The name “Martha” is used only here in the Scriptures, but “Mary” was a common name in this era. Mary is a form of Miriam, the name of the sister of Moses. We remember Mariam from the story of the Exodus and her song of jubilation when the Israelites safely crossed the Red Sea as they fled from Egypt and slavery. It is probable that the two sisters and their brother were unmarried and were wealthy – or at least independent since neither parents nor vocation is ascribed to them.

Most of us have a favorite saint or two among all the men and women honored in our faith. Today is the Feast Day for St. Mary Magdalene, my absolute favorite saint. She has been a favorite of artists and storytellers since the beginning of Christianity. Artists have painted only Mary, the Mother of Jesus, more times than Mary Magdalene.

I was asked recently why I choose to think about saints in these meditations. The most important reason is that I find the lives of saints fascinating and challenging. Too often we think of saints as extraordinary men and women who live tucked away from everyday happenings, very brave and always extremely poor.

In 1877, Eva Lee’s father was elected as Senator from Ohio and the family moved to Washington, D.C. Three years later her father was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Rutherford B. Hayes. That same year Eva Lee entered Wellesley College, though she never graduated.

Mary, the Mother of Jesus, was a very young woman, probably 14 or 15 years old. Tradition is that Joseph was much older than she, but we do not have that included in Scripture. A second marriage, a second family was not unusual in these times as women often died in childbirth or broke their health with multiple pregnancies.

Sometime in 590 CR, Columba became embroiled in a battle over a manuscript that turned into a real war.  Columba had made a copy of a psalter while in the scriptorium of Movilla Abbey, with the knowledge of the abbey, but he intended to keep the copy for himself.

Late in the 2nd Century, when Christianity was young and definitely not a legal religion in the Roman Empire, there were 2 small communities in what we know as Southern France. Both communities had seen an influx of Greeks from Asia and Phrygia who brought their Christian faith with them.

This is certainly the week for celebrations. Monday was Memorial Day and we remembered our family members and friends who served this country with honor in peace and war times. Monday was also the last day of Ramadan for our Moslem brothers and sisters.