From Martha to Mary: A Call to Contemplation

by Fr. John Granato  |  07/20/2025  |  Words from Fr. John

My Dear Friends,

St. Luke shares with us this little scene about Martha and Mary. These are the sisters of Lazarus, who we meet in the Gospel of St. John. In this little scene in St. Luke’s Gospel, we see the same dynamic as St. John; Martha is anxious and Mary has chosen the better part. Martha speaks to our Lord in a manner that many of us could relate to; Martha tells Jesus what to do. How many times do we go to the Lord and tell him what we want and what he needs to do?

Mary has indeed chosen the better part because she sits at the feet of our Lord. When we come to Mass, we could have a bit of both Martha and Mary in our demeanor. At Mass, we are called to be like Mary; sitting or kneeling in contemplation, listening to the Lord. Yet many times we could be like Martha, and we focus on what other people are doing during Mass.

Judging others and being critical of others and telling the Lord how he needs to fix them is not the best way to spend our time with the Lord at the Holy Sacrifice. We worship together at Mass as brothers and sisters in the Lord, and we lift each other up in prayer, but when it comes to what matters, your presence at Mass is about your need to grow closer to our Lord; to have that meaningful relationship.

Let us stop telling the Lord what he needs to do to others and let us, like Mary, ask the Lord to change our hearts so we may sit at his feet and bask in his love.

God bless