Memory of the Mother of the Lord

Memorial of Martha, Mary and Lazarus from Bethany, friends of Jesus. Prayer for all those who are gravely ill and dying. Remembrance of the people sick with AIDS.

Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.
The child you shall bear will be holy.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

John 11,19-27

and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming she went to meet him. Mary remained sitting in the house. Martha said to Jesus, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died, but even now I know that God will grant whatever you ask of him.' Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.' Martha said, 'I know he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day.' Jesus said: I am the resurrection. Anyone who believes in me, even though that person dies, will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? 'Yes, Lord,' she said, 'I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.'

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Look down, O Lord, on your servants.
Be it unto us according to your word.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Today the Church remembers Martha, Mary and their brother Lazarus. It is family of fiends of Jeus whose names we see often in the Gospels. By welcoming Jesus in their home, they become a model for us. he Gospel of John recounts a dramatic moment in the life of this family: Lazarus, seriously ill, dies, and Jesus decides to go to Bethany with his disciples. Martha goes to meet Jesus and receives him, while Mary sits at home. "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." says Martha. It sounds like a rebuke, but it is already a testimony of faith as she recognizes that Jesus' presence is life-giving. These words of Lazarus' sister put us beside the waiting of so many sick, so many elderly and so many women and men abandoned and left alone without any care. Martha's prayer reminds us that Jesus is never actually far from the lives of those who suffer. He, like his friend Lazarus, makes himself close to those who are in sickness and calls us to follow him. Each disciple must cultivate human feelings in his or her heart that help build a society of solidarity, fraternity and therefore humanity. This requires conversion of heart, that is, the maturation of the same feelings that Jesus had for Lazarus. Jesus was moved by the death of his friend, to the point of tears, and he asked to be led to his tomb. To Martha he said: "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" This is the question he asks everyone to kindle a light of hope. And Martha answers: "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world." Let us make Martha's profession of faith our own.