July 29 Mass readings/commentary (God is like a potter & forms his people / Mary has chosen the better [ministry?] in her focus on Christ...)

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July 29, 2010
Memorial of Saint Martha


Reading 1

*** July 29 Mass readings/commentary (God is like a potter & forms his people / Mary has chosen the better [ministry?] in her focus on Christ…) ***
Jer 18:1-6

This word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
Rise up, be off to the potter’s house;
there I will give you my message.

I went down to the potter’s house and there he was,
working at the wheel.
Whenever the object of clay which he was making
turned out badly in his hand,
he tried again,
making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased.
Then the word of the LORD came to me:
Can I not do to you, house of Israel,
as this potter has done? says the LORD.
Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter,
so are you in my hand, house of Israel.


Ps 146:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6abResponsorial PsalmR. (5a)

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, O my soul;
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.
R.*** Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.***
or:
R. Alleluia.
Put not your trust in princes,
in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation.

When his spirit departs he returns to his earth;
on that day his plans perish.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God.
Who made Heaven and Earth,
the sea and all that is in them.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel:

Jesus entered a village
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
***“Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me.” ***
The Lord said to her in reply,
"Martha, Martha, 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."


.

God is the potter & we are His clay. Hopefully we are good clay & let Him work with us… I’d say most of us need a lot of work :hypno::banghead:😦

Jesus shows that Mary has chosen the “better part” of serving Him. She seems to be hanging on His every word and focusing on His person not so much His work, meaning the works of serving others phsyically… although I am sure she did both. Jesus seems to be telling Martha that there are many ministries or ways of serving… & that she shouldn’t try to take the best way away from Mary by insisting that she serve in a more logistical way…

Some saint said that contemplation is better than other kinds of works… but of course, that doesn’t mean we don’t have to be charitable with our time, $$, and other resources…

If people spent more time adoring and contemplating, this world would be a better place… instead the devil has this world… 😦
 
Our Priest brought another view on this selection that i wanted to share here. He said that Mary and Martha could be viewed as the two aspects of the one ministry to whidch we are called to participate. Service to those around us, and adequate time with God, seeking His will, hearing His word.

This particular selection suggests to him at least that we must balance both aspects of our ministry. Sure, it’s good to serve those around us with love and diligence. But we must also spend time just being with God in Meditation, in Scripture reading, in Eucharistic Adoration, etc.

He pointed also to the two “greatest commandments” Love God, and love thy neighbor. He said without both in our ministry, we run the risk, like Martha, where we feel cheated out of the “better portion.”

Even Mother Teresa, an excellent model of Martha, spent times as Mary.

Stay blest.
bob
 
Our Priest brought another view on this selection that i wanted to share here. He said that Mary and Martha could be viewed as the two aspects of the one ministry to whidch we are called to participate. Service to those around us, and adequate time with God, seeking His will, hearing His word.

This particular selection suggests to him at least that we must balance both aspects of our ministry. Sure, it’s good to serve those around us with love and diligence. But we must also spend time just being with God in Meditation, in Scripture reading, in Eucharistic Adoration, etc.

He pointed also to the two “greatest commandments” Love God, and love thy neighbor. He said without both in our ministry, we run the risk, like Martha, where we feel cheated out of the “better portion.”

Even Mother Teresa, an excellent model of Martha, spent times as Mary.

Stay blest.
bob
i agree… for the most part.

but i am wary of the word Balance…

as someone once said “Everything in moderation… even moderation”

Jesus calls us to be radical… It is radical to give up everything you own & follow Him… as He tells us to do in order to obtain eternal life… True, i don’t believe this means that we are to become actual total bums with no fixed abode & absolutely NO possessions to our name… but on the other hand… how many people do you know even come remotely close to this ideal of detaching from their possessions… ? Most of the time our possessions own us…

those who aim for “balance” usually end up MOR… and as someone else once said… being in the middle of the road usually results in being run over…
 
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