Saint Mary of Bethany, her sister Martha, and their brother Lazarus were Jesus’s dear friends. When Jesus came with his disciples to the family's house for dinner, Mary sat at the Lord's feet, listening quietly and lovingly to his teaching. Martha, busy preparing the meal, was frustrated with her sister, but Jesus said "Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her."
When Lazarus was very ill, Mary and Martha sent for Jesus. He did not come for two days and Lazarus had died. Mary told Jesus that Lazarus would not have died, if Jesus had been there. She proclaimed her faith in Jesus as God when she said this. Jesus rewarded her faith by raising Lazarus from the dead.
There are many women in the gospels named Mary. Mary of Bethany anointed Christ’s feet with oil and dried them with her hair in the gospels of John, Matthew, and Mark. She is not the sinful woman who washed His feet with her tears in the gospel of Luke.
Saint Mary of Bethany was one of the women who came to anoint Christ’s body after the crucifixion. Imagine their surprise to find the stone rolled away and the tomb empty! How joyful she must have been to find Our Lord, her dear friend, had risen from the dead!
Saint Mary of Bethany is the patron saint of spiritual studies, and of lectors and commentators in the Philippines. Let us ask Saint Mary of Bethany to help us to befriend the Lord and to always listen to His word, even if it means putting aside other things.