July 29, 2025 // Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus

Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: John 11:19-27

Reflect on the Word // 

“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:21), Saint Martha tells Jesus in today’s Gospel. 

My own heart cries out, Lord, if only You had been here, I would not be experiencing all of this loss. If You had been here all this suffering would not have happened. These months and months of never-ending illness, the losses from both hurricanes hitting us back to back, the devastation of our communities, the sadness, uncertainty, and grief from all the trauma, if only You had been here, Lord, if only You had come, if You had shown up, if You had heard our prayers, all this would be different right now.

In the grief of the loss of her brother, Saint Martha shows us how to have great faith in the midst of suffering. She says, “But even now, I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you” (John 11:22) .

In my prayer I gather my strength to make an act of trust though I can’t yet see any of the good. Even now I will surrender to You. I trust You, God. Help me, God, to see You even in this.  

Jesus teaches us greater truths that go beyond our very real sufferings, losses, and pain. He says, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26).

This mystery is the bedrock of our faith. These are words worth contemplating. As He asks Saint Martha, He also asks us, “Do you believe this?” (John 11:26) 

Can we have faith to believe in Jesus even in the midst of our deepest pain, where He meets us in His own suffering? It is precisely there that God works miracles of resurrection and life. 

May we have Saint Martha’s faith to answer with conviction, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world” (John 11:27).

Relate to the Lord // Share any grief you carry with the Lord. Where do you need Him to bring resurrection and new life?