Genesis 18:1-10a
Psalm 15:2-3, 5
Colossians 1:24-28
Luke 10:38-42

“You are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is needed.” But what is that one thing?

Some would say that the one thing that Martha needs – and by extension all busy people – is time. In other words, Jesus is saying slow down Martha and smell the roses. In your busyness you are missing out on life. The problem is not so much that you’re busy, but that you’re frazzled. People, after all, have different capacities for work, but Martha had clearly exceeded hers. I think that that is a message that might resonate with our world of two-career marriages, three-car families, soccer moms, sixty hour work weeks, fast food, and all the rest. It is busy Martha, not contemplative Mary, that most of us identify with. I think that we all see the need for times when we should slow down in order to be rather than to do. We all recognize the need for more quality time in our lives – with spouses, parents, children, and friends. This is not a bad interpretation, but I’m not sure that this is what Jesus meant.

Exodus 12:37-42
Psalm 136:1, 23-24, 10-12, 13-15
Matthew 12:14-21

Exodus 12:37-42  “…This was a night of vigil for the Lord, as he led them out of the land of Egypt…”

Psalm 136: 1, 10-15 & 23-24   “…Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endures forever; Who remembered us in our abjection,…And freed us from our foes, for his mercy endures forever…”

Matthew 12: 14-21   “…I shall place my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles...”

Let us Praise and Thank God in this moment, for today’s readings remind us of how much he loves each of us, beyond our comprehension. 

The mission in Zambia of the Pallottine Missionary Sisters is now two years old. To mark the occasion Sr. Izabela Swierad, the Superior General, together with Sr. Basilisa Jacob, the Provincial Superior of the English -Tanzanian Province and Sr. Mary McNulty, a member of the Mission Commission went on visitation in May 2019. It was a very busy week with many activities. Here are some of the highlights of the visit.

Exodus 3:11-20; Matthew 11:28-30

"This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you."
"The Lord remembers his covenant for ever."
"Come to me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you."

I have to confess, that I sometimes find some aspects of life to be "burdensome."  And there are those days when I feel "weary."  I tell myself that it is no big deal.  I know so many people who have to face burdens and relentless challenges I don't yet know.  And whenever I'm tempted to some measure of self-pity, I'm reminded of the millions of people on this earth who live in unspeakable hardship.

Exodus 3:1-6, 9-12; Matthew 11:25-27

Have you had the experience of standing with a person, say a friend of many years, or before a familiar object, say a sculpture or a fountain or an aged tree, and suddenly seeing that person or that beautiful object as if for the first time? Or, more to the point, seeing the real presence of God right there, embodied before you, for the first time? It is as if the true person or being shines out through the familiar material reality. It is as if our hearts catch the burning of love communicating itself, for love is luminous and must communicate itself to the beloved.

Holiness: A Path Travelled Together

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Mt. 5:3)

I would like to begin by thanking the General Secretariat of the Union for the opportunity given to me and God for the gift of life which He gives me day by day and for having given me Christian parents who from my infancy have guided me on my way and through the precepts of the Lord.

How I became part of the Union of Catholic Apostolate.

Since every call is a vocation from the Lord with a specific purpose, and we only have to say to the Lord, “See, I have come to do your will, O God”, my call to the Union of Catholic Apostolate began in Luanda on September 24^th 2008, when I made my first journey to Rome on a Sabena/Brussels flight via Brussels to begin my studies in Rome. At that time, my family had just come to know a priest friend from the missions who was in Rome, Fr. Paul Bacchelett; who was able to host me for just two months in Via dei Falegnami and enrol me in the Angelicum University.

Exodus 2:1-15a; Matthew 11:20-24

Today's gospel reading follows immediately on the passage in which Herod arrests and kills John the Baptist, and Jesus seems to somewhat suddenly take up the prophetic voice that John had used. There is more than a touch of anger in his words, and we can take them to be an accusation not only against these specific towns but against that whole generation and their rejection of John as well.

Jesus speaks of the signs and miracles, not only his own but also John's, that should have lead to conversion.