In his daily homily at Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis reflected on the difference between Marta and Mary in the Gospel of St. Luke. He used them as an example of finding a balance between contemplation and service.
POPE FRANCIS
“Contemplation and service: this is the path of our life. Each one of us can think to ourselves, 'How much time each day do I give to contemplating the mystery of Jesus?' And then, 'How do I work? Do I work so much that there seems to be an alienation? Or is my work consistent with my faith, work as a service that comes from the Gospel?' We would do well to consider this.”
He used St. Benedict and St. Paul as examples of people who did their work with a spirit of contemplation. He invited Christians to ask themselves if they do their work with love of God.
EXTRACT OF PAPAL HOMILY
(Source: Vatican News)
“There are so many Christians, yes, they go to Mass on Sundays, but they are always busy. They have no time for their children, they don’t play with their children. This is bad. 'I have so much to do, I’m so busy…' [they say]. And in the end they become worshipers of that religion which is busy-ness: they belong to the group of the busy, who are always doing things… But pause, gaze upon the Lord, take the Gospel, listen to the Word of the Lord, open your heart… No: always the language of the hands, always. And they do good, but not Christian good: a human good. These people lack contemplation. Martha lacked that. [She was] courageous, always going forward, taking things in hand, but lacking peace: losing time gazing upon the Lord.”
“Everything Paul did, he did with this spirit of contemplation, of gazing upon the Lord. It was the Lord who spoke from his heart, because Paul was in love with the Lord. And this is the key for not going astray: 'being in love.' In order to know which side we are on, or whether we are exaggerating because we are getting into an overly abstract, even gnostic, contemplation; or whether we are too busy; we must ask ourselves the question: 'Am I in love with the Lord? Am I certain, certain that He has chosen me? Or do I live my Christianity like this, doing things… Yes, I do this, I do that; But what does my heart do? Does it contemplate?'”
“Contemplation and service: this is the path of our life. Each one of us can think to ourselves, 'How much time each day do I give to contemplating the mystery of Jesus?' And then, 'How do I work? Do I work so much that there seems to be an alienation? Or is my work consistent with my faith, work as a service that comes from the Gospel?' We would do well to consider this.”
