Archbishop Dolan's Thought for the Week

July 29, 2008 - Year of St. Paul

Dear Friends united in love and service of Jesus Christ and His Church:

Maybe it’s because I enjoy a hearty meal . . . 

Perhaps it’s because I have so often been the recipient of gracious hospitality. . .

Or, it could just be that my dear grandma -- “Nonnie Martie” -- had her name . . .

. . . whatever, I have always loved St. Martha and today is her feast day.

We know her well from the gospels. She, her sister Mary, and her brother Lazarus, were among Our Lord’s most cherished friends. He so enjoyed their hospitality at their home in Bethany, just a couple miles walk outside of Jerusalem. It was Martha who welcomed Jesus and cooked for Him.

What can we learn from her?

For one, the beauty of hospitality.

St. Benedict observed, “venit hospes, venit Christus” -- “When a guest comes, Christ comes.”

That was literally true for St. Martha. To heartily welcome guests, to make them feel at home, to see that they enjoy a good meal and can rest and relax . . . yes, hospitality is a real virtue and St. Martha exemplifies it.

Two, we can learn the joy of friendship. Yes, Jesus Christ is true God, but He is also true man. So, He very much savored the human blessing of rich companionship with others.

We know how close He was with Martha, Mary and Lazarus.

We thank God for our friends, for those whom we trust, relax around, confide in, as Jesus did with St. Martha.

Three, this feast of St. Martha helps us appreciate those behind the scenes. Martha was the one cooking in the kitchen, while her sister and brother chatted with the Lord. There was work to be done, she knew, if we were going to welcome our guest properly, enjoy his friendship, and put out a decent meal.

At any big parish event, my first pastor would always say to me, “Make sure you go back to the kitchen and thank all the workers and stick around when the party’s over to thank the clean-up workers. They’re behind the scenes and don’t get any credit.”

They’re the St. Martha’s. There’s a lot of them in life; there’s a lot of them in the Church, thank God.

Hospitality . . . friendship . . . the great example of those behind the scenes . . . good lessons from St. Martha.

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan

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