Bishop's Message: The “Right Order” of Our Lived Catholic Experience

Last Sunday we heard the parable of the Good Samaritan, reminding us to, not only bring Christ to the other, but also, see Christ in the other. This week we hear another important parable that teaches “right order” in our ministry to one another.  

Jesus is welcomed into the home of Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus.  Mary is totally focused on our Lord, sitting with him in adoration. Martha, no doubt just as faithful as Mary, remains focused on her daily work, preparing things for Jesus in dutiful friendship.  Martha asks our Lord to tell Mary to help with the tasks at hand. Jesus responds, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. Mary has chosen the better part…"

This story illustrates the “right order” of our lived Catholic experience -- that ministry flows from worship.  In sacramental theology there is an axiom – lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi.  This Latin phrase means that our prayer leads to belief which leads to living out our faith.  The story of Mary and Martha is a reminder that you and I, each time we worship God worthily in the mass and daily prayer, are spiritually fortified to go out and minister to the world in word and deed.  

The ministry we do for the poor, the elderly, the sick, the young, and those on the fringes of society remains vitally important precisely because of the encounter we have with God in the sacraments and in prayer.  This daily work is made holy and, as such, more effective, as a direct result of our worship of God.  

During this time of Eucharistic Revival, let us, like Mary in our gospel this weekend, spend time with our Lord in adoration so that our ministry in the parish and our work in the world will be “rightly ordered” and bear much fruit.