St John the Evangelist Parish

July 20, 2025

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

One of my close friends is a hermit priest who lives on a desert mountain. Recently, I found myself in a group conversation about him. One vehemently objected, “What does he do up there all day? Nothing! Priests are down here working, running parishes, making a difference, and he…he is doing nothing! What a waste.” The words dripped with indignation and resentment. Most of the group quietly nodded in silent agreement. Were they correct?

No! To see why, consider a similar scenario in this week’s gospel. Jesus visits his friends Martha and Mary. A hardworking and exasperated Martha complains to Jesus that her sister is attending to him rather than to urgent household tasks. Our Lord, rather than praising hospitality, explicitly celebrates the less-productive sister for doing the “one necessary thing.” He praises her for she “has chosen the better part” (Luke 10:42). Mary is busy doing what matters.

Before we freak out like Martha, consider that all work–domestic, manual, professional, ministerial, contemplative–is done to help us (sooner or later) to experience the love that makes us happy. We should be thankful for those who focus on the “better part” of radical, ceaseless prayer. They invite us to remember that the purpose of all work is the enjoyment of love. Contemplatives, hermits, anyone fervently committed to prayer–they invite us to cast aside our forgetful, resentful, and self-aggrandizing attitudes in exchange for hearts ready to do what is finally necessary.