7-21-19 16th Sunday: Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.

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.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

2729 The habitual difficulty in prayer is distraction.  It can affect words and their meaning in vocal prayer; it can concern, more profoundly, him to whom we are praying, in vocal prayer (liturgical or personal), meditation, and contemplative prayer. To set about hunting down distractions would be to fall into their trap, when all that is necessary is to turn back to our heart: for a distraction reveals to us what we are attached to, and this humble awareness before the Lord should awaken our preferential love for him and lead us resolutely to offer him our heart to be purified. Therein lies the battle, the choice of which master to serve.

305  Jesus asks for childlike abandonment to the providence of our heavenly Father who takes care of his children’s smallest needs: “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?.’… Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.”

From “The Great Crusade of Mercy” Testimony of Catalina Rivas (CM-3:5)

5) So, put aside all your useless thoughts. Rest and be at peace through the repose of each day created by God. Stay with Me because you are not alone; I will know how to strengthen you each moment. 

From “The Great Crusade of Salvation” Testimony of Catalina Rivas (CS-56.2)

2) Go forth, for My love and My peace are with you.  Do not fear or be anxious about the small obstacles that the adversary of souls, places in your path… I am with you. Do not compromise your health.

Each week we will be presenting a portion of the following Sunday’s readings, and linking it to relevant parts of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and messages from the Testimony of Catalina.  Pay special attention to the italicized underlined sections. This Sunday it is asked, What kind of soil will you be for the word of God? We hope this is inspiring and educational. Any comments you have are certainly welcomed.