on our flesh, our human condition, everything except sin. And the Word, the Word of God, is the Word from which Love proceeds (cf. Summa Theologiae, I, q. 43, a. 5, quoting St Augustine, De Trinitate, IX, 10).
"Love is revealed to us in the incarnation, the redemptive journey which Jesus Christ made on our earth, culminating in the supreme sacrifice of the cross. And on the cross it showed itself through a new sign: 'One of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water' (Jn 19:34). This water and blood of Jesus speaks to us of a self-sacrifice brought to the last extreme: 'It is finished' (Jn 19:30) —everything is achieved, for the sake of love" (St J. Escriva, Christ Is Passing By, 162).
"Among us": it is difficult to convey in English everything the Greek contains. The Greek expression means that the love of God was shown to those who witnessed our Lord's life (the Apostles) and to all other Christians, whose participate in this apostolic witness (cf. note on 1 Jn 1:1-3; this idea is repeated in vv. 14 and 16). But it also means "within us", inside us, in our hearts, insofar as we partake of God's own life by means of sanctifying grace: every Christian is a witness to the fact that Christ has come so that men "may have life, and have it abundantly" (Jn 10:10).
10. Given that love is an attribute of God (v. 8), men have a capacity to love insofar as they share in God's qualities. So, the initiative always lies with God.
When explaining in what love consists. St John points to its highest form of expression: "he sent (his Son) to be the expiation of our sins" (cf. 2:2). Similar turns of phrase occur throughout the letter: the Son of God manifested himself "to destroy the works of the devil" (3:8); "he laid down his life for us" (3:16). All these statements show that: 1) Christ's death is a SACRIFICE in the strict sense of the word, the most sublime act of recognition of God's sovereignty; 2) it is an atoning sacrifice, because it obtains God's pardon for the sins of men; 3) it is the supreme act of God's love, so much so that St John actually says, "in this is love."
What is amazing, St Alphonsus teaches, "is that he could have saved us without suffering or dying and yet he chose a life of toil and humiliation, and a bitter and ignominious death, even death on a cross, something reserved for the very worst offenders. And why was it that, when he could have redeemed us without suffering, he chose to embrace death on the Cross? To show us how much he loved us" ("The Love of Jesus Christ", chap. 1).
11-12. The Apostle underlines here the theological basis of brotherly love: the love which God has shown us by the incarnation and redemptive death of his Son, places us in his debt: we have to respond in kind; so we "ought" to love our neighbor with the kind of gratitude and disinterest that God showed by taking the initiative in loving us.
Moreover, by loving one another we are in communion with God. The deepest desire of the human heart, which is to see and to possess God, cannot be satisfied in this life, because "no man has ever seen God" (v. 12); our neighbor, on the other hand, we do see. So, in this life, the way to be in communion with God is by brotherly love. "Love of God is the first thing in the order of commands", St Augustine explains, "and love of neighbor is the first thing in the order of practice [...]. You, who do not yet see God, will, by loving your neighbor, merit to see him. Love of neighbor cleanses our eyes to see God, as John clearly says, If you do not love your neighbor, whom you see, how can you love God, whom you do not see (cf. 1 Jn 4:20)" (In Ioann. Evang., 17, 8).
13. Having the gift of the Holy Spirit is the sure sign of being in communion with God. Since the Holy Spirit is the love of the Father and of the Son, his presence in the soul in grace is necessarily something dynamic, that is, it moves the person to keep all the commandments (cf. 3:24), particularly that of brotherly love. This interior impulse shows that the third Person of the Blessed Trinity is at work within us; it is a sign of union with God.
The Holy Spirit's action on the soul is a marvelous and deep mystery. "This breathing of the Holy Spirit in the soul," says St John of the Cross, "whereby God transforms it into himself, is so sublime and delicate and profound a delight to it that it cannot be described by mortal tongue, nor can human understanding, as such, attain to any conception of it" (Spiritual Canticle, stanza 39).
14-15. Once more (cf. v. 1:4) St John vividly reminds his readers that he and the other Apostles have seen with their own eyes the Son of God, made man out of love for us. They were eyewitnesses of his redemptive life and death. And in the Son, sent by the Father as Savior of the world, the unfathomable mystery of God is revealed--that his very being is Love.
"It is 'God, who is rich in mercy' (Eph 2:4) whom Jesus Christ has revealed to us as Father: it is his very Son who, in himself, has manifested him and made him known to us (cf. Jn 1:18; Heb 1:1f)" (John Paul II, Dives In Misericordia, 1).
16. "Knowing" and "believing" are not theoretical knowledge but intimate, experienced attachment (cf. notes on 2:3-6; 4:1-6; Jn 6:69; 17:8). Therefore when St John says that they knew and believed "the love God has for us" he is not referring to an abstract truth but to the historical fact of the incarnation and death of Christ (v. 14), the supreme manifestation of the Father's love.
"He who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him": St Thomas Aquinas explains "that in some way the loved one is to be found in the lover. And so, he who loves God in some way possesses him, as St John says (1 Jn 4:16) [...]. Also, it is a property of love that the lover becomes transformed into the loved one; so, if we love vile and perishable things, we become vile and perishable, like those who 'became detestable like the things they loved" (Hos 9:10). Whereas, if we love God, we are made divine, for the Apostle says, 'He who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him' (1 Cor 6:17)" (In Duo Praecepta, prol., 3).
From: John 11:19-27The Raising of Lazarus (Continuation)
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[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."
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Commentary:
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: 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" (John Paul II, Redemptor Hominis, 18).
or
From: Luke 10:38-42
Martha and Mary Welcome Our Lord
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[38] Now as they went on their way, He (Jesus) entered a village; and a woman named Martha received Him into her house. [39] And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to His teaching. [40] But Martha was distracted with much serving; and she went to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." [41] But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; [42] one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good position, which shall not be taken away from her."
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Commentary:
38-42. Our Lord was heading for Jerusalem (Luke 9:51) and His journey took Him through Bethany, the village where Lazarus, Martha and Mary lived--a family for whom He had a special affection, as we see in other passages of the Gospel (cf. John 11:1-14; 12:1-9).
St. Augustine comments on this scene as follows: "Martha, who was arranging and preparing the Lord's meal, was busy doing many things, whereas Mary preferred to find her meal in what the Lord was saying. In a way she deserted her sister, who was very busy, and sat herself down at Jesus' feet and just listened to His words. She was faithfully obeying what the Psalm said: `Be still and know that I am God' (Psalm 46:10). Martha was getting annoyed, Mary was feasting; the former coping with many things, the latter concentrating on one. Both occupations were good" (Sermon, 103).
Martha has come to be, as it were, the symbol of the active life, and Mary that of the contemplative life. However, for most Christians, called as they are to sanctify themselves in the middle of the world, action and contemplation cannot be regarded as two opposite ways of practising the Christian faith: an active life forgetful of union with God is useless and barren; but an apparent life of prayer which shows no concern for apostolate and the sanctification of ordinary things also fails to please God. The key lies in being able to combine these two lives, without either harming the other. Close union between action and contemplation can be achieved in very different ways, depending on the specific vocation each person is given by God.
Far from being an obstacle, work should be a means and an occasion for a close relationship with our Lord, which is the most important thing in our life.
Following this teaching of the Lord, the ordinary Christian should strive to attain an integrated life--an intense life of piety and external activity, orientated towards God, practised out of love for Him and with an upright intention, which expresses itself in apostolate, in everyday work, in doing the duties of one's state in life. "You must understand now more clearly that God is calling you to serve Him IN AND FROM the ordinary, material and secular activities of human life. He waits for us every day, in the laboratory, in the operating room, in the army barracks, in the university chair, in the factory, in the workshop, in the fields, in the home and in all the immense panorama of work. Understand this well: there is something holy, something divine, hidden in the most ordinary situations, and it is up to each of you to discover it [...]. There is no other way. Either we learn to find our Lord in ordinary, everyday life, or else we shall never find Him. That is why I can tell you that our age needs to give back to matter and to the most trivial occurrences and situations their noble and original meaning. It needs to restore them to the service of the Kingdom of God, to spiritualize them, turning them into a means and an occasion for a continuous meeting with Jesus Christ" (St J. Escriva, Conversations, 114).
Daily Word for Reflection—Navarre Bible Commentary
