St. Martha

Who they were

Martha of Bethany ran the house where Jesus rested, and the Gospels give her three scenes that between them cover half of human life.

The famous one has Martha in the kitchen, her sister at the Lord's feet, and the complaint every server has prayed since: Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work alone? The answer, about the better part, has been unfairly flattened into a scolding. Read fully, he says her name twice, which in Scripture is tenderness. The second scene is her summit, and it is astonishing how few know it is hers. At her brother Lazarus's tomb, grieving and blunt as ever, she receives the words read at every funeral you will ever attend, I am the resurrection and the life, and answers with a confession as complete as Peter's: yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God. The third scene is one line, a supper at Bethany, and Martha served. Of course she did. Since 2021 the Church keeps her feast with Mary and Lazarus together.

Why people turn to St. Martha

Everyone who cooks, hosts, cleans, and serves: homemakers, restaurant and hotel workers, the person who does Thanksgiving. And from the tomb scene, those who keep serving while grieving, which a funeral town will recognize as a real office.

How to ask their intercession

Mid task is fine, since that is where she lived. And at a graveside her exchange at the tomb, question and answer and confession, is a complete prayer.