Friday, July 29, 2016 Feast of St. Martha

2 Corinthians, chapter 7, verse 1
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God.

All are called to the vocation of love. We express this vocation of love via marriage. All are called to marriage to the Holy Spirit as was our Lady who out of her perfect love gave forth the Son of God, Christ our Lord. Yet, this love; this marriage of the spirit of God with ours can be expressed in normally three vocations: that of a Holy single life who serves via their chosen career; then there is the call to religious life where a soul makes promises to a religious order and finally there is the love of male and female in sacred union to bring life and love into the world. We are all called to be Holy. We are all called to be greater than ourselves. We are all called to service that is perfected through the fear of God and expressed in our humility, generosity, chastity, patience, temperance, understanding and love.


Feast of St. Martha[1]


According to legend, St Martha left Judea after Jesus' death, around AD 48, and went to Provence with her sister Mary (Mary Magdalene) and her brother Lazarus. With them, Martha first settled in Avignon (now in France). The Golden Legend, compiled in the 13th century, records the Provençal tradition:
Saint Martha, hostess of our Lord Jesus Christ, was born of a royal kindred. Her father was named Syro and her mother Encharia. The father of her was duke of Syria and places maritime, and Martha with her sister possessed by the heritage of their mother three places, that was, the castle Magdalen, and Bethany and a part of Jerusalem. It is nowhere read that Martha had ever any husband nor fellowship of man, but she as a noble hostess ministered and served our Lord, and would also that her sister should serve him and help her, for she thought that all the world was not sufficient to serve such a guest.

After the ascension of our Lord, when the disciples were departed, she with her brother Lazarus and her sister Mary, also Saint Maximum [actually a 3rd-century figure] which baptized them, and to whom they were committed of the Holy Ghost, and many others, were put into a ship without sail, oars, or rudder, which by the conduct of our Lord they came all to Marseilles, and after came to the territory of Aix in Provence, and there converted the people to the faith. Martha was courteous and gracious to the sight of the people.[14]
The Golden Legend also records the grand lifestyle imagined for Martha and her siblings in its entry on Mary Magdalene:
Mary Magdalene had her surname of Magdalo, a castle, and was born of right noble lineage and parents, which were descended of the lineage of kings. And her father was named Cyrus, and her mother Eucharis. She with her brother Lazarus, and her sister Martha, possessed the castle of Magdalo, which is two miles from Nazareth, and Bethany, the castle which is nigh to Jerusalem, and also a great part of Jerusalem, which, all these things they departed among them. In such wise that Mary had the castle Magdalo, whereof she had her name Magdalene. And Lazarus had the part of the city of Jerusalem, and Martha had to her part Bethany. And when Mary gave herself to all delights of the body, and Lazarus extended all to knighthood, Martha, who was wise, governed nobly her brother's part and also her sister's, and also her own, and administered to knights, and her servants, and to poor men, such necessities as they needed. Nevertheless, after the ascension of our Lord, they sold all these things.[15]

Love is a verb, A doing, sharing, acting, and living part of more than just speech.[2]


Amoris Lætitia[3] Love in Marriage Love is not jealous (95-96)

Love has no room for agitation at another person’s good fortune (cf. Acts 7:9; 17:5). Envy is a form of sadness provoked by another’s prosperity; it shows that we are not concerned for the happiness of others but only with our own well-being. While love makes us rise above ourselves, envy closes us in on ourselves. True love values the other person’s achievements. It does not see him or her as a threat. It frees us from the sour taste of envy. It recognizes that everyone has different gifts and a unique path in life. So it strives to discover its own road to happiness, while allowing others to find theirs.
 Love means fulfilling the last two commandments of God’s Law: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s” (Ex 20:17). Love inspires a sincere esteem for every human being and the recognition of his or her own right to happiness. I love this person, and I see him or her with the eyes of God, who gives us everything “for our enjoyment” (1 Tim 6:17). As a result, I feel a deep sense of happiness and peace. This same deeply rooted love also leads me to reject the injustice whereby some possess too much and others too little. It moves me to find ways of helping society’s outcasts to find a measure of joy.


Today make some Lasagna to share with those you love.

National Lasagna Day[1]

National Lasagna Day is dedicated to appreciating lasagna.  The true origins of when and how National Lasagna Day came to be are unclear.  However, Google reports of National Lasagna Day began to appear in the 21st century.  

Lasagna is a flat-shaped pasta that is layered with sauce and various ingredients, the most popular including beef, spinach, cheese or seafood.  Lasagna is believed to have originated in Naples, Italy.  The first lasagna recipe appears in The Liber de Coquina (The book of cooking/cookery), which is one of the oldest medieval cookbooks. Some have suggested that lasagna comes from the Greek word laganon, which stands for a flat sheet of pasta dough.  Others however suggest that lasagna comes from a 14th-century British recipe called Loseyn, which included layering ingredients between pasta sheets. National Lasagna Day is observed on July 29th of every year.

National Lasagna Day Facts & Quotes

  • As per the USDA, 100 g of lasagna contains 135 calories, 4.9 g of fat and 15 g of carbohydrate.
  • Lasagna is the favorite food of Garfield, a comic strip cat.
  • Lasagna… nature's perfect food! - Garfield




[2] Simple Wisdom Calendar, Publications International, Ltd.
[3] Pope Francis, Encyclical on Love.

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