Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of John (11: 19-27) in which Martha, after the death of Lazarus, went out to meet Jesus saying, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Afterwards, Fr Paul shares a little about Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus, whose memorial we celebrate today.

Fr Paul says, Martha was the sister of Mary of Bethany and of Lazarus. It is a family that Jesus often spent time with.

In our Church, Martha’s feast day comes a week after that of St Mary Magdalene because of the old, and probably incorrect tradition, that Mary Magdalene and Mary of Bethany were the same person.

Modern scholarship have made matters clearer; Martha, Mary and Lazarus have since 2021 been celebrated together on this day, which was formerly assigned to Martha alone.

So today, Fr Paul invites us to ask, ‘Saints Martha, Mary and Lazurus… pray for us!’.