Memorial of St. Martha
Or: Sts. Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Jesus was frequently received at their house in Bethany, and it is recorded in the Gospel of St. John that “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” (11:5). St. Martha is especially noted for her supplications and her manifestation of faith in the divinity of Jesus just before He resurrected Lazarus after four days in the tomb.
See also:
Mass Readings
First Reading – 1 Jn 4:7-16
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us. This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, 10-11
R. I will bless the Lord at all times.
or:
R. (9) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad. R.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears. R.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him. R.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him. R.
Fear the LORD, you his holy ones,
for nought is lacking to those who fear him.
The great grow poor and hungry;
but those who seek the LORD want for no good thing. R.
Gospel – Jn 11:19-27
Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died]. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”
Or: Lk 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 the 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.”
Featured Saints
Blessed Louis Martin, father of a family (†1894). Father of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus. He led an exemplary married life with his wife, Blessed Zélie Martin, and was a model Catholic father.
St. William Pinchon, bishop (†1234). Pastor of St-Brieuc (France); ardent defender of the rights of the Church and his flock.
St. Lupus of Troyes, bishop (†circa 478). Monk from the Abbey of Lérins, elected Bishop of Troyes, France. He defended the city from the fury of the Huns. Together with St. Germanus of Auxerre he fought the Pelagian heresy in England.
Blessed John Baptist Egozcuezábal Aldaz, religious and martyr (†1936). Brother of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God, who was killed near Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War.
St. Olaf, king (†1030). King of Norway, after his conversion, he attempted to spread the Faith and eradicate idolatry in his kingdom, requesting missionaries from England for this task. But he faced great resistance on the part of rebellious nobles, and was driven from his kingdom and later slain in battle.
Blesseds Louis Bertran, Mancius of the Holy Cross and Peter of Santa Maria, martyrs (†1627). The first two were Spanish missionaries, and the third a Japanese convert, all Dominicans, who were burned alive in Omura, Japan, out of hatred for the Faith.
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