Let’s take a little deeper look at today´s Gospel passage. We can understand Martha’s frustration. Jesus shows up with at least twelve disciples. They will all need to eat. The food is not going to prepare itself, and Mary is being no help. Similarly, you might say to me, “What, I should not take care of my children, or my sick spouse, and instead go off someplace to pray? That doesn’t make sense.” You are right! What we need to do is not separate the work of Martha and the prayers of Mary, but combine them. We should become, let´s say, Marthacized Marys. How about praying while you drive? Why not have rosary beads in your car? If your work is more than fifteen minutes away, you’ll have time to say a rosary. Or maybe put on a religious stations. Basically, there are things that even a busy person can do to cultivate a daily prayer life. I have a luxury as a priest that most of you do not have. I can schedule daily prayer in the morning, while you might be busy with taking care of children, making breakfast, etc. If you can make a bit of a prayer schedule for yourself, do so, and keep it. If you can’t, then at least make the morning offering. When you wake up and wash up give God your day and ask Him to walk with you through all the developments of the day. When we walk alone in the world, we don’t do so well. But when we walk with the fLord, well, I, we, can do all things in Him who strengthens us. The morning offering helps us make the entire day a prayer. But why? Why do we need to pray every day? We need to pray because we live, as Sheldon Vanaukin writes in his autobiography, A Severe Mercy, we live under the mercy of God. We are dependent on God to give meaning and purpose to our lives. We recognize that the only real peace we have in our lives is the peace that
comes from Him and flows back to Him, the Peace that only He can give. We need to pray because we need to adore Him. We need to pray because we need to thank Him for His many gifts. We need to pray because we always need to seek His Forgiveness. And we need to make our petitions to the Lord: prayers for our family, our marriages in your case, priesthood in my case, prayers for the sick we know, prayers for those suffering throughout the world, prayers to end the horrible events we have blasted to us in the news every day. There is much for which we need to pray. The Lord is one of us. He shares our human nature. He understands how we can get so tied up by the demands of the day. He also knows how much we need to spend time with Him. If we can find time to be alone in silent prayer, we should treasure this time. But if we can’t, we shouldn’t give up on daily prayer. After all, we don’t have to choose between being Marthas or Marys. We can be Marthacized Marys, people who pray through the events of our day in the best o our capabilities • AE

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(WE RECOMMEND) A COUPLE OF SUMMER READS

Fr. Agustin Schedule for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (2022)

Saturday July 16, 2022

12.00 p.m. Mass for Reception into the Catholic Churc of Mrs. Katherine M.

3.30 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confessional)

5.00 p.m. (English Mass @ Main Church)

Sunday July 17, 2022

7.30 a.m. Holy Mass (English Mass @ Main Church)

10.00 a.m. Holy Mass (English Mass @ Main Church)

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XVI Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario (Ciclo C)

Verano del 2022. Vacaciones. La inmensa mayoría interrumpirá su trabajo, se liberará de la esclavitud diaria de una ocupación forzada e iniciará un modo de vida diferente. Pero, ¿qué es este tiempo libre? ¿en qué se ocupa? ¿es verdaderamente libre? ¿qué es descansar? ¿cómo puede descansar y renovarse una persona? Son preguntas que pocos se plantearán mientras meten el traje de baño en la maleta o echan el último vistazo al mapa de carreteras. Para muchos, lo importante es huir. Escapar de esa cotidianeidad que agobia, aburre y asfixia. Consolarse de la vida anodina y penosa de cada día. Otros vivirán comprando diversión y consumiendo, de manera incontenible, playas, paisajes, restaurantes de todas clases. No es extraño que ciertas vacaciones terminen agotando a bastantes y que este tiempo libre haga a muchos más esclavos aún de la trivialidad y más prisioneros de la superficialidad y el consumismo. Cuánto bien podrían hacernos a todos las palabras de Jesús alabando la actitud de escucha de María, sentada serenamente a sus pies. Son palabras que nos deben hacer pensar: «Marta, Marta: andas inquieta y nerviosa con tantas cosas. Sólo una es necesaria. María ha escogido la mejor parte». Necesitamos aprender el arte de escuchar. Necesitamos hacer silencio, curarnos de tanta prisa, detenernos despacio en nuestro interior, sincerarnos con nosotros mismos, sentir la vida a nuestro alrededor, sintonizar con las personas, escuchar la llamada silenciosa de Dios. No se trata de buscar el silencio por el silencio, sino de reencontrarnos a nosotros mismos, enraizarnos más sinceramente en nuestro ser, y, sobre todo, escuchar al que es la fuente de la vida. Dedicar un tiempo de nuestras vacaciones a estar sencillamente en silencio, a la escucha de nuestra pobre vida y a la escucha de la ternura de Dios, puede resultar insoportable al comienzo, pero puede ser una experiencia de renacimiento gozoso. Con frecuencia, nuestra oración está tan llena de nuestras peticiones, preocupaciones e intereses, que nos resulta difícil encontrarnos con el Dios vivo. Y, sin embargo, lo que cambia el corazón del hombre y lo renueva es la comunicación con ese Dios Viviente. Descubrir en lo más profundo de mí, allí donde yo estoy solo y donde ningún otro puede penetrar la paz, la reconciliación y la ternura de ese Dios que me ama tal como soy • AE

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LECTURAS (y música) PARA EL VERANO

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