SIXTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
There are two types of hospitality: the hospitality of giving and the hospitality of presence. Both are important. Both are necessary. Martha in today’s Gospel is busy preparing a meal to welcome Jesus to her home. She is doing a beautiful deed. She represents the hospitality of giving. Mary, her sister, sits quietly and attentively at the feet of the Lord, listening to His words. She represents the hospitality of presence. Jesus commended Mary and assured her that she had ‘chosen the better part’. In so doing, He was not condemning Martha, but rather lauding the value of listening and silence in our everyday lives. Everything that’s created comes out of silence. God speaks most powerfully in the silence, but our world no longer hears Him because it is constantly speaking. He gets lost in the noise. The challenge then for all of us is to create ‘Mary moments’ in a ‘Martha world’. Creating moments of ‘non-
doing’ each day is essential nourishment for the soul. Mary chose the better part
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