Honoring Bethany's Sisters and Brother Together

By virtue of a Decree issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship last February, the Roman Rite has now caught up with the soundest traditions about Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, and so starting tomorrow the three siblings will be celebrated together in one liturgical memorial. 

"The traditional uncertainty of the Latin Church about the identity of Mary - the Magdalene to whom Christ appeared after his resurrection, the sister of Martha, the sinner whose sins the Lord had forgiven - which resulted in the inclusion of Martha alone on 29 July in the Roman Calendar, has been resolved in recent studies and times, as attested by the current Roman Martyrology, which also commemorates Mary and Lazarus on that day. Moreover, in some particular calendars the three siblings are already celebrated together.

"Therefore, the Supreme Pontiff Pope FRANCIS, considering the important evangelical witness they offered in welcoming the Lord Jesus into their home, in listening to him attentively, in believing that he is the resurrection and the life, and accepting the proposal of this Dicastery, has decreed that 29 July be designated in the General Roman Calendar as the Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus."

The full text can be accessed at:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/1538477881080991285/6776238992910616039

And, pending the approval of the translation from Latin into English, the following interim text may be used for the Proper of the Mass:

https://www.usccb.org/resources/sts-martha-mary-lazarus-interim-texts-english.pdf

This welcome development is long overdue, having been long complicated by centuries in which Mary of Magdala was incorrectly identified with Mary of Bethany and both incorrectly identified with Luke's "sinful woman." As the Decree notes, the three are already celebrated together in some particular calendars. According to some traditions, Martha and Mary have been included among the women who went to the tomb on Easter Sunday and saw the Risen Lord in Matthew's account. Also according to some traditions, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus all ended up in Cyprus and are buried there.

But as the decree makes clear, it is the unique relationship that they as a family had with Jesus - including Martha's hospitality to Jesus in her home and her profession of faith at Lazarus's tomb, Mary's attentive listening to Jesus - that this celebration highlights.

(Photo: Traditional Site of Lazarus' Tomb, Bethany, Israel)