[United States]
#517A
From the Common of Virgins nos. 731-736), or the Common of Holy Men and Women: For Those Who Work for the Underprivileged (nos. 737-742) (Texts selected by the author)
Biographical information about St. Marianne Cope [1]
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| “St. Marianne Cope” artist and date not cited |
Reading 1
8. For Those Who Work for the Underprivileged (From the Common of Holy Men and Women)
Tobit 12:6-14a
The angel
Raphael said to Tobit and his son:
"Thank God! Give him the praise and the glory.
Before all the living,
acknowledge the many good things he has done for you,
by blessing and extolling his name in song.
Honor and proclaim God's deeds,
and do not be slack in praising him.
A king's secret it is prudent to keep,
but the works of God are to be declared and made known.
Praise them with due honor.
Do good, and evil will not find its way to you.
Prayer and fasting are good,
but better than either is almsgiving accompanied by
righteousness.
A little with righteousness is better than abundance with
wickedness.
It is better to give alms than to store up gold;
for almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin.
Those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life;
but those habitually guilty of sin are their own worst
enemies.
"I will now tell you the whole truth;
I will conceal nothing at all from you.
I have already said to you,
'A king's secret it is prudent to keep,
but the works of God are to be made known with due honor.'
I can now tell you that when you, Tobit, and Sarah prayed,
it was I who presented and read the record of your prayer
before the Glory of the Lord;
and I did the same thing when you used to bury the dead.
When you did not hesitate to get up
and leave your dinner in order to go and bury the dead,
I was sent to put you to the test."
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Commentary on Tb 12:6-14a
At this point in the story of Tobit, the prophet asks his son to pay the “man” that had accompanied him, not realizing that who they thought was a man was really Raphael, the archangel. When they approach him to give a generous reward, Raphael unmasks himself and instructs them to give praise to God for the saving acts.
Special emphasis is made in Raphael’s instruction to act in accordance with the Law of Moses (righteousness), and acts of charity (almsgiving). These two actions are better even than prayer and fasting, private worship of God. The recurring statement: “A king’s secret it is prudent to keep, but the works of God are to be declared and made known.”
CCC: Tb 12:8 1434; Tb 12:12 336
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Responsorial Psalm
9. Psalm 131:1bcde, 2, 3 (From the Common of Holy Men and Women)
R. In
you, Lord, I have found my peace.
O LORD, my
heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;
I busy not myself with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother's lap,
so is my soul within me.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
O Israel, hope in the LORD,
both now and forever.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
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Commentary on Ps 131:1bcde, 2,3
Psalm 131 is an individual lament
praying for harmony and humility among the members of the community. The singer
proclaims trust in the Lord and peace, like children's contented peace, secure
in the knowledge of the love and protection of their parents.
CCC: Ps 131:2 239; Ps 131:2-3 370
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Gospel
Third
Option (From the Common of Virgins)
Luke
10:38-42
Jesus 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."
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Commentary
on Lk 10:38-42
In this encounter with Martha and Mary in St. Luke’s Gospel, we see two
distinct messages. First, we see the importance of the role of women and Jesus’
attitude toward them. Second we see the importance of listening to the word of
God: "Mary has chosen the better part."
The selection emphasizes the importance of listening to the teachings of the
Lord. While in some early texts the Lord tells Martha there is “need for
only a few things,” or of one, the message is clear. Mary, in assuming the role
of disciple (listening at the master’s feet) has chosen the correct or better
role. Martha, concerning herself with the requirements of hospitality (old law)
has chosen the lesser.
“Mystically (St. Gregory the Great, Moralia 2, 6): the two women signify two
dimensions of the spiritual life. Martha signifies the active life as she busily
labors to honor Christ through her work. Mary exemplifies the contemplative
life as she sits attentively to listen and learn from Christ. While both
activities are essential to Christian living, the latter is greater than the
former. For in heaven the active life terminates, while the contemplative life
reaches its perfection.” [3]
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Reflection:
Saint Marianne Cope (Barbara Koob before taking vows in 1862) was born of a large farming family in Germany before emigrating to the United States in 1839 when she was only a year old. The family lived in Utica, New York. She was the eldest of 10 children and, while she felt called to religious life at a young age, delayed her vocation for nine years to help with her family. She actually took a factory job for a number of years when her father fell ill.
She entered the Sisters of St Francis in Syracuse, N.Y. at the age of 24, and adopted the name Marianne when she took the habit at the beginning of Civil War in 1861. St. Marianne always wanted to teach and was assigned to the parochial schools in Syracuse. Because of her intelligence and organizational skills she was moved into an administrative role where she spent a majority of her years of service. She founded hospitals (which during the Civil War would have cared for the wounded as well as the sick) and in 1880 took the role of Nurse Administrator.
God hears the heart of his faithful, and in the case of St. Mary, he heard the heart of Martha who took the hard part, offering hospitality and comfort to those who came into her house. In 1883 she received a letter that changed her life. It came from a priest in the Hawaiian Islands who desperately needed help taking care of lepers. Her response to his letter is an example of her heroic virtue: “I am hungry for the work, and I wish with all my heart to be one of the chosen ones, whose privilege it will be to sacrifice themselves for the salvation of the souls of the poor Islanders.... I am not afraid of any disease; hence, it would be my greatest delight even to minister to the abandoned ‘lepers.’”
She and three other sisters went to Hawaii, and she did indeed become a mother to the lepers. St. Marianne and her sisters worked tirelessly improving the care of these outcast and stricken people. Recognizing that the lepers also had children, they set up special hospitals and schools within the confines of their isolated areas to take care of these as well. She worked hand in hand with St. Damian de Veuster (also called "Apostle to Lepers") and, with her sisters ended up moving to Molokai, tending Fr. Damian as he himself died of Hansen's disease (leprosy). Sr. Marianne died in Hawaii in 1918 (ironically at during the ravages of the “Great War” as World War I was then called).
We celebrate her feast day recalling her great love for the poor and the sick. Her efforts brought the light of the Lord to many and her unselfish gift of herself to so many has placed her with the ranks of saints in the Heavenly Kingdom. We ask for her intercession today. May we be given the same heart of Jesus she so valiantly displayed during her life and, like her, come at last before our Lord’s throne of Mercy.
Pax
[2] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.