St. Martha gets a hard time because she is told off for not putting down her household tasks to listen to Jesus, unlike her sister Mary. But you cannot help feeling that Jesus is going to appreciate the supper Martha is about to provide for them all. She is also one of the first people to declare her belief in the resurrection, which is far ahead of many of the apostles at the time, if not all. Perhaps today is a good day to pray for all women who are working both at home and/or outside. Those who are holding down a job and doing the housework. Those who are single parents (though I know there are fathers doing this as well) who are raising children in tough circumstances. I particularly want to keep in mind two women whose partners left them when they discovered that their child had a disability, and who have had to keep fighting for all that their children deserved, and do this on their own. Their support came from each other. For those women too who are single for whatever reason and have found that to be their way of life and so often get forgotten when we are praising others.
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Kendal Catholic Priest 
Someone pint out to me that as Our Lord was usually accompanied by His disciples, poor Martha could well have been preparing a meal for a small crowd not just Our Lord.
There’s a remarkable painting in Bruges of this moment in Our Lord’s life. It is clear where the artist’s sympathies lie as Martha is simply dressed, while Mary is wearing elaborate and expensive clothing.
Rudyard Kipling is often ill-spoken of these days, usually by people who have not read his remarkable poetry, much of it religious, and some irreligious!. In ‘The Sons of Martha’ he describes her as being “of the careful soul and the troubled heart”.
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