THE FEAST OF SAINTS ROSE MARIE DUROCHER AND BRUNO.
FEAST OF BLESSED MARIE-ROSE DUROCHER, RELIGIOUS & FOUNDRESS,
AND ST BRUNO, FOUNDER OF THE CARTHUSIANS.
MARTHA AND MARY. SISTERS. HOLY AND DIFFERENT.
Mary has chosen the better part.
THE GOODNEWS:
"Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
"She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
"Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me."
"The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
"There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her." (Luke 10: 38 - 42).
Tuesday, 6th October in the 27th Week in Ordinary Time.
The story of two sisters Martha and Mary teaches us great lessons of faith, hope and love.
Martha and Mary are sisters and live in the same house. Their differences in outlook give Jesus a teaching opportunity to address a problem that is endemic in our society today. Our lives are distracted by too many gadgets, information overload, mindless multitasking and many other things.
Jesus says to Martha and us:
"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."
What is the better part that Mary has chosen? Mary chose to honor their Guest. Mary chose the will of God for her at this moment.
When you choose the will of God for you here and now instead of your own will, you have chosen the better part. The will of God is always the better part. In God's will is our peace. Our Shalom!
How do we know the will of God? It is not complicated at all. The easiest way is to ask God. "Lord what will You have me do?" God is our Father who wants the very best for His children. He can never deceive us. He promises us to ask and we shall receive.
God speaks to us in Sacred Scripture. Scripture is the very word of God. As you sit at the feet of Jesus like Mary each day to listen to Scripture, little by little you begin to know "the better part" for you in everything. This is what Scripture calls wisdom. Wisdom is the gift of choosing what God wants you to choose in every given situation.
Think of today's great Gospel message from another perspective.
Martha appears addicted to work. Mary is laid back and seems to relish the Sacrament of the Present Moment.
How do we get addicted to activity? What is the cause? How did it start?
Fear of man? Desire to please?
Desire to win at all cost?
Love of money?
Love of pleasure?
Jesus said to Martha:
"You are worried and distracted by many things."
In short, you are an activity addict.
What is the remedy for this hyper addiction?
"Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46: 11).
Enjoy the Sacrament of the Present Moment.
What can we do every day to help you to heal from this condition?
1. Daily Prayer.
2. Daily word of God.
3. Frequent Eucharist and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
4. Affirm constantly that God is in control.
Since you know this, do it and you will be blessed.
TWO SAINTS WHO CHOSE THE BETTER PART
Brethren, the Church gives us two witnesses today. One left a brilliant career for the silence of a mountain. The other spent her days in hard, ordinary service and kept her heart at the feet of Jesus. The Church has always taught that the faithful on earth, the souls being purified and the saints in heaven are one Body of Christ, bound together by prayer. (Cf CCC 946 - 962). The hidden prayer of the saints holds up the busy work of the whole Church.
SAINT OF THE DAY: ST BRUNO (c. 1030 - 1101). German. Priest, Hermit and Founder of the Carthusian Order.
[IMAGE: St Bruno and the Chartreuse]
Dear friends, meet a man who walked away from success to find God.
Bruno was born around 1030 in Cologne, Germany. A brilliant student, he became head of the cathedral school at Reims and taught theology for nearly twenty years. One of his pupils became Pope Urban II.
Then came the test. Manasses, the archbishop of Reims, was accused of simony, the buying of Church office. Bruno stood against him. He lost his post and his home.
In 1084, with six companions, Bruno climbed into the wild Chartreuse mountains near Grenoble. Bishop St Hugh gave them the land. They built small hermit cells around a common church. The Carthusian Order was born: silence, solitude and prayer.
Urban II later called his old teacher to Rome as adviser. Bruno obeyed. But he refused the archbishopric of Reggio and returned to solitude in Calabria. He died there on 6th October 1101.
Bruno wrote no rule. His sons wrote it later. Yet the Carthusians are known for a proud saying: never reformed, because never deformed. Their motto says it all: "Stat crux dum volvitur orbis." The Cross stands steady while the world turns.
BLESSED MARIE-ROSE DUROCHER (1811 - 1849). Canadian. Religious and Foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary.
Marie-Rose was born on 6th October 1811 in a village near Montreal, Canada, the tenth of eleven children. She longed to be a sister, but poor health closed the convent door.
When she was 18, her mother died. She went to keep house for her priest brother in Beloeil. For 13 years she was housekeeper, hostess and parish worker. Martha's work. Yet her goodness earned her the title "the saint of Beloeil."
Her bishop and her spiritual director urged her to begin a community to teach poor children. She resisted. In 1843, at Longueuil, Quebec, she founded the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary and took the name Sister Marie-Rose.
Her last six years were filled with poverty, sickness and trials. She died on 6th October 1849, on her 38th birthday. Pope St John Paul II beatified her on 23rd May 1982.
A Martha's hands. A Mary's heart.
Lord Jesus, You called St Bruno to the silence of the mountain and Blessed Marie-Rose to the service of the poor. Teach us to sit at Your feet before we serve, and let all our work flow from prayer. Amen.
October is the Month of the Holy Rosary.
Why a special month for the Holy Rosary? Because the Rosary is a very powerful prayer. It is an important prayer in the life of the Church and in the life of individual Christian.
A FAMILY THAT PRAYS THE ROSARY TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER.
Say the Holy Rosary every day in October.
Mary Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us.
For Prayers, Consecration, Litany, Testimony of Jesus about those who pray the Rosary, click the link below:
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