The Gospel for the memorial of Our lady of the Rosary is taken from Luke 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 this 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. Jesus in this story has two ways of understanding the way in which we spend time with God. One is doing everything we can to make ourselves in our life and what we do and what we think to make it all what God wants, like setting the perfect dinner table and making the perfect food. And that is a way of honoring our guests. But what people really want, what God wants to teach Martha, is it’s not about the setting.

It’s about the interchange that happens when people are together, eating a meal, sharing their wisdom, sharing their struggles. It’s about intimacy. And that’s what God wants with us. He doesn’t want us presenting something that we work on so that it’s as perfect as possible. No, he just wants us to be ourselves in his presence, to speak and to listen and to learn. Take a few moments to reflect upon these thoughts, and then I will close with a prayer.

Foreign closing prayer. Father, everything you say to us through Jesus, through your Holy Spirit, is always focused on the one thing. A closeness with you, a oneness with you, an ability to spend time listening to you and. And not thinking so much or working so hard. Bless us with that kind of contemplative spirit. And we ask that in Jesus name, amen.