Gospel (Lk 10,38-42) - At that time, while they were traveling, Jesus entered a village and a woman named Martha hosted him. She had a sister, named Mary, who, sitting at the feet of the Lord, listened to her word. Marta, on the other hand, was distracted by her many services. She then came forward and said: «Lord, don't you care at all that my sister left me alone to serve? So tell her to help me." But the Lord answered her: «Martha, Martha, you worry and worry about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part of herself, which will not be taken away from her."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

The evangelist Luke places the episode of Martha and Mary immediately after the parable of the Good Samaritan, as if wanting to closely link the two fundamental attitudes of the Christian: love for the poor and listening to the Word of Jesus. in the Church the experts of charity on the one hand and the experts of prayer on the other. Every Christian is called to love the poor and to pray. It is not possible to separate prayer from charity. Mary at the feet of Jesus represents the image of every disciple. The Christian, in fact, is first and foremost the one who listens to the word of the teacher and keeps it in his heart. The disciple must resemble Mary more than Martha. The latter lets herself be carried away by an activism that distances her from listening to the Word and therefore her soul, no longer nourished by the Word, hardens to the point of accusing even Jesus of insensitivity. In prayer we discover that we are children, that we can to address God as "you" and to entrust ourselves to him with full trust. For this reason it could be said that prayer is the first and fundamental work of the Christian. In prayer we learn to love the Lord, our brothers and the poor. Love, in fact, does not arise from us, from our character or from our natural gifts. Love is a gift that comes from above; it is the same Spirit of God that is poured into our hearts as we humbly and willingly place ourselves before the Father in heaven. We could also close this Gospel passage with the words that Jesus said to the doctor of the Law in the parable of the Good Samaritan: "Go and do the same". Yes, let's let Maria be an example to us. And we will also be able to stop in front of the poorest.