Deacon Tom's Homily Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

IN OUR GOSPEL TODAY, WE SEE Martha, the perfect hostess, providing outstanding hospitality for Jesus, her guest. While her sister, Mary, sits at Jesus’ feet, listening intently to His Words, just as disciples for hundreds and hundreds of years before her, sat at their masters’ feet.

JESUS TELLS US TODAY THAT MARY has chosen the better part, letting us know, as His disciples, that we are to spend our days sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening intently to His Words. But, how are we to do this? We have responsibilities; we have a job!

WE DO THIS BY COMBINING OUR work and our prayer so that all day our hearts are joined to God.

ONE WAY TO ACCOMPLISH THIS IS BY briefly lifting up our heart to God dozens of times during the course of the day. Upon rising, for example, we can offer our whole day to God by saying something like: “O my God, I offer You this day/All that I shall think and do and say/Uniting it with what was done/On earth, by Jesus Christ Your Son.” Or, if that’s too long, we could simply say, “Dear God, I offer You this day.”

AT LUNCHTIME, WE CAN SAY, “I LOVE You, Lord Jesus; thank You for all Your Love.” And again, often throughout the day we can ask Jesus to help us and say to Him often, “Praise You, Lord Jesus.” We spend our whole day adoring the Lord and receiving His Blessings.

THE HOLY SPIRIT, DWELLING WITHIN us, will give us the words to say. He will help us to pray frequently.

THEN, WHETHER WE’RE GETTING washed and dressed to go to work, or whether we’re picking up the children after school, or simply putting a box of Cheerios into our ShopRite cart, we can possess Our Blessed Lord in as great tranquility as if we were on our knees in front of the Blessed Sacrament! We come to realize that we are never alone!

A FEW YEARS AGO, A MAN NAMED Dave was bedridden with terminal cancer. He had a chair moved right up next to his bed so he could picture Jesus sitting there next to him. Whenever Dave was alone, he would converse with Jesus, talking to Him, praying to Him, listening to Him.

WHEN DAVE DIED, HIS DAUGHTER called his best friend to tell him that Dave had just passed away. “When I was leaving the house around 2 o’clock,” she explained, “My father called me over to his beside and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store about an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange. Apparently, just before Daddy died, for some reason, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside his bed.” JESUS HAS PROMISED US, “AND behold, I am with you always, until the end of the world.”