Saint Martha is commemorated each year on 29 July with her brother and sister, Lazarus and Mary. She was from Bethany, a village a few kilometres east of Jerusalem. Jesus was often a guest in her home, especially during the time of His preaching in Jerusalem. St Luke relates one time when he was visiting his friends in Bethany. “As they continued their journey He 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? Tell 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.”
On account of her dedication to doing the work necessary to welcome a guest, the Church recognizes Martha as a model of industriousness, but even praiseworthy labour can risk obscuring the interior life. We are reminded how important it is to nourish the spirit, to listen to the Word of God, because it is the Word of God that gives meaning to our daily activities. And so Martha and Mary have been seen as examples of the active and the contemplative life; the life of external activity and the life of prayer. In the life of a Christian, activity and contemplation should be seen as complementary, and not opposed to one another.
But Saint Martha has also left us a strong witness of faith. “When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. [But] even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise.’ Martha said to Him, ‘I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.’” We see here a total belief, a faith that does not hesitate or doubt. Martha has complete confidence in God, even in the face of what seems impossible on a human level: Martha condenses the whole of the faith into a simple confession of belief, a simple answer in which every Christian can recognize the meaning of life.
Today in Bethany (now known as El-Azariyeh, “the place of Lazarus”), you can find the tomb of Lazarus, as well as a church built upon the remains of Byzantine and Crusader structures -themselves constructed on top of a pre-existing structure. This is believed to be the house of Martha. Then tradition tells us that, after the first persecutions of Christians, Martha, with Mary and Lazarus, and some others, left their own land and went to France, arriving in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, in the Camargue, Provence, where they brought the Christian faith.
Fr Matthew, based on an article from Vatican News www.vaticannews.va
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The Synod moves on – the world!
An important document called the Instrumentum laboris will be the basis for the work of the participants in the General Assembly of the Synod on Synodality, which begins in the Vatican in October 2023 and concludes with a second Assembly one year later. It brings together the experiences of dioceses around the world over the last two years, when Pope Francis set in motion a journey to discern what steps to take “to grow as a synodal Church.” It has some sixty pages that incorporate the experiences of local Churches in every region of the world – Churches that are experiencing wars, climate change, exploitation, inequality, and ‘waste’.” Churches whose faithful suffer martyrdom, in countries where they are minorities or where they are coming to terms “with an increasingly driven, and sometimes aggressive, secularisation.” Churches wounded by sexual abuse, or abuses of power and conscience,” whether economic and institutional – wounds that demand answers and “conversion.”
“Indeed, the purpose of the synodal process is not to produce documents but to open horizons of hope for the fulfilment of the Church’s mission.”
The Instrumentum laboris is composed of an explanatory text and fifteen worksheets that reveal a dynamic vision of the concept of “synodality.” Section A highlights the experience of the past two years and indicates a way forward to become an ever more synodal Church; Section B – entitled “Communion, Mission, Participation” – focuses on the “three priority issues” at the heart of the work to be done in October 2023. These are elaborated in three main themes:
• Growing in communion by welcoming everyone, excluding no one;
• recognizing and valuing the contribution of every baptised person in view of mission;
• and identifying governance structures and dynamics through which to articulate participation and authority over time in a missionary synodal Church.
“Rooted in this awareness, is the desire for a Church that is also increasingly synodal in its institutions, structures, and procedures.” It notes that a synodal Church is first and foremost a “Church of listening” and therefore “desires to be humble, and knows that it must ask forgiveness and has much to learn…The face of the Church today bears the signs of serious crises of mistrust and lack of credibility. In many contexts, crises related to sexual abuse, and abuse of power, money, and conscience have pushed the Church to undertake a demanding examination of conscience so that ‘moved by the Holy Spirit’ the Church ‘may never cease to renew herself’, in a journey of repentance and conversion that opens paths of reconciliation, healing, and justice.”
A synodal Church is also “a Church of encounter and dialogue” with believers of other religions and with other cultures and societies, “not afraid of the variety it bears,” but on the contrary, “values it without forcing it into uniformity.” The Church is synodal when it is unceasingly nourished by the mystery it celebrates in the liturgy, experiencing everyday “radical unity” in the same prayer, in the midst of a “diversity” of languages and rites.
Other significant passages concern the question of authority – is it rooted in service?; the need for “integral formation, initial and ongoing” for the People of God; as well as the need for “a similar effort” aimed at the renewal of the language used in the “liturgy, preaching, catechesis, sacred art, as well as in all forms of communication, including through new or traditional forms of media.”
Fr Matthew, based on a summary by Salvatore Cernuzio.
Youth filmmakers club – 10 week course
Limited spaces available to young people ages 11-16 (High School years 7-11) for a 10 week course in scriptwriting, filming and editing with an industry professional.
The course takes place between September and December 2023 (10 weeks) and costs just £40.
Limited spaces are available so reserve your place as soon as possible.
For enquiries and to reserve a space, email Rachel O’Brien at rachelobprod@gmail.com.
The Synod moves on – Europe
The Synod is moving on. The European stage of the Synod took place at Prague 5 – 12 February 2023, and the first part of the actual Synod takes place in Rome in October. We’ll look at the Working Document for that in a week or two. Both documents will appear in full on our 3churches.org website Synod page.
The concluding European document was published April 17. It describes the Assembly as “the first time in Europe that the People of God – bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated men and women, lay men and women – gathered to listen to one another and dialogue in an atmosphere of prayer and listening to the Word of God.” Participants had “a profoundly spiritual experience through the synodal method.” This enabled them to “love the Church even more deeply, in spite of the wounds it has inflicted, for which it must beg forgiveness in order to be able to pursue the path of reconciliation, heal memories and welcome the wounded.” The introduction includes a sketch of the challenges facing the Church in Europe, such as the abuse crisis, the Ukraine war, migration, and secularization.
A main section outlines “seven points of reference” for building a synodal Church in Europe:
1. Journeying with Christ, filled with his Spirit.
2. Rediscovering the common baptismal dignity.
3. Synodality serving and enhancing mission.
4. Growing as a Church in dialogue.
5. Facing open wounds, overcoming prejudices, reconciling memories.
6. Attending to families, women, and young people.
7. Building the synodal method into Church structures and processes.
Alongside the seven points of reference, the document identifies seven “tensions that run through the Churches in Europe.” These are:
1. Truth and mercy.
2. Tradition and aggiornamento.
3. Liturgy as a focal point to observe tensions in the Church.
4. Understanding the mission.
5. Co-responsibility of all, in the diversity of charisms and ministries.
6. The exercise of authority within a synodal Church.
7. Unity in diversity: Between local and universal.
The document acknowledges that “during the assembly, not only differences of opinion emerged, but also mutual accusations.” Some called for “quick and radical changes”, while others “expressed the concern that adopting changes would risk the integrity of the Church’s teaching.” It suggests that the liturgy is “a mirror” that clearly reflects these tensions, and that the differences among Europe’s Catholics result in contrasting views of mission. Some consider that the task of a missionary Church is the strengthening of catechesis and the growth of religious practice, while “Others understand mission as going out into the world to make God’s love tangible for all people, especially for marginalized and those who were hurt by the Church; others again add that the Church should be a home for all people, especially the young.” It refers to divisions over calls for married priests, women priests, and women deacons, but suggests there is “a great convergence” among Europe’s Catholics on the need to promote “the real and effective co-responsibility of the People of God, overcoming clericalism.” The document calls for clarity and transparency, and asks for appropriate institutions and canonical structures to assist the Church in putting synodality into practice.
Fr Matthew
Parish group reports – Parish of Christ the King 2023 AGM
Reports for the Parish of Christ the King Annual General Meeting on 20 June 2023 at 7.30pm are now available to download.
New members needed for Christ the King Parish Advisory Council
Three new council members are needed for Christ the King Parish Advisory Council this year (June 2023). This form should be signed by the proposer and the nominee and returned to the Parish Office (email llanishen@rcadc.org or post in the mailbox to the right of the main door of the Parish Centre) on or before Sunday 18 June 2023.
Download nomination form (Microsoft Word version)
Download nomination form (Rich Text version)
An election to take place as necessary at the Masses on 1/2 July 2023.