Saints Martha and Mary
Two sisters in conflict? Ha! A story as ancient as time. Lazareth’s sisters, Martha and Mary, were no different and their story would be difficult to tell separately. The siblings were friends of Jesus and offered their home to host His meetings. Legend has it that while Jesus was visiting, Martha was diligently working to ensure the proper preparations be made…cooking, serving, etc. Mary on the other hand, sat at Jesus’ feet listening to every word He said without offering a hand to help Martha. Martha was perturbed to say the least that Mary was not doing anything to help her. But when Jesus saw Martha’s distress, He commented that Martha was too worried about many less important things and notes that Mary, who has spent the preparation time at Jesus’ feet, has “chosen the better part”.
This story is often used to talk about priorities, usually teaching that we should not be distracted with menial tasks (like Martha) and miss out on spiritual nourishment and being with Jesus (like Mary). The moral of the story would be: “Both work and worship are needed but finding a balance is not always easy.”
Martha is the patron saint of hospitality, cooks, housekeeping , waiters and waitresses. Mary of Bethany is known as the listener and disciple of Christ. She is the patron saint of spiritual studies and lectors.
Trinity’s two windows of Martha and Mary are side by side but do not include the Saints’ names. The inscription in Latin reads “Requiescant in Pace” meaning rest in peace. They were made by the Connick Window Company and donated in 1957 in memory of Anna Filkins and Martha H Gassett. Do you think maybe they could have been sisters??
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