16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Sunday 17th July 2016)
Be what God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire – (Luke 10:38-42)
So how many people went away encouraged and excited in our faith after such a grace-filled Youth 2000 Summer festival. This Sunday’s Gospel is a perfect way to begin our ‘normal’ everyday life as we hear about the encounter of Mary, Martha and Jesus. It is perfect because it seeks to strike a balance between our material and our spiritual life. Jesus’ comments to Martha have been interpreted in many ways but for me the key point is that Jesus is asking each of us to choose some time to spend with him. Fr Patrick Cahill made the very same point in his homily for the closing Mass at this years Summer festival – unless we can dedicate some time in prayer with God we can never truly be fruitful or grateful for the things that we have and the work that we do.
Martha is anxious as she busies herself trying to serve others whilst Mary ‘chooses the better part’ to relax in his presence and listen attentively to him. We hopefully have all experienced a great time at the Summer festival in Roscrea and this was possible due to the real presence of God in our midst. Jesus himself has promised to stay with us till the end of time – however as we go back to our daily lives we may not find it as easy to feel the presence of Jesus and we can get lost in the other activities of life. Some may say that Mary is a dreamer but the essence of this Gospel goes much deeper than just dreams. In her contemplation of what Jesus is saying, Mary is perhaps able to discern what she must do – as St Catherine of Siena commented: Be what God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.
This is why it is so beneficial for each of us to commit to spending time with Jesus – be that by going to Mass, reading the Bible, going to a local prayer group or going to Jesus himself in Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Jesus doesn’t condemn Martha for doing the work – after all every party needs a host – but even at every party the guests gather round to hear or meet the guest of honour. Jesus is that guest of honour and he wishes to speak to each of us every day, so if you made a resolution after the festival or you would like to make one this week, may God bless you as you seek to do his will.
Rev. Charles Lafferty S.A.C.