St. Martha, Pray for Us

On this Sunday, the Church points us toward the life and work of Martha, sister of Mary Magdalene and Lazarus. This family from Bethany elicits more emotion from Our Lord than possibly anyone else in the Gospels. It is at least safe to say that His tears are mentioned nowhere else. The reality of Christ's affection for this entire family is often obscured by pitting Mary against Martha. The end of Luke chapter 10 has an air of chastisement about it.

"But Martha was distracted with much serving; and she went to him and said, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.' But the Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion which shall not be taken away from her."

The point is not that Martha is performing a worthless task. Far from it, she is providing for the corporeal needs of the Savior. Augustine is quick to point out that such an action is only made possible by the resurrection, the created providing for the Creator, and is full of dignity. Instead, Luke emphasizes the hierarchy that exists between the part each sister has chosen. The Medieval church drew out an entire vocabulary of vita activa and vita contemplativa from this passage and recognized the relation Christ draws between the two. Things of nature are never worthless, merely transitory, and must be rooted in the realm of grace to have any lasting value.

John's account reveals another side of Martha. She accuses Christ even before Mary, running out of the house before anyone arrives. ""Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died. And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you." Her unshakeable faith is what causes her to plead with him in a tone that is bold and demanding. Her question is met by another question (something that must have made Jesus quite unpopular with his good friends) and she reaffirms her faith in almost Petrine language. "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world." John saves us from the trap of considering Martha to be worldly and Mary, spiritual.

Is it not fitting that the Church should ask us to both honor the contemplative Mary Magdalene and her sister of ardent practical charity? Even among saints there are distinctions of personality and charism. Becoming Christ-like is not a cookie-cutter affair. Gerard Manley Hopkins expresses the many-faceted character of sanctification most aptly when he says...

"Christ plays in ten thousand places,

Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his

To the Father through the features of men's faces" 

Heaven is filled with Seraphim and Cherubim both, each glorying in the fulfillment of their respective natures and seeing the unity of wisdom and love in the Godhead.

(Oh, and according to the Golden Legend, Martha used to live in the castle Magdalen, sold all her possessions after the Ascension, moved to Avignon, slayed a dragon, and started a convent. I approve.)

" And she cast on him holy water, and showed to him the cross, which anon was overcome, and standing still as a sheep, she bound him with her own girdle, and then was slain with spears and glaives of the people."
-Golden Legend

A great St. Martha post I just found after writing this here

Garrettism of the Day


Context: This enigmatic figure of Rabbi Chouchani, teacher of Levinas and Elie Wiesel, had a profound impact on many existentialist and phenomenological Jewish philosophers, including Martin Buber. Details of his career and personal career remain tantalizingly scarce.


"He (R. Chouchani) is like the Splinter of Jewish philosophers. He's this shadowy esoteric teaching figure. Levinas and Buber are his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."

Recently, I've taken to reading Hans Urs Von Balthasar's meditations on the Rosary, The Threefold Garland subtitled The World's Salvation in Mary's Prayer. I'm half-expecting John Piper to break down the door of my southwestern-style adobe house screaming something about Mariolatory. Alas, I am too far gone. Once I read JPII's encyclical concerning the Rosary, I couldn't escape it's Christological center. Conveniently placed here for your reading pleasure. On the Rosary of the Virgin Mary One of the most crucial texts of my life...

Balthasar's work is divided into three sections of five chapters each mirroring the structure of the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries. The title of every chapter is taken from its corresponding clasulae(Attributed to the spiritual practices of Dom Dominic Eloynus, originating among the Germans in the late Middle Ages. They are a set of phrases one may recite at the center of each Hail Mary to clarify and emphasize the character of the particular mystery. For instance, for each Hail Mary of the Joyful Mystery of the Nativity one would add to whom you gave birth, O Virgin following blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.) And the rose-garland(rosenkranz for those Germanic types) remains the perfect image for what the Rosary is. Three sets of Mysteries (written before the institution of the Luminous) makes three garlands. As Balthasar beautifully puts it; "it is like the distillate of a long prayerful meditation during which, rose by rose, a garland is slowly woven which in the end comes wholly to repose in itself."

I couldn't possibly display all the treasures I've received from this little book, but I would like to leave you with a few insights. For Balthasar, Mary and her fiat form both an example for and a type of the Holy Church. Her obedience and complete reception model the proper response for every Christian. By acknowledging her status we admit our own incomplete union with the divine will to which she perfectly submitted. As an anonymous Middle-English poem reads "The word of God she heard and knew/ Acknowledging it with mildness due".  The call of the divine Logos meets the response of human participation. And the practice of human participation in the will of God is nothing other than the Church. We are to be, as Our Lady is, "a pure answer to whatever the Father disposes." Her perfect faith is the center of the Ecclesia immaculata as we plead with God to look not on our sins, but on the faith of His Holy Church.

The preface contains some truly stunning formulations of the Incarnation by Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, of which I would offer you merely two. The Council of Ephesus proudly proclaims that Mary is worthy of both the title Mother of Christ but even Mother of God. The Creator humbles himself to be bound by his own creation. The Eastern Liturgy sings "You are wider than the heavens for within yourself you have confined the unconfinable God." The West does not lack for its own expressions at this unheard of grace. "We are Your image, and You are our image" comes from St. Catherine of Siena's Dialogue on Divine Providence. Circles within circles, of Creator and created, ever distinct but in perfect union. The mother of this Child becomes the daughter of her Son?

         "She is a vessel, a monstrance of the Word and Will of God become flesh."

The three day Great Hearts new faculty summit. A place of wonder and great fear.

Our house bravely faced the breaking of a new morn, and trundling off in the early haze of Phoenician heat, arrived at Veritas at a luxurious 8:15 a.m. The day was divided into lectures and a seminar wherein we discussed the "Meno" (only Hillsdalians could find a career where you're required to read a Socratic dialogue for job training.) We were bathed by speakers treating everything from income taxes to the distinctions between the High and Low culture of the West. Add to this my growing fear that someone would suddenly stand up, point at me and shout "Hey! That one's just pretending to be an adult by wearing a tie! Grab him!" and you have the makings of an interesting nine hour day.

And that was only just the beginning. Unbeknownst to Garrett and I, Parker had coolly invited about a dozen people over to our house for dinner. Inventory? Our house contained at the time a grand total of:

A bag of onions
A sack of potatoes
A pan
A two week old bag of asparagus
3 inside chairs (one folding)
4 broken plastic chairs (on the porch)
1 table strewn with Settlers of Cataan pieces
A bazillion books everywhere
And last but not least, the grit and determination of four Hillsdale men to prove their house as hospitable

There was much to be done before the nine women and three men arrived (Just the Great Hearts proportion, I promise). We piled into the car and Parker set our sights for the nearest grocery store. As we raced down the road, our windows were rolled down in celebratory excess. Confidence reigned supreme. Unfortunately, confidence was insufficient to stop Parker's temporary license from whooshing out of the back seat and out the window. Instantly. Only a minor pitfall as we whirled into the parking lot dispersing to buy groceries. Also, Garrett bought a chair. I possibly have not laughed harder in months.

By some miracle, the pasta was made (a la Parker's delicious red sauce), the guests arrived (including the illustrious PG), and a wonderful time was had by all. As night fell, only one guest remained, Michael. To the best of my knowledge he has two Master's in English (One from Notre Dame) and enjoys talking about Chaucer,Walter Benjamin,...and the merits of the Simpsons. The greatest triumph of the night was his capitulation to our charismatic idiosyncrasies-------tangential explanation here-------

Our house has developed the curious habit of Bane-imitation. That's right, the villain of Dark Knight Rises.

 As this League of Shadows schismatic sports a tenuously explained face mask, his garbled voice lends itself to less-than-serious uses. His backstory just begs for ecclesiological humor...

"So you've excommunicated me from the League. I'm forced to start my own order. The BANE-EDICTINES!"

Bane and St. Benedict. Both figures of tremendous spiritual influence that founded an order. Also, they both faced assassination attempts from within their own organization. Coincidence, or the result of Nolan's deeply Catholic imagination? You decide. 


Truly frightening. Also, frighteningly funny. I'm simply asking you to consider your normal everyday conversation dubbed over in a strangely cultured yet pompous tone that always seems to inflect upward.

"Why do I always talk in questions, Mr. Wayne? Is it because I'm better than you?"


On a slightly more serious note, for those who have seen the movie, did you catch the tarnished monstrance that is settled nicely on the Wayne Grand piano? Mm?? Could Batman have a private chapel? Perhaps Alfred was an Anglican priest who came over to Rome and kept the English rite? The possibilities are endless.

In our few weeks together, we've often speculated on the possibility of our house becoming the inspiration for one of those oddball sitcoms. Every element seems to be in place.

Scott, of course, would be cast as the protagonist. He has the advantage of being a normal human being. When moving to a new place, he is concerned with things like the impact it will have on his family, girlfriend, and other relationships. The rest of us are still deciding if the Wars of Religion should have ended. The average television watcher might actually care about what happens to Scott.

-----------------
Scene 1

An anxious but eager Scott opens the door to his new house, laden with bags and high hopes for his new job.

Scott: Hey guys! It's great to finally get to the house. Is anything cooking for dinner?

Andrew (To Garrett): If you insist on the existence of an Order of Anglican Franciscans I will punch you in the face.

Scott: Uh, guys?

Garrett: You can't just ridicule the 39 Articles and act as if that's a rebuttal. Newman's interpretations are still valid!

Scott: Hey, I was just..

Parker: Oh Scott! I was wondering if my ten-thousand books on the floor would look better shaped into a chair or a crucifix. What do you think?

Scott: I think it's going to be a long year...
-----------------------------------------

Scott's a trooper. The events depicted in this show are adapted from real-life situations. Tune in next time to hear Garrett say to Parker's little brother: "Now watch this carefully, Cameron. This is why you don't mess with the Jews."

Cast of Characters; e.g. Housemates


Parker Fox- Our home-grown Phoenician (Scott was right, that is our descriptor now) and old friend.  History major and graduate of Great Hearts. Instrumental in securing our lovely home and always up for a laugh and a good time.

Lutheran.

Garrett Robinson- Another History major and resident Anglophile. He occasionally borrows my Foucault. His application of dry wit can be devastating. Great cook.

Anglican

Scott Scharl- Our man of music and sincere good-will. Fairly organized (a rare and precious skill at our house). Also, the man breathes out Scholastic concerns as if by untutored instinct. Oh, and our third history major. (Which one of us is not like the other?)

Catholic (of the cradle variety. Ergo, only non-hipster liturgical Christian in the house.)


Let the games begin.

Blog fever has descended on our house. Scott's blog (here: To Irrigate Deserts) just seems like too much fun. What could be better than a space for all the adventurous mishaps and quixotic comments of my beloved housemates?

In all seriousness though, in lieu of any desire to return to Facebook, I do feel like I owe something to those who want to occasionally hear from me. It is odd to be living in the hostile and arid climate of Phoenix, AZ (possible the most malicious biome in the contiguous United States) and to be calling this adobe abode my "home."

Oh, an explication of my title is probably in order. Most of you probably know of my enchantment with this particular mythological creature (mythological, not imaginary. You know who you are.) It is now particularly appropriate to associate myself with this bird, recorded in the letter of my confirmation saint, as I live in the city which bears its name and emblem.