The Virtue of Prudence: Martha, Martha . . .

Now it came to pass as they went, that he entered into a certain town: and a certain woman named Martha, received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sitting also at the Lord’s feet, heard his word. But Martha was busy about much serving. Who stood and said: Lord, hast thou no care that my sister hath left me alone to serve? speak to her therefore, that she help me. And the Lord answering, said to her: Martha, Martha, thou art careful, and art troubled about many things: But one thing is necessary. Mary hath chosen the best part, which shall not be taken away from her (Luke 10:38-42, DRA).

The Meditative Life vs. the Active Life

The story of Mary and Martha has been traditionally interpreted as a contrast of the contemplative life and the active life.  We are then left asking the question, “What’s wrong with Martha? Why would Jesus criticize her for serving?” In the modern world with our overemphasis on social justice, we even feel the need to defend Martha against Jesus.

The Early Church Fathers saw in this story Jesus teaching us about proportion, which connects the story of Mary and Martha very strongly to the virtue of prudence. The meditative life (prayer) and the active life (service) are both parts of the life of the Church. However, the contemplative life is the “better part” because it connects us directly to God and its fruits are eternal. The active life is inferior because it connects us more to other people (the Second Great Commandment) rather than directly to God and its fruits are primarily secular and not lasting.

Once during a faculty meeting, our principal asked us Catholic school teachers how many of us spent at least 10-15 minutes in silent prayer every day. A number of the teachers argued that they didn’t need to spend time in silent prayer because their work was their prayer. These teachers didn’t understand Jesus’ teaching about Mary and Martha. Our work can indeed be part of our prayer. In fact, doing our daily work prayerfully and with great love is an important part of lay spirituality. But our very ability to do this is fueled by our meditative prayer life. This is the very message of the Soul of the Apostolate Jean-Baptiste Chautard. Meditative prayer that connects us directly to God is absolutely necessary if any other part of our spiritual life is going to bear fruit.

Pure of Heart vs. Divided

There is another way to understand the story of Mary and Martha that I think is equally valid. Jesus doesn’t criticize Martha just for being active. He criticizes her for being troubled about many things. I think this is significant. Martha’s mistake wasn’t being active. Her mistake was being divided in mind and heart. In contrast, Mary was pure of heart. She was completely focused on Jesus. She humbled herself at His feet and took in His wisdom. This lesson may be more important for us to learn, and more difficult. Our daily lives are so full of distraction. Like Martha, we are troubled by many things. So we put prayer, learning about the faith, and even the Sacraments on the back burner of our lives. We fill our lives with urgent secular concerns and forget about God.

The Virtue of Prudence: Focus on the Right Priorities

Exercising prudence can help us solve both of these “Martha” problems. First, it helps us to put our priorities in proper order. If we exercise prudence, we will learn to put prayer before action. We will exercise the first Great Commandment – to love God with our whole heart, mind, and soul – and then to exercise the second Great Commandment – to love our neighbor as ourselves.

The virtue of Prudence can also help us to order our daily lives around the things that are most important and to focus on the greatest goods. That’s why From the Abbey’s Planning for Grace program walks you through the process of setting your life priorities based on the levels of happiness.

Your Next Action Step

If you’d like to embrace a life of “Mary” instead of “Martha,” I’d like to invite you to explore the opportunity below to take your next step with From the Abbey. Learn how to develop the virtue of prudence as well as the other virtues that build a “lay rule of life” and help you to strengthen your spiritual life even amidst the activity and concerns of your daily life.

Brought to you by Jeffrey S. Arrowood at From the Abbey, dedicated to helping you rediscover the JOY of learning and living your faith so you can grow in intimacy with God.

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