St. Martha - Patroness of Cooks and Domestic Servants - July 29th
Martha was the sister of Mary Magdalen and Lazarus, and she lived with them in the little town of Bethany near Jerusalem. They were dear friends of Jesus, and He often came to visit them. In fact, the Holy Gospel tells us: “Jesus loved Martha, and her sister Mary, and Lazarus.” It was St. Martha who lovingly served Our Lord when He visited them.
One day as she was going about the house preparing everything for Jesus, she asked Him to tell her sister Mary to help her. For Mary was sitting quietly at Jesus’ feet, listening to Him. Our Lord was very pleased with Martha’s loving service, but He wanted her to know that listening to God’s word and praying is even more important. So He said gently: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious about many things, but only one thing is necessary, Mary has chosen the better part.”
St. Martha’s great faith in Jesus was seen when her brother Lazarus died. As soon as she heard that Jesus was coming to Bethany, Martha went to meet Him and said: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would have not died.” Then Jesus told her that Lazarus would rise. He said: “He who believes in Me, even if he die, shall live. Do you believe this?” And Martha answered, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are Christ, the Son of God, Who has come into the world.” Afterwards, Our Lord worked a great miracle and raised Lazarus from the dead!
Later, Jesus came again to have supper with Lazarus, and St. Martha served them at table as always, but this time with much greater love and joy.
Jesus said to Martha that to take care of our soul is more important than to take care of our body. Our body will die one day, but our soul will live forever. Therefore we have to give more importance to our soul, to be sure to save it.
Martha was the sister of Mary Magdalen and Lazarus, and she lived with them in the little town of Bethany near Jerusalem. They were dear friends of Jesus, and He often came to visit them. In fact, the Holy Gospel tells us: “Jesus loved Martha, and her sister Mary, and Lazarus.” It was St. Martha who lovingly served Our Lord when He visited them.
One day as she was going about the house preparing everything for Jesus, she asked Him to tell her sister Mary to help her. For Mary was sitting quietly at Jesus’ feet, listening to Him. Our Lord was very pleased with Martha’s loving service, but He wanted her to know that listening to God’s word and praying is even more important. So He said gently: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious about many things, but only one thing is necessary, Mary has chosen the better part.”
St. Martha’s great faith in Jesus was seen when her brother Lazarus died. As soon as she heard that Jesus was coming to Bethany, Martha went to meet Him and said: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would have not died.” Then Jesus told her that Lazarus would rise. He said: “He who believes in Me, even if he die, shall live. Do you believe this?” And Martha answered, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are Christ, the Son of God, Who has come into the world.” Afterwards, Our Lord worked a great miracle and raised Lazarus from the dead!
Later, Jesus came again to have supper with Lazarus, and St. Martha served them at table as always, but this time with much greater love and joy.
Jesus said to Martha that to take care of our soul is more important than to take care of our body. Our body will die one day, but our soul will live forever. Therefore we have to give more importance to our soul, to be sure to save it.
