AIC TRAINING BOOKLET 2014 - MAY - Let us be enchanted by St Vincents Project

REFLECTION FOR MAY:

Martha and Mary: Contemplation and Action

Text: Selina Surez Fermn --- Translation: Father Charlie Plock

Introduction:
As Vincent took his initial steps in ministry he was accompanied by women and that reality reminds us of
the many women who accompanied Jesus from the time of his initial preaching in Galilee. We remember
especially Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus. Both of these women were very hospitable toward
Jesus but they had very distinct personalities. We find that one could be characterized by her words and
actions and the other by her contemplation and prayer. Let us reflect on Martha and Mary in todays world.

Development of the Theme:

AIC is an Association that is composed primarily of women and for the most part, our service is directed
toward women. That reality leads us to reflect on what we can learn from these women whom we serve
and whom we could refer to as biblical women, women like those that we find in both the Old and the New
Testament.
Without a doubt the first woman whom we are called to follow and imitate is our heavenly mother, the Virgin
Mary. The greatness of Mary, who was proclaimed as blessed among women (Luke 1:42), is found in her
ability to reach out to others and her commitment. Mary was a humble and trusting woman, the handmaid
of the Lord (Luke 1:38).
Among these many women we also find Martha and Mary who, as we will see in this presentation, are
models for our activity and service, models for our Vincentian commitment.
Martha was the elder of the sisters and did many of the household tasks; she was a very active, talkative,
restless and a very obliging woman. Very attentive to detail, she prepared the meals and served at the
table; she was attentive to the guests and when they were over-bearing and demanding, she herself could
become flippant and even stubborn at times.
The younger sister, Mary, was at her side. She was calm, reflective and out-going. She remained seated
at the feet of their friend from Galilee, attentively listening to him as he spoke.
These sisters teach us that their experiences in life are still valid at the present time. Indeed, we have to
serve in the various places where we find ourselves and we have to struggle against the various forms of
poverty. At the same time Martha and Mary teach us that we have to deepen our faith and that at all times
and in all places we need to minister together and thus serve our Lord, Jesus Christ. Like Vincent de Paul
we must be willing to ask the question: Lord, if you were in my place, how would you act on this
occasion? (SVP:XI:348; ES:XI:240; CCD:XI:314). Vincent recommended that we should be ever mindful
of our encounter with Christ in prayer. In fact, he emphasized prayer when he stated: what food is to the
body, prayer is to the soul (SVP:IX:416; ES:IX:381; CCD:XI:327).
Vincents plan to provide for the spiritual and material needs of the poor obliges us to honor the love of
Our Lord, a love that we, by the manner in which we serve the poor, can reveal to those men and women
living in situations of poverty. Thus we are challenged to clothe ourselves more fully in Vincentian
spirituality and invited to engage in a process of on-going training and preparation so that we might better
respond to the present situations of poverty.
We are to provide for the spiritual and material needs of our brothers and sisters and to encourage their
participation in this process so that they become actively involved in promoting their development and the
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AIC TRAINING BOOKLET 2014 - MAY - Let us be enchanted by St Vincents Project

development of their community. We are challenged to empower people because then, as Vincent stated,
the poor will evangelize us (cf. Coste XI:201) and this in turn establishes a good relationship between
those who are assisting and those who are being assisted. We should remember that our plans and
projects ought to be such that they transform the lives of those who are excluded from participation in
society. Thus we imitate Vincent, who wanted to alleviate the miseries that he discovered in society, and at
the same time we imitate Christ, who attacked the causes of poverty.
We cannot remain on the level of piety. It is not enough to go to all the meetings, to recite all our prayers
and to participate in the Eucharist. Indeed, if we do not serve our brothers and sisters who live in various
situations of poverty, then we are not authentic Christians and we have not learned how to love Jesus who,
before becoming present in the Eucharist, served his disciples. In the Eucharist we find both the element of
service and the element of prayer and those who believe that one dimension is more important that the
other are actually misinterpreting the Eucharist. Both prayer and service are equally important if we are to
be authentic volunteers on behalf of our association and if our activity is to be motivated by love. Indeed,
we see that both prayer and service were part of Jesus life. Love has to be shared with others and this
sharing is done through service. We are exhorted to imitate Jesus who washed the feet of his disciples
during the Last Supper. Three things will endure: faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love.
The Christian life means that we are filled with and guided by the Word of God and that we place ourselves
in a position to serve our brothers and sisters. One without the other is meaningless. Nevertheless, the
encounter with the Lord is fundamental. Therefore we pray that we might learn how to combine our action
with prayer and thus learn how to balance the Martha and the Mary that is part of each one of us.

Personal and Community Reflection:

Let us meditate on the following words of our beloved founder, Vincent de Paul:

How little it takes to be very holy: to do the will of God in all things (SVP:II:36; ES:II:34;
CCD:II:47).
God calls you to make your prayer, and at the same time he calls you to that poor, sick person.
That is called leaving God for God (SVP:X:595; ES:IX:1125; CCD:X:478).

What do these words mean to us today?

Activities and Questions:

Take a moment to reflect on how the characteristics of Martha and Mary are present in your own life.
What must be changed in order to become a person who balances prayer and action?
What initiatives can we take to improve our time of prayer and our union with Christ and with Mary?
What initiatives can we take to improve our service as a group, that is, to better our service on behalf of
our brothers and sisters to whom we minister?

Prayer and Hymn

AIC aisbl, Rampe des Ardennais 23, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium -- +32 (0) 10 45 63 53 -- info@aic-international.org