Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C - Choosing the Better Part

“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.”  Luke 10:41-42It’s only normal for each of us to desire the “better part.”  Though this may be the result of a certain selfishness within us, it may also come from a holy desire when the “better part” is identified as the will of God in our lives.  Conversely, sometimes we can tend to choose what we perceive as better for us, when in fact it’s not better at all.  This passage reveals that Mary chose something we should all desire in life.  She chose to sit at the feet of Jesus and simply be with Him.  Martha was doing a lovely service by preparing the meal and working hard, but Mary was focused in on one thing, her Lord.It’s important to acknowledge the fact that we will all have times in life when we must be more like Martha.  Work must be accomplished, chores completed, and various forms of labor will be a normal part of daily life.  But we must also daily remind ourselves that there is one thing we must never lose sight of: Being with Jesus, in silence and prayerful adoration is the most important thing we can do.  This doesn’t undermine any other tasks we have to complete each day, but it does reveal that we should never neglect that which is most important.By identifying Mary’s choice to sit at His feet, Jesus reminds us all of the importance of simply being with Him.  This is the call to the contemplative life given not only to cloistered monks and nuns, but is an invitation to us all.  We must all seek out moments of rest with Jesus throughout our busy days.Reflect, today, upon the image of Mary sitting quietly at the feet of Jesus.  Use this image as a symbolic invitation to do the same this day.  Have you prayed yet today?  Have you sat silently with our Lord?  Have you tried to enter into a deep adoration of Him through prayer and meditation?  Choose the “better part” this day and you will find that all else falls in place to a much better degree.Lord, I do love You and desire to adore You this day and always.  Help me to regularly seek moments of deep prayer with You through which I rest in Your glorious presence.  May I find moments to live this “better part” every day so that I may enjoy Your full presence forever in eternity.  Jesus, I trust in You.