The Memorial of St Martha

Ex. 32:15-24.30-34, Jn 11:19-27. Today, we celebrate the memorial of St Martha, the sister of Lazarus, who was raised from the dead by Jesus. The same Martha was reminded by the Lord not to focus on the wrong things in life, but to focus wholly on God. There is an appraisal of Martha in today’s Liturgy: Our Lord’s words teach us that though we labour among many distractions of this world, we should have but one goal. For we are but travellers, on a journey without a fixed abode. We are on our way, not yet in our native land. We are in a state of longing, not yet of satisfaction. In today's Gospel, when Jesus came to Lazarus who died after suffering from a serious sickness for days. Martha, his sister, came to the Lord and she had faith in Him that He would be able to do what was considered impossible, that Lazarus would be raised from the dead back into life.

The people who saw that miraculous deed of God rejoiced and gave thanks to God for the love He has shown to His people. That was just a foretaste of what the Lord would do for us. Before we can tap into such privilege, we must embrace the love of God and understand how great His love for us, without any exception. He has gone through so much for our sake, to free us from bondage to sin and death. So it is just right and true for us to love Him as much as we can, to the best of our abilities. Today, we are challenged to imitate Martha and the holy saints, those who have lived their lives faithfully and like Martha, who grew in faith and showed her faith and dedication to God in believing wholeheartedly in His love, by which He has rescued and liberated us, His beloved people.

May the Lord show us His mercy and steadfast love! Amen!! Good morning and have a productive day!!!