In the course of their journey, He came to a certain village; here a woman, whose name was Martha, received Him into her house; and she had a sister named Mary, who sat at the feet of Jesus and heard his word. Martha was taking care of a large feast and, approaching, said: Lord! or do you not need that my sister left me alone to serve? Tell her to help me. And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha! Martha! you are anxious and fussy about many things, but only one thing is necessary; Mary chose the good part, which would not be taken away from her. 

Great is the benefit of hospitality, as Martha has shown, and should not be neglected; but it is even more good to listen to spiritual conversations. For by this the body is nourished, and by this the soul is enlivened. "We do not exist," he says, "Martha, in order to fill the body with various viands, but in order to do what is useful to the souls. Take note also of the Lord's prudence. He said nothing to Martha before he received cause for reproach from her. When she tried to distract her sister from hearing, then the Lord, taking advantage of the occasion, rebuked her. For hospitality is still praiseworthy, so long as it does not distract and divert us from that which is more necessary; but when it begins to hinder us in the most important things, then it is enough to prefer to it hearing about divine things. Moreover, to be more precise, the Lord forbids not hospitality, but variety and vanity, that is, entertainment and confusion. Why, - says Martha, - do you care and care about many things, that is, you amuse yourself, you worry? We only need something to eat, and not a variety of food. - Other words "only one thing is necessary" meant not about food, but about attention to learning. Thus, with these words the Lord teaches the Apostles that when they enter someone's house, they should not demand anything luxurious, but be content with the simple, caring no more about anything but attention to the teaching. "Perhaps you should understand by Martha active virtue, and by Mary contemplation. Active virtue has amusements and disturbances, and contemplation, having become master of the passions (for Mary means mistress), exercises itself in the mere consideration of divine utterances and destinies. - Pay attention to the words: "She sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to His word." Feet can be understood as an active virtue, for they signify movement and walking. And sitting is a sign of immobility. Therefore, whoever sits at the feet of Jesus, that is, who is established in active virtue and through imitation of the walk and life of Jesus is strengthened in it, he then comes to hear divine utterances or to contemplate. For Mary also sat down first, and then listened to the words. "And so, if thou canst, ascend to the degree of Mary through mastery of the passions and the striving for contemplation. If this is impossible for you, be Martha, be diligent to the active side, and through this receive Christ. - To say this: "Which shall not be taken away from her." He who strives in works has something that is taken away from him, that is, cares and amusements. For, having reached contemplation, he is freed from amusement and vanity, and in this way something is taken away from him. And he who strives in contemplation is never deprived of this good part, that is, contemplation. For in what more will he succeed when he has attained the highest, I mean, contemplation of God, what is equal to deification? For whoever is vouchsafed to behold God becomes a god, since like is embraced by like.

Chapter Eleven

It happened that when He was praying in a certain place, and stopped, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord! teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. He said to them, When you pray, say, Our Father who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us our daily bread every day; and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every one of our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 

The disciple of Christ is jealous of the disciples of John, and therefore wishes to learn how to pray. The Savior did not reject the desires of the disciples, but He teaches. "Our Father," he says, "who art in heaven." Notice the power of prayer. It immediately elevates you to the things above, and since you call God Father, she urges you in every way not to lose your likeness to the Father, but to try to become like Him. He did not say "My Father," but "Our Father," stirring you up to brotherly love and urging you to love everyone as brothers in general. By saying, "in heaven," he does not limit God with them, but raises the listener to heaven and leads him away from earthly things. - "Hallowed be Thy name," instead of "Let it be glorified," that is, arrange our life so that it may be for Thy glory. For just as the name of God is blasphemed by the wicked, so are those who lead a good life glorified. - "Thy Kingdom come." The sinner does not pray for the Kingdom of God, for he does not desire its coming because of the punishments that await him there. On the contrary, the righteous man prays that it will come soon, so that he may be freed from the temptations of this world and calm down. - "Thy will be done", as in heaven - with the Angels, so with us people on earth. For the angels act all and in everything according to the will of God. - It teaches us to ask for "daily bread" only, that is, useful for our existence and for the maintenance of life, by no means superfluous, but necessary. - Not to enter into temptation means not to rush into temptations. For we should pray to God, not that He would send temptation upon us, but that He would turn it away; and if he does, he must endure it with courage. It must be said that there are two types of temptations. Some are arbitrary, for example, drunkenness, murder, adultery, and other passions; for we ourselves fall into these temptations arbitrarily. Other temptations are involuntary, to which we are subjected by the lords and the strong. It is from voluntary temptations, that is, from the passions, that we must flee from them, pray for deliverance from them and say, "Lead us not in," that is, do not allow us to fall "into temptation," that is, into voluntary passion, "But deliver us from evil." For it brings involuntary and voluntary temptations. Therefore, when you involuntarily endure temptation from a person, do not consider this person to be the author of your temptation, but the evil one. For it causes a man to be angry with you and to rage.

     And he said to them, Let us suppose that one of you, having a friend, comes to him at midnight, and says to him, 'Friend! lend me three loaves of bread, for my friend has come to me from the way, and I have nothing to offer him; And he will answer from within, 'Do not disturb me, for the doors are already shut, and my children are with me on the bed.' I can't get up and give you. If, I say to you, he does not arise and give to him because of his friendship with him, then because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he asks. 

The Lord, teaching us to pray without sloth, tells a parable and an example. What does the parable mean? "Midnight" is the name given to the last days of life, which, when people reach them, they begin to sympathize with the good and aspire to God. For He is a friend, loving all, and desiring salvation for all (1 Tim. 2:4). Thus, many at midnight, that is, at the end of life, come to God as a friend and say: "Give me three loaves," that is, faith in the Trinity; for a friend has come, that is, an angel who takes the soul. However, every angel is a friend, just as the Lord says that there is joy in heaven for the salvation of man (Luke 15:10). - The children resting on the bed are people who have been converted and therefore have become children of the Lord and have been vouchsafed to rest with Him. - "Persistence" is called intensified and prolonged prayer with patience, - Understand in another way, namely: by "midnight" understand the power and the middle of temptations. For every temptation is night, and the midst of temptations is undoubtedly midnight. Thus, when someone is in the midst of temptations, he comes to God who loves us and says: "Lend me three loaves of bread," that is, the salvation of body, soul and spirit. For temptations threaten these three. Who is the friend who came in from the road? Without any doubt, the Lord, who tests us in temptations and wants to taste our salvation. A person who has fallen into temptations, unable to resist them by himself and receive the Lord, has nothing to offer Him. - Locked doors mean that we must be ready before temptations, and when we fall, then the door to preparation is already shut, and we, being unprepared, will suffer danger if God does not help. Children are (inasmuch as they were first converted) those who, through virtue, have become the sons of God, recline and rest in God.

     And I will say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it will be opened to you: for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Which of you father, when his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? or when he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for eggs, will he give him a scorpion? Therefore, if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.