"Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her." - Luke 10:42

Today in our gospel, we were introduced to a story where there were two sisters namely, Martha and Mary. In this story, Jesus went to a village and Martha welcomed Him with all the formalities she could offer, for Jesus was their special guest. She was basically like a typical Filipino nakapag may bisita, they would do all the official duties of hosting a guest. On the other hand, Mary, her sister, was spending time listening to Jesus instead of helping her sister. Of course, when situations like these happen, we would always react like Martha. When we do all the work we nag, we complain and compare to others on how big you have already contributed. Kung sa tagalog pa, nagbibilangan na.Dapat tumulong din ang iba. But looking back at the gospel, Jesus said to Martha, “You are anxious and worried about many things. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

To deeply understand this gospel, sino na ba ditto naka experience mag plan or organize ng events whether sa school ba, so bahay or sa work? Diba when we organize events, we are too caught up with how we could make the event successful? Or we’re too pressured if our guests would be comfortable, so we stress out on making sure everything is going well as we’ve planned? We overthink, instead of just appreciating and enjoying the event we have prepared.

Kapag nasa simbahan tayo attending mass, were we truly sincere inside the church? Or do we receive the Eucharist halfheartedly because we couldn’t help but check our cellphones right away when the priest is still giving his homily? Or in serving God in this ministry, are we truly serving him wholeheartedly, or do we become inconsistent by not listening to God’s word. 

My point here is that, we sometimes have our troubled/misplaced priorities and I too am guilty of that. There will always be a time wherein I thought I was giving my all in serving God through this ministry. I would always accept responsibilities given to me and I would always go to church, thinking that these practices would make me a better person. It actually did, but my relationship with God wasn’t really that fruitful. Every year I would serve God through this ministry, but little did I know, I failed to recognize the things that were most important to Him. Lately I would still forget to offer even just a simple prayer to Him before going to sleep. When attending the mass, I would sometimes space out minutes after the priest would start his homily. Just like Martha, I was too focused on formalities instead of having a personal connection with Jesus.

Brothers and sisters, we are called to be like Mary. Jesus reveals himself everywhere and in everyone. But when our ears are attuned by prayer with him, we learn his language and listen. If we spend time at his feet, we will be able to recognize him everywhere. In our service with God, we should always remember the real essence, which is to have a healthy relationship with him. Let us be reminded that aside from all the responsibilities we have in this ministry, we also have to create a personal quality time with God. How? By reading the bible frequently, by communicating with God in every chance that we have and by always putting God at the center of everything that we do. Together, let us all be one in choosing the better part in our spiritual lives.

- AA Mascarinas