Fr. Jorge Miró shares with Exaudi readers his commentary on the Gospel of this Sunday, July 20, 2025, entitled  “Mary has chosen the better part.”

The Word of God that we proclaim today speaks to us about welcoming the Lord.

God, who loves you more than anyone, seeks you out.  God knocks at the door of your life and invites you to live a story of love and salvation.  You can open your heart, welcome the Lord, and let Him fill your life, or, on the contrary, you can close your heart and insist on being self-sufficient, living according to your standards.

The decisive factor is not that you seek God, but that God seeks you.  And comes into your life. Therefore, we must be attentive to the Lord’s passage through our lives and, like Abraham, say to him:  My Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.

In the Gospel, we contemplate Jesus’ encounter with Martha and Mary. Jesus is honored in their visit in two ways.  Mary sits, doing nothing, at the Lord’s feet, listening attentively to His Word.  Martha was very busy, preoccupied with the service at the table. Jesus is honored with the works of a love that lives by serving and listening to His Word.

Mary, Martha’s sister, sat at Jesus’ feet. She was sitting at her teacher’s feet.  Jesus is the teacher, Mary his disciple. Jesus is the Lord, Mary listens to the Word.  The Church is the community of those who never cease to listen to the Word of the Lord.

Martha doesn’t understand why Mary is listening without doing anything, because the table must be set for the guests. Serving the table is more important to her than serving the Word, which consists first and foremost in listening.  She doesn’t understand that Jesus wants to be primarily the giver, not the receiver ; she doesn’t understand that he has been sent to proclaim salvation and that the best way to serve him is to listen to and keep his word.

Jesus presents listening to the Word as the only necessary thing.  Listening to the Word is the best part.  The Word gives salvation, eternal life.

In the midst of life’s activities, we must know how to pause and listen to the Word of God.  Everything has a relative importance before the Word of God.  Listening to the Word of God is the most important thing.  Without this listening, all activity becomes empty, and we run the risk of falling into meaningless activism  : doing for the sake of doing, but without knowing why or what we are doing, and without having a personal encounter with the living and risen Jesus Christ.

But if listening to the Word of God is authentic, it leads to service :  Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and put it into practice. Listening comes first and is primary, but it is not authentic listening if it is not translated into life, into service, if it does not gradually transform the listener.  When activity is born from prayer and listening to the Word, the action is not activism, but apostolic fruitfulness.  Strength and effectiveness come from God.

The Word of God, as always, invites you to conversion. How are you listening to the Word of God? How is your intimacy with the Lord? How can you improve your listening to the Word, your prayer, your participation in the sacraments, your service to your brothers and sisters?  How much time do you dedicate to the Lord and to your brothers and sisters? What does the Lord ask of you to improve? Take heart! The Lord invites you to live this love story. Dare!

Come, Holy Spirit!