The Lord said, ‘I will see you
again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one shall take your joy away’. Mary
prefigured that joy when she sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.
She was silent, doing no work, she
cleaved at the truth as far as can be in this life, yet it is only a
foreshadowing of the joy that will last
for ever.
Her sister Martha was occupied with
work that has to be done, but which, however good and useful, will pass away
when we come to eternal rest. So the Lord said, ‘Mary has chosen the best part
which shall not be taken from her’. He did not say that Martha’s part was bad,
only that the one which would not be taken away was the better.
For example, the work of looking
after the needy will pass away, when there is no more poverty. But it is the
transitory good works that will gain us eternal rest. In contemplating God each
of us will find all that we desire, for he will be all in all when we see and
possess him; that is why his Holy Spirit in our hearts makes us pray: ‘One
thing have I asked, this I have longed for: to dwell for ever in the Lord’s
house and contemplate his love’.
On the Trinity, VIII. 5
