Remember when we visited Provence region of France and toured Aix
and Avignon and had lunch with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus?
Remember when we drove through Tarascon and saw the tomb of Martha?
Or, maybe not!
July 29: Feast of St. Martha
Martha
was born of noble and wealthy parents, but she is still more illustrious for
the hospitality she gave to Christ our Lord. After His Ascension into heaven,
she was seized by the Jews, together with her brother and sister, Marcella her
handmaid, and Maximin, one of the seventy two disciples of our Lord, who had
baptized the whole family, and many other Christians. They were put on board a
ship without sails or oars, and left helpless on the open sea, exposed to
certain shipwreck. But God guided the ship, and they all arrived safely at
Marseilles.
This miracle, together with their preaching,
brought the people of Marseilles, of Aix, and of the neighborhood to
believe in Christ. Lazarus was made Bishop of Marseilles and Maximin of
Aix. Magdalen, who was accustomed to devote herself to prayer and to sit at our
Lord's feet, in order to enjoy the better part which she had chosen, that is,
contemplation of the joys of heaven, retired into a deserted cave on a very
high mountain. There she lived for thirty years, separated from all human
intercourse; and every day she was carried to heaven by the angels to hear
their songs of praise.
But Martha, after having won the love and admiration of the people
of Marseilles by the sanctity of her life and her wonderful charity, withdrew
in the company of several virtuous women to a spot remote from men, where she
lived for a long time, greatly renowned for her piety and prudence. She
foretold her death long before it occurred; and at length, famous for miracles,
she passed to our Lord on the fourth of the Kalends of August. Her body
which lies at Tarascon is held in great veneration.
Excerpted from The
Liturgical Year, Abbot Gueranger O.S.B.
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