Saint Martha; Mary & Lazarus

SEVENTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

 July 29, Thursday 

Saint Martha; Mary & Lazarus

Introduction

On January 26, 2021, Pope Francis ordered the inscription of Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus in the General Roman Calendar to replace the current celebration of Saint Martha alone. Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus are celebrated each year as an obligatory memorial on July 29.
We celebrate the memory of the three friends of Jesus of whom the Gospel tells us, because of what they represented in his life and what they exemplify for ours: they made their hearts and homes a place of rest and joy for the Lord, as well as offering them his trusting hospitality and restorative affection shortly before he began to walk the paths of his Passion and death.

Opening Prayer

Today, Lord, we honor Martha, Mary and Lazarus.
Friends of Jesus.
Give us their faith in Christ, as the Lord of Life
and the first fruit of the Resurrection.
Make us willing servants
to one another
and attend to their needs.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Reading 1: 1 Jn 4:7-16

Beloved, let us love one another,
because love is of God;
everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.
In this way the love of God was revealed to us:
God sent his only-begotten Son into the world
so that we might have life through him.
In this is love:
not that we have loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us,
we also must love one another.
No one has ever seen God.
Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.

This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,
that he has given us of his Spirit.
Moreover, we have seen and testify
that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.
Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God remains in him and he in God.
We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

God is love, and whoever remains in love
remains in God and God in him.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, 10-11

 (2)  I will bless the Lord at all times.
or:
R.    (9)  Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R.    I will bless the Lord at all times.
or:
R.    Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R.    I will bless the Lord at all times.
or:
R.    Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R.    I will bless the Lord at all times.
or:
R.    Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R.    I will bless the Lord at all times.
or:
R.    Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Fear the LORD, you his holy ones,
for nought is lacking to those who fear him.
The great grow poor and hungry;
but those who seek the LORD want for no good thing.
R.    I will bless the Lord at all times.
or:
R.    Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Alleluia: Mt 5:10

 Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness;

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: Jn 11:19-27

Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died].
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
"Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you."
Jesus said to her,
"Your brother will rise."
Martha said to him,
"I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day."
Jesus told her,
"I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?"
She said to him, "Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world."

Or: Lk 10:38-42

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."

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God:
At every Eucharist
the Lord sits us at his table and serves us.
May he fill us with his love and devotion
so that we may joyfully serve our brothers and sisters
without imposing ourselves on them,
but with total simplicity
for we know that in them we are serving
Jesus Christ our Lord himself.

Prayer after Communion

Our Lord God:
In this Eucharist
your Son Jesus Christ has fed us
with the Bread of resurrection and life.
We ask you, strengthened by this food,
may he lead us away from all passing things,
so that, following the example of Martha, Mary and Lazarus,
we may grow on earth
in true love for you and rejoice in heaven,
contemplating you eternally.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Commentary

Life without End

Today, is the first time the Church celebrates the memoria of the siblings Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Recognizing their welcome of and witness to Christ, Pope Francis has approved changing the liturgical feast of St. Martha on July 29 to include her sister and brother, Mary and Lazarus, on the church’s universal calendar of feast days.
The Gospel brings us the account of Jesus reaching out to the family of Martha and Mary who have just lost their brother.

How often have we come across people losing faith because of the death of someone in the family? Death leads us to doubt God’s presence. If God exists, why is there death?

Martha believed in the resurrection of the dead. She is convinced that, at the end of the world, her brother Lazarus will return to life together with all the righteous and will take part in the Kingdom of God.

This is her way of understanding the resurrection - perhaps similar to that of many us - Christians today. That resurrection is too far away and does not make any sense. Why would God let one die only to bring him back to life again? Why make one wait that long?

This is the biggest lesson, the Lord wants to give us today. Our faith does not ask us believe in a death and a resurrection that will take place at the end of the world. We are called to believe that the person redeemed by Christ does not die.

What does this mean? To explain this there is a need to resort to comparisons.

Let us suppose that in the womb of a mother there are twins. They can see, understand, and speak to each other during the nine months of gestation. They only know their own little world and cannot imagine what life is like outside. They do not know that people marry, work, and travel. They have no idea that there are animals, plants, flowers, beaches. The only thing they know is the kind of life they have inside the womb.

After nine months, the twins are born by turn. And the one who was born a few seconds later and remained, even for a short time, in the womb of the mother, would certainly think: “My brother is dead. He’s not here anymore. He disappeared and left me …” and he cries. But the brother is not dead. He only left a restricted, short, limited life and went into another form of life.

The disciple—Jesus says to Martha—does not experience death at all but is born to a new form of life. He enters the world of God, takes part in a life that is no longer subject to limits and death. It is a life without end.