(Sixteenth Sunday of the Year (C): This homily was given on July 19, 1998 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Luke 10: 38-42.)

"There is a reward for those who choose 'the better part'."

There is a reward for those who choose "the better part." There is a reward HERE--on this earth--for those willing to choose the better part. That's the message of today's gospel: a message that busy people of the 1990's definitely need to hear.

Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, chose the better part by taking time to sit at the feet of Jesus; by taking time to listen to his words and reflect on them--so that those words would touch her mind and change her heart. Now notice Jesus didn't say this was the "only part." He was not advocating laziness. He was not giving children an excuse for not doing their chores. He was not giving adults an excuse to neglect their responsibilities to their families. The Lord certainly recognized that there was work to be done in his friends' home. But Martha's life was way out of balance: for her it was all work and no prayer, and this made her anxious and angry. On the other hand, Mary's prayerful pause from work made her peaceful and joyful. That was her reward for choosing the better part.

On that note, once again, last weekend, we took a group of 80 teenagers to the Steubenville-East Youth Conference at LaSalette Shrine in Attleboro. They took time out of their summer schedules to "choose the better part," and I think most (if not all) of them would agree that God rewarded them abundantly. It's hard to describe what happens at these conferences, except to say that it's AWESOME! In part it's like a rock concert with Jesus Christ at the center of it--if you can imagine such an event. The music is incredible: the teens sing, they dance, they clap, they shout--at times the noise under that huge tent last weekend was absolutely deafening. I thought my eardrums were about to burst several times. Two thousand teenagers who get excited about God and their Catholic faith can make a lot of noise--believe me!

But the most visibly powerful moment of the weekend always comes on Saturday night--not in the midst of the loud music and praising; not in the midst of the powerful talks given by great speakers. The most powerful moment comes in a subdued atmosphere of prayer, when the Blessed Sacrament is brought into the tent, and processed up and down the aisles. That's the time when Jesus Christ ministers to these teens and really touches them. It happens when they "sit at the Lord's feet" quietly like Mary did. Some of them will break down and cry, letting go of burdens they've been carrying around inside of them for months or years; others will be filled with incredible joy; some won't have any emotional reaction at all, but will simply be filled with a deeper faith. As I said--if you've never seen it, it's very hard to describe. But I love it--as much as the teens do.

These young people chose the better part, and were rewarded. Will they continue to be blessed in this way? That depends on whether or not they continue to follow Mary's example in their lives back here in Westerly. I ask you today to pray for them, that they will do that: that they will be faithful to Mass and the sacraments; that they will support each other on the right path; and that they will sit at the feet of Jesus every day by taking time to pray and read his Word.

Let me conclude this morning with a little poem that I came across several years ago called, "The Difference." I think there's a message here for the teens who came to the youth conference last weekend, and for all of us:

"The Difference"

I got up early one morning and rushed right into the day;
I had so much to accomplish, that I didn't have time to pray.