Fr Greg, Carmelite priest – blog, homilies, fun and holy ideas
Carmelite homily for Lectionary 462 – Tuesday, October 8, 2019
In today’s Gospel we have the story of Martha and Mary. The time-honored interpretation is that Martha represents the ‘active life’ and Mary represents the ‘contemplative life.’ Blessed Titus Brandsma says “The lives of the Carmelite saints are evidence that the active and contemplative life can be combined and lead to holiness.” Saint Teresa of Avila says it so much more simply; she says, “Martha and Mary must combine.”
Carmelite homily for Lectionary 461 – Monday, October 7, 2019
In today’s Gospel passage we have the well-known Greatest Commandment — love the Lord your God with all your strength, soul, mind and body, and love your neighbor as yourself. Saint John of the Cross puts these two halves together brilliantly. He says, “As love of neighbor grows so does love of God; and as love of God grows so does love of neighbor.” It’s a spiral; that the two halves of this Greatest Commandment work together to bring us to ever greater and greater heights of love.