Stanza 29 and Commentary on It in The Spiritual Canticle by St. John of the Cross
My commentary on Section 1
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 10:41,42
In his introduction to this stanza, St. John begins with the story of Mary and Martha. Sometimes we are so busy being about the “Lord’s work” that we forget for whom we’re doing the work, God, and maybe more importantly why we are doing the work, out of love for Him. We get wrapped up with things at church or things at home, or even at times being a slave to having devotional time every morning, that we miss the subject of our affection. We lose sight of God in the busyness of life.
For a while, after my wife and I moved to a new parish, I jumped into everything: from being an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion and a lector, to going to daily Mass plus Eucharistic adoration held every Wednesday at our church. If I could have been involved in more, I would have been. But then I realized that I was losing sight of the One, whom was supposed to be at the center of all these activities.
Especially at our local parish, I felt this judgmental attitude, to have everything done so properly, in reading the Scriptures, that I couldn’t focus on what I was doing or, again, for whom I was doing it. The people there were more concerned with whether or not I took the lectionary off the pulpit, or whether I got up at the right time to say the Prayer of the Faithful, than the Word of God itself that was being spoken. Eucharistic adoration was something you signed in for, and if you didn’t, you’d be looked at like you were doing something wrong. When I went to daily Mass, it was like I seeking approval from the other regular attenders, same with Eucharistic Adoration; it was more for being seen than for actually adoring Christ in the Eucharist.
Now some of this has to do with me, but the point is that I was losing sight of God in all this. So I took a step back and now am I only an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. I know how much our parish is in need of that ministry, so I decided if this is one way I can serve Christ, I will.
But does my “devotion” to devotional time even distract from God? Sometimes, I admit it does, that I feel I have an assignment to read The Spiritual Canticle. But if I remember for whom I am doing this and also allow the Spirit to lead, like He did this morning, in that I didn’t continue on with my reading of the introduction to, and commentary on, the stanza. Instead, I stopped with the verses listed above and realized this was the message I needed to hear today.
Lord, let me continue to be attentive to You and continue my exercise of love in You, not exercises, but exercise in however You would have me continue to love You. Amen.
1 Comment
July 2, 2008 at 7:10 am
Been gone for a while, catching up with folk near and far. Good luck with this struggle, we all need it. Since I garden at work and at home, I feel pressure (internal and external) to help with the church grounds, but I don’t have the energy for that, so I lead an adult group instead. We need to search for what we can do as well as what we can’t. peace