Although vital, practical action will only be “sterile activism” if it doesn’t stem from hearing God’s Word, the pope declared on Sunday.
The pope talked about the Gospel account of Jesus visiting the sisters Mary and Martha in Bethany in his message delivered prior to the Angelus prayer on July 17.
Jesus “thanks Martha for her work. The 85-year-old Francis spoke from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
“He wants to make her understand that there is a new order of priorities, distinct from the one she had followed up until then.
He said, “Mary had sensed that there is a ‘greater portion’ that must be assigned first position.”
Everything else follows, like a stream that emerges from the source.
Therefore, we ask: What is this “better part”? It entails hearing what Jesus has to say.
Around 12,000 people attended the pope’s weekly sermon in St. Peter’s Square, according to Vatican gendarmes.
According to the Gospel of Luke, Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to him speak while Martha was occupied with serving.
Then Martha requests the Master to tell Mary to assist her, according to Francis.
The criticism Martha has is not out of place, and we would tend to agree with her.
But Jesus corrects her, saying, “Martha, Martha, you worry and are preoccupied with many things, but few things are required.
The finer part Mary selected won’t be taken away from her.
“The word of Jesus is not abstract,” he insisted, “but a teaching that touches and shapes our life, changes it, frees it from the opaqueness of evil, satisfies it, and infuses it with a joy that does not pass.”
“Mary picked the better option, which is Jesus’ word. She gives it first position as a result, pausing to listen.
The remainder will follow, he said.
According to Pope Francis, practical effort has significance, but it should come after hearing God’s word, not before it.
It needs to be infused with his Spirit. In the absence of that, it is reduced to fussing and worrying about several issues, and it is reduced to sterile activism,” he emphasised.
The pope also offered suggestions on how to emulate Mary: begin each day with scripture.
He advised Catholics to meditate on God’s Word for a while in the morning before getting started on their hectic day.
“Let’s question ourselves: When I begin my day, do I go right into the tasks at hand, or do I first look to the Bible for inspiration?” said he.
“The day will certainly acquire a tone marked by that word, which has the capacity to orient our acts according to the will of the Lord,” he added. “If we leave the house in the morning having a word of Jesus in mind.”
He advised taking advantage of the summer’s slower pace.
He remarked that it was getting harder and harder to find time to meditate these days.
“The pace of life for many individuals is frantic and tiresome. Opening the Gospel and reading a brief chapter from it each day while reading carefully and without rushing can be beneficial during the summer.
“Let us allow ourselves to be challenged by those pages, questioning how our lives, my lives, are going and whether or not they are in harmony with what Jesus teaches.”