Daily Gospel Reflection for October 6, 2015

Today’s Gospel: Luke 10:38-42

Optional Memorial of Saint Bruno, Priest

Optional Memorial of Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher, Virgin

This epic sister conflict reveals the perfect model for our lives as Catholic women and mothers! It’s easy to read this Gospel and take sides, but the truth of the matter is we all have an inner Martha and an inner Mary. It’s also easy to read this Gospel and make Martha out to be the “bad guy” sister. Really, can you imagine having the guts to whine to Jesus about cooking and serving! In Martha’s defense, the most important guest of all time was in the living room, and there sat the chief helper star struck, completely shirking all sense of responsibility and duty. I’m not gonna lie; I think I would have been a bit irritated myself.

As Catholic moms, our vocation includes the Martha stuff like cooking, cleaning, and serving. It also includes the Mary stuff like devotion, attentiveness, and focus on the better part. This Gospel should inspire us to be a balance of both sisters. We need to realize that when the cooking and serving are done as a prayerful offering to God, it is a powerful form of prayer and devotion. We also need to realize our Mary moments of complete and uninterrupted prayer have to be carved into our daily schedule. I need to read this Gospel several times and balance my Mary and Martha!

Ponder:

How can I make my Martha tasks like cooking and serving more of a prayerful offering instead of complaining about it and feeling unappreciated? How can I be more attentive and focused on Jesus like Mary?

Pray:

Jesus, draw me closer to you. Help me realize how much you want to meet me in my everyday tasks. Jesus, remind me to invite you into the cooking and serving so you can help me finish my work and have time to sit quietly in your presence and be amazed.

We thank our friends at The Word Among Us for providing our gospel reflection team with copies of Abide In My Word 2015: Mass Readings at Your Fingertips. To pray the daily gospels with this wonderful resource, visit The Word Among Us.

Copyright 2015 Sheri Wohlfert