Deepertruth: Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus

Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus 7/28/2023

On January 26, 2021, Pope Francis ordered the inscription of Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus into the General Roman Calendar, to replace the existing celebration of Saint Martha alone.

Henceforth, July 29 will be celebrated as the feast day of Sts. Martha, Mary and Lazarus, the family at Bethany who were close friends of the Lord Jesus.

This recent decision by Pope Francis illustrates how the liturgical calendar helps us to understand the sacred scriptures.

There are thousands upon thousands of canonized saints. The Roman Martyrology is the liturgical book that records these canonized saints according to their feast days. Certain days may well have a dozen or more saints, for every saint (and blessed) has a feast day. Only a miniscule fraction of priests — let alone the lay faithful — even have a copy of the Martyrology (it’s only in Latin), so while it is a book of great importance, it is generally unknown.

Martha, Mary, and their brother Lazarus were evidently close friends of Jesus. He came to their home simply as a welcomed guest, rather than as one celebrating the conversion of a sinner like Zacchaeus or one unceremoniously received by a suspicious Pharisee. The sisters felt free to call on Jesus at their brother’s death, even though a return to Judea at that time seemed to spell almost certain death.