We have a tendency to put our lives into one of two categories: Either/Or. For example, we either prayer or we act; we either engage in human activity or spiritual activity; we are either a saint or a sinner. In reality though, Christianity is a faith of both/and. Yes, we are called to be saints, but saints are simply sinners who keep on trying. And our human activities are not necessarily opposed to our spiritual activities. To be spiritual simply means to be fully human: prayer and action are not enemies of one another. As the Catechism puts it, we pray as we live, because we live as we pray.
In today’s Gospel Martha has slipped into an either/or attitude. She’s serving, which is a very good thing. She’s tending towards an attitude of either prayer or active service. And yet she’s anxious and flustered, and she takes her frustration out on her sister, Mary. She even asks Jesus to tell her sister to help her. This is a common occurrence in our lives: we do good things, but we do them for the wrong reasons. Sometimes we do them to be admired; sometimes we do them to be appreciated. And then we get upset with others when they don’t seem to be pulling their weight.
Jesus gently corrects Martha’s attitude. He doesn’t criticize her for serving. He doesn’t say that we shouldn’t ask others to do their part. But he does ask Martha, and all of us, to remember why we do what we do. It’s meant to be done out of love. And love means to choose the good of the other person even if we’re not noticed or appreciated for it.
Every action in our lives is a window into eternity. Every action is a chance for us to love God and others. Every act is a way to put our prayer into action, and that’s why every action can become a prayer. The key is to remember why we’re doing whatever we’re doing.
St Ignatius is asked to leave the Holy Land
St Ignatius Loyola was a soldier in 16th Century Spain. He lived a morally loose life until a cannonball wrecked his leg at the Battle of Pamplona in 1521. While recuperating, he began to read a Life of Christ and proceeded to read books about St. Francis and St Dominic. Something stirred in his heart, and he left his former way of life in order to dedicate himself to God. Ignatius was convinced that the only way to serve God and to be a saint was to move to the Holy Land. After getting everything in order, he sailed to the Holy Land.
But there was one problem. This was the plan of Ignatius, not God’s plan. Eventually, he realized that he was living and praying the way he wanted and not the way God wanted. Eventually events conspired to prompt his departure from the Holy Land. He got into trouble with the local authorities because he constantly defied their trespassing regulations. He thought he could go into any holy site whenever he wanted. Worried for his safety at the hands of the locals, the Franciscan friars ordered him to return to Europe or be excommunication. It was a painful experience for Ignatius. He thought he was serving God in the Holy Land, but instead he realized that his plan for his life was different from what God wanted for him. Good thing too, because when he got back home he discovered his calling to found the Jesuit Order.
Sitting at the foot of the Tabernacle
We all need time to contemplate, because if we don’t take time to be alone with the Lord, our spirits will suffocate. We’re called to serve like Martha, with a deep spirit of prayer, but at the same time, we also need times where we sit at the Lord’s feet like Mary, and listen to him. The most powerful contemplation is time with the Eucharist.
St Irenaeus wrote, “Our way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn confirms our way of thinking.” The time we spend with Jesus will change us. It reminds us that everything in our lives has purpose when we’re close to Him.
This week, can you make a commitment to spend 15 minutes with the Eucharistic Jesus in the Tabernacle? And while you’re there, ask him to help you to see the eternal value of the ordinary things you do, and for the strength and courage to do them with extraordinary love. As we receive our Lord today in the Eucharist, he reminds us that by choosing him we are truly choosing the better part, and with that better part comes unending joy.