Maybe Mary was Prettier than Martha

There are certain scriptures that I'm pretty sure resonate with all women.  One is the poor woman who was suffering from hemorrhages.  I know that I thought of her every time I menstruated.  (Mark 5: 25-34) There is another story that comes to mind more often.  This is the story of Mary and Martha.  (Luke 10: 38-42) I know the point Jesus was making.  Faith is important and work can wait.  But I would have had a different ending.  I would have Jesus saying, "Oh Martha, you are right.  One person should not be left out of my teaching and company.  Let us all (including Jesus [after all, He broke rules, why not this one] and Martha) and prepare our meal together.  We can talk in the kitchen and carry on while we eat and enjoy each other's company.
     But alas, I'm not Luke relating the story.  This came to mind while I was cleaning.  My cleaning consists of cleaning out my magazines.  And that means I'm doing more reading than cleaning.
   In Adam Cooper's poem in January 2018, First Things, he depicts Martha as emotionally hurt.  Yes, Jesus wasn't on her side, even though she was correct.  She needed help.  She wanted to listen to Him.  She wanted to sit at His feet, too.  She wanted His companionship.  She felt ignored.  She felt left out. She thought Jesus would understand.  Instead...Jesus rebuked her.

Here's Adam Cooper's take:

Saint Martha and the Dragon

Never a housewife weary and embattled
Looked up with more heartfelt dismay to hear
Her Lord's rebuke.  Her eyes are startled blear,
And every straining nerve of her is rattled:
She'd fought and butchered cows and bucking goats,
And hammered out the gristled-knotted flesh
(She looked for burns and bruises and the rest),
But words so hard from his mouth catch her throat.
And yet she girds her loins for this one thing,
To sit beside her sister at his feet,
While dishes burn and stewpots, seething, spill.
And later, when the serpent made a spring
At her, she stood her ground, by one thing stilled,
Lassoed it fast, and watched its eyes go sweet.

Friends Coming and Going

Time flies.  This is a picture from a while

ago.  Two friends have moved on.  I guess we wouldn't have room for new friends if we kept the old.  But it's just natural.  People move on.  Circumstances change.  Nothing remains the same.

Little Sisters' Faithful Practice of their Religion

Sister Loraine Marie Maguire, Mother Provincial Of The Denver-Based Little Sisters Of The Poor, Speaks To The Media Outside The U.S. Supreme Court In Washington March 23, 2016 After Attending Oral Arguments In The Zubik V. Burwell Contraceptive Mandate Case. CNS Photo/Joshua Roberts, Reuters

The background of the Little Sisters' faithful practice of their religion: On Jan. 17, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it had agreed to review a decision of a federal appeals court in Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania that overturned a Trump-era exemption for contraception.  The Little Sisters of the Poor are a Catholic religious order and as such are opposed to artificial contraception.  The law is forcing them to pay for their employees' birth control, which goes against their religion.

Read the rest of the article by clicking on the link.  What do you think?  Birth control is not necessary for health.  If someone wants it, let them pay for it.

Don't Befriend Your Hero

Today my "cloistered brothers" started to read The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis.  We spent an inordinate amount of time on chapter 8: 

Michael Kelley 

SHUNNING OVER-FAMILIARITY

DO NOT open your heart to every man, but discuss your affairs with one who is wise and who fears God. Do not keep company with young people and strangers. Do not fawn upon the rich, and do not be fond of mingling with the great. Associate with the humble and the simple, with the devout and virtuous, and with them speak of edifying things. Be not intimate with any woman, but generally commend all good women to God. Seek only the intimacy of God and of His angels, and avoid the notice of men.
We ought to have charity for all men but familiarity with all is not expedient. Sometimes it happens that a person enjoys a good reputation among those who do not know him, but at the same time is held in slight regard by those who do. Frequently we think we are pleasing others by our presence and we begin rather to displease them by the faults they find in us.


 Everyone had a story of how they once thought someone was really cool, but once they got to know them, they were anything but!

Deeds of Compassion

Lectio:
IS 58:7-10

Thus says the LORD:
Share your bread with the hungry,
shelter the oppressed and the homeless;
clothe the naked when you see them,
and do not turn your back on your own.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. 

Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!
If you remove from your midst
oppression, false accusation and malicious speech;
if you bestow your bread on the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted;
then light shall rise for you in the darkness,
and the gloom shall become for you like midday.

Studium: 

These verses come after the Babylonian exile.  This prophet urges the Hebrews to be faithful to the covenant by obeying all that the Lord commanded. When they follow the Lord, God's saving actions will come.  Those follow the covenant will experience God's bounty for light will dismiss the gloom.

Meditatio:

Why didn't the Lord share His bounty with His people when they were in exile? Well, He didn't abandon them.  Their prophets were there.  In fact, their advice was to tally up their assets and help each other.  Stay true to the Lord and hang in there.  This too will pass.  Jeremiah 29: 4-6

Oratio:

Lord, grant me the grace of perseverance.  Help me to not be a fair-weather follower.

Contemplatio:

The face of Christ is in everyone.

Resolutio:

I need to examine my conscience every night by going through the Corporal Works of Mercy.

The New Orientalism: Iran As A Political Commodity

The New Orientalism: Iran As A Political Commodity: Orientalism can be discussed and analyzed as the corporate institution for dealing with the Orient.  One used to define Orientalism as a Western patronizing view of the Near East.  This article by Hamid Yazdan Panah that now it means using the Near East, politically and economically.  Click on the link to understand.

Rum, Romanism, Rebellion

U.S. Supreme Court tackles anti-Catholic bigotry: The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments on a case that could upend anti-Catholic laws.

When a large wave of Catholic immigrants was coming in, a lot of animosities arose.  The slogan "Rum, Romanism, Rebellion, was used to stir up ill-will against Catholics.  Lawmakers responding to the anti-Catholic sentiments enacted laws to restrict the Catholics.  One of these laws is known as the "Blaine Amendments," which are still in effect in 37 states. These statues deny funds to religious schools, even though taxes come from all the taxpayers, religious and non-religious.

Please click on the link to read the article written by the Superintendent of Boston Catholic Schools, Thomas Carroll.