Of The Royal Meadow

 I decided to go on a silent retreat in a monastery this year, one that would test me in more ways than I could count. It was hundreds of miles away, farther than I'd ever gone by myself. It was a full week away, right when life seemed to demand my presence most. I thought of a million reasons not to go. LIFE showed me a million reasons not to go. But when I brought up those reasons with my brothers and sisters in Christ, they always had a word of hope and a word of encouragement that gave me the strength to go.  At the beginning of the retreat, we briefly heard about the story of Martha and Mary. This story always strikes me as having the tendency toward more black and white interpretations. Is it better to be like Martha or to be like Mary? Both have their merits, their virtues, though I think the story of Mary is more often quoted. In the two stories about them, one while serving Jesus in their home  ( Luke 10:38-42 )  and one at the death and raising of Laza...