To hear this letter read by Ever, click here:
Dear Friend,
One glance at next week’s Church calendar and the Memorial of Saints Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, and we may naturally begin to ponder Level 3 of our Trinity Houses, Household Economy. We may start asking ourselves, “Am I anxious and worried about many things?”
As you may recall, Martha figured into a story that is particularly hard for most of us to hear today—when we may wear our “busyness” as a badge of prestige. While Mary “sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak,” Martha hustled! She got stuff done. But accomplishment only gets us so far.
Put yourself in Martha’s shoes. You’re exhausted after a long day. You’re hosting guests with no one to help, and you’re beginning to feel a little resentful. You finally go to Jesus to vent your feelings, and instead of hearing words of comfort, you hear this:
“Martha, Martha, [insert your name here], you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” (Lk. 10:41-42) Ouch!
These words hit us hard. Our rough estimate is that 80-90% of our waking time at home is spent in Martha-like work—preparing meals, washing dishes, cleaning, paying bills, doing yardwork, and tending the many systems that go into a well-functioning household.
Honestly, if Jesus stepped into our homes, wouldn’t most of us be similarly chastised and told that Mary—who appears to be accomplishing nothing!—has chosen “the better part?” Probably.
But if we view this as an either/or—either “we hustle” or “we sit,” we’d be missing something important. When we take seriously the communion we find with the Lord in Level 1, Faith Life—most tangibly in the Eucharist during Sunday Mass—we are then able to carry this communion into every level of our Trinity House.
Yes, on any given day in our homes and families, we look a lot like Martha. But if we have “sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak” on the Sabbath and throughout the week, then we too are able to choose the “better part.” (To go deeper, check out our post on “Carrying Communion Through Your Week“.)
We can maintain communion in small and concrete ways by:
- Beginning our work in the home with the sign of the cross;
- Entrusting our work to the Lord with a prayer such as “O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything;”
- Pausing when feeling overwhelmed, and asking the Lord for help;
- Observing healthy limits on our Martha-like propensity to get stuff done;
In the end, no matter how much work we get done, may we always do it having first chosen “the better part.” Saints Mary and Martha, pray for us!
> Check out Carl Olson’s “Mary, Martha, and ‘The Better Part‘” (Catholic World Report), where he writes, “Everything that Martha did was good. Yet in pursuing good things, she overlooked the greatest good.”
> Let’s not forget that Martha is a saint too! In “A Word in Defense of Martha” (Catholic Thing), Alan Anderson writes that Martha often “gets something of a bad rap.”
> “Contemplation fills action with truth, goodness, and beauty,” writes Hans Boersma in “Both Active and Contemplative” (First Things), a challenging reflection on the Mary-Martha tension. More Household Economy Tools…
> Our Heaven in Your Home Workshop is now online (just input your name and email to gain immediate access). You’ll be hearing more about this exciting development within the week!
> If you’re new to the Heaven in Your Home Letters, welcome! Our aim here is to inspire, equip, and encourage you in practical ways.
> As always…feedback, suggestions, or questions? We love hearing from you! Drop us a line at contact@trinityhousecommunity.org.
