The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods are a community of vowed Catholic women religious. Inspired by our foundress Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, we are passionate about our lives of prayer, education, service and advocacy.
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Live joyfully! Single, Catholic women ages 18-42 are invited to explore a fulfilling life as a Sister of Providence. All women and men of faith are invited to join the family of Providence as Providence Associates.
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? Tel 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.”
Reflection
“It is not necessary that you should have a feeling sense of the Divine Presence during your daily occupations; that is not practicable in our vocation of an active life. Make a good offering … to God in the morning, and then from time to time during the day … Know that in sewing for the children, … you merit as much as if you were in prayer …” – Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, letter to Sister Mary Xavier at Vincennes, Indiana, October 21, 1855.
Today’s Gospel is brief, but it contains one of the largest challenges of living a life patterned after Jesus and what may be the most fundamental underlying philosophical lens of modern faith.
On the one hand, we have Martha; her name means “mistress of the house.” She is a woman of action, of hospitality, and she’s quite practical. If we need to get things done, she’s the one we want in charge.
On the other hand, we have Mary; her name has many meanings, among them “bitterness” but also “beloved.” She’s associated with the sea, with rebellion, but also with being the one we’ve wished for at length. She seems quiet, but when she speaks, her words are powerful. We don’t hear of her doing many things, but again, when she does do something, it’s usually no small thing, but it is easily dismissed or overlooked.
Martha represents our call to action. Jesus told us to love our neighbors, feed them, clothe them, and visit them when they’re sick or imprisoned. Mary represents contemplative prayer. She sits “idly” at the feet of Jesus, listening, adoring, taking it all straight to her heart. Jesus told us to pray with humble hearts, in secret, daily and persistently; blessed are the meek, the por in spirit, the peacemakers.
So, which is it? Who are we called to look to as the model for our own lives in this story? We are not an “either/or” people. We’re a “both/and” people. Pope Francis is quoted as saying, “You pray for the hungry. Then, you feed them. This is how prayer works.”
Trusting in Providence means that we have to be both Martha and Mary. We can’t ignore the work we’re called to do; it must be done. However, we also are called by Jesus in this Gospel passage to “choose the better part” and give up being anxious and worried.
The Benedictine community has the motto ora et labora (pray and work) – integrate the two and balance them. If we have to prioritize, we prioritize prayer, but we do so with the understanding, as Saint Mother Theodore said, that sometimes, the best prayer is our work when done for the love of God and others.
Prayer in the Providence Community is largely an act of on-going discernment – collectively and individually – on how our prayer may be made manifest in actions for the mission of love, mercy and justice. We trust Divine Providence will guide the next steps we take or show us which way to go.
Action
If you don’t regularly take time for prayer each day, how might you consider doing so, even for a few minutes? If you do have a regular daily practice of prayer, what action(s) does this lead you to for the sake of others? Consider ways you might pray through the activity of your day.
Brad Crites is a Providence Associate and former webmaster and adjunct faculty member at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. He specializes in teaching and learning as well as organizational culture and change dynamics. He is committed to philanthropy and community development as a Lilly Scholar Alumnus. He currently works for Purdue University as an Educational Technology Consultant. Brad lives with his wife, Tiffany, and their children, Brooklyn, Brett, and Brentley on their historic family farm near Solsberry, Indiana.
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