Tess Koning, a member of our Parish Pastoral Council and Principal of St Peter’s Primary school reads from the Gospel of Luke (10: 38-42) in which Jesus tells Martha, ‘you worry and fret about so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one’. Tess says this is a very well-known Gospel, and there may be those of us who have been affectionately named “Martha” when we appear stressed, busy or worried about all we need to do, forgetting to pause and see things that are truly important that we are missing. In family and work life there are always things that must be done. Serving our families or engaging in work that serves others is in fact serving Jesus. However, as disciples, the one thing that is necessary is to listen to Christ when he is present, over all other concerns. In the Gospel, Jesus wants Martha to stop being busy, to be with him and receive his words of eternal life. Mary’s choice to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to his words, signifies discipleship. We can compare this example to both work and prayer. When we are caught up in serving and working feverishly, we can be left feeling empty; Jesus wants us instead to find him in our daily work. In prayer, we can fidget too, bringing our worries to God over and over, or being so worried about everything being perfect in the liturgy at Mass that we don’t engage in it. The prayer of a disciple is a prayer of attentive, quiet listening and meditation on the word of God. We must silence our earthly concerns to direct our attention to God. Tess invites us today to pause in our busyness, to take some deep breaths and see and hear where in our work and prayer God is trying to be with us.