Martha of Bethany
Jewish-Syrian from Bethany, of the race of David through her mother. Sister of Lazarus and Mary (of Magdala). Second child of Theophilus, a Syrian proselyte, governor of Antioch, and Eucheria of Theophilus. She suffers the backlash of her sister’s dissolute life:
"Martha was sacrificed because of you. No one marries the sister of a prostitute."[1]
She hopes for the conversion of Mary of Magdala and will be the first to receive this good news. She is an excellent housekeeper.
"She has a practical and diligent talent for all household matters. She was born for the house and to be the comfort of the bodies and souls in the house."[2]
This is a particularly important quality, considering Bethany’s position as a key base of evangelization, both due to its proximity to Jerusalem and the protection offered by the Romans to the Bethany family.
Character and Appearance[edit | edit source]
"She is swarthy and tall, although not quite so tall as her sister, who is fair-haired and rosy; but she is a beautiful young woman with a balanced and well shaped plump body, a little dark head, a smooth brown forehead. Her eyes are kind, mild, dark long-shaped and as soft as velvet, between her dark eyelashes. Her nose is slightly turned down and her small lips are very red against her dark cheeks. She smiles showing strong snow-white teeth. She is wearing a dark blue woollen dress with red and dark green galloons round the neck and at the end of her wide short sleeves, from which two other sleeves unfold, of very fine white linen, tied and pleated at the wrists by a little cord. Her very fine white blouse shows also at the top of her breast, round the lower part of her neck where it is held tight by a cord. As a belt she is wearing a scarf of blue, red and green, of a fine cloth which is tied round the upper part of her hips and hangs down her left side in a tuft of fringes. A rich and chaste dress."[3]
Her qualities as an excellent housekeeper lead to the famous admonition by Jesus:
"You worry and fret about too many things, Martha. She is concerned with one only. That which is sufficient for her soul and above all for her and your Lord. Forget useless things. Imitate your sister. Mary has chosen the better part, which will never be taken from her."[4][5]
And at the resurrection of her brother, Jesus comments:
"Why do you act and you do not contemplate?"[6]
Martha is a virtuous young woman:
"Give Me your hand, which has never sinned, and has always been kind, merciful, active and pious. It has always made gestures of love and prayer. It has never been lazy or idle or corrupt."[7]
This loving devotion gains its full value during the long illness of her brother, for whom she ceaselessly hopes for healing by Jesus.[8]
Her Journey[edit | edit source]
Witness to the Resurrection of her brother Lazarus,[9] then of the Christ[10] and the Ascension.[11]
A disciple along with her brother, she joins the group of women who follow Jesus in a specific apostolate, The Women Disciples.[12] She has, like Lazarus, great hope in the conversion of her sister, Mary of Magdala. Active in this call to conversion, she rejoices in receiving its first signs.[13]
Martha reveals herself during the death of her brother Lazarus. Her practical mind, her sense of comfort, but also her faith, are shown in all their fullness. It is she who sends word to Jesus of Lazarus’s agony, despite his instructions to only do so after his death. She hopes, until his death and beyond, for the miracle.[14]
But towards the end, waiting for Jesus who does not come to save her brother,[15] nor to his funeral to resurrect him,[16] she yields to doubt.
Jesus finally arrived four and a half days after Lazarus’s death and resurrected him. Following this, he says to Martha:
"Why do you act and you do not contemplate? It is holier. See? Your strength, as it is too inclined towards earthly things, yielded to the ascertainment of earthly matters that at time seem without remedy. In actual fact earthly matters are without remedy, unless God intervenes. That is why human creatures must be able to believe and contemplate, and love to the utmost power of their whole being, with thought, soul, flesh, blood; I repeat: with all the strength of man."[17]
As persecutions increased, the Bethany family chose to exile themselves:
"No one can certainly say that Lazarus, Mary and Martha were fearful people. And yet, you can see that, although with deep sorrow, they have gone away from here, to take His divine Word elsewhere, as here it would have been suffocated by the Judaeans."[18]
This supports the tradition of their exile to Gaul.
Her Name[edit | edit source]
In Aramaic, "lady" or "mistress."
Where is she mentioned in the Work?[edit | edit source]
In Judea before communal life: GRM 112 GRM 117
Year-end celebrations: GRM 135 GRM 136
The female apostolate: GRM 157
The second paschal journey: GRM 198 GRM 200
Apostolate in Judea: GRM 206 GRM 206 GRM 210
The conversion of Mary Magdalene: GRM 226 GRM 229 GRM 231 GRM 235 GRM 237 GRM 238 GRM 239 GRM 240 GRM 241 GRM 242 GRM 243 GRM 244 GRM 245 GRM 247 GRM 248 GRM 249 GRM 250 GRM 252 GRM 253 GRM 254 GRM 255
Sending of apostles and disciples on Mission: GRM 260 GRM 261
Perea, Gilead and Trachonitis: GRM 281 4.149 - GRM 286 GRM 287 GRM 290 GRM 293 GRM 294 GRM 302
Phoenicia and Upper Galilee: GRM 338
The Transfiguration and the Bread of Heaven: GRM 362
The penultimate Passover: GRM 365 GRM 367 GRM 370 GRM 371 GRM 372 GRM 375 GRM 376 GRM 377 GRM 378
Pentecost, Decapolis and Esdraelon Plain: GRM 415
The Feast of Tabernacles: GRM 485
In Moab and Judea: GRM 519 GRM 536
The resurrection of Lazarus: GRM 541 GRM 542 GRM 543 GRM 544 GRM 545 GRM 546 GRM 548 GRM 550
Exile in Samaria: GRM 560 GRM 566 GRM 568 GRM 571 GRM 574 GRM 575
The return to Jerusalem: GRM 576 GRM 578 GRM 579 GRM 581 GRM 583 GRM 584 GRM 586 GRM 587
Holy Week: GRM 589 GRM 590 GRM 596
Resurrection Sunday: GRM 616 GRM 616 GRM 619 GRM 622 GRM 626 GRM 628
From Resurrection to Ascension: GRM 636 GRM 638 GRM 641 GRM 648
Learn More About This Character[edit | edit source]
The Church honors Saint Martha on July 29, eight days after her sister Mary of Magdala (Magdalene).
According to tradition, she emigrates with the whole Bethany family to Gaul (Provence) during the first persecutions against Christians. This emigration is not surprising, as Gaul (France) was a place where historically banned and disgraced figures such as Herod Antipas and Herodias, Pilate and Claudia Procula were found.
Martha settled in Tarascon, where her battle against a monster, the Tarasque, believed to be a crocodile escaped from a Roman circus, is celebrated.
The probable tarasque is undoubtedly a marine crocodile. The similarity is striking.
See the articles (French):
- Visions of Anne-Catherine Emmerich: "Exile of Lazarus and his Sisters in the Gauls".
- Article by Jean Aulagnier: "Evangelization of Gaul".