Book of Ancient Saints: Volume 1

Saint Mary of Bethany

Mary of Bethany was born around 1st century during the Roman Empire. She is the sister of Martha and Lazarus.

As they continued their journey, he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a brother named Lazarus and a sister named Mary. One day, Mary sat beside Jesus at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, don't you care that I'm the only one serving while my sister just sits and listens?"

"Martha, Martha," Jesus answered, "I know that you're concerned about serving me and making things comfortable, but only one thing is important right now and Mary has chosen it."

In the account of the raising of Lazarus, Jesus meets with the sisters in turn: Martha followed by Mary. Martha goes immediately to meet Jesus as he arrives, while Mary waits until she is called. After Martha said to Jesus that she believed that he is the Messiah and the Son of God, Jesus sent Martha for Mary. 

Martha went and called her sister, Mary, secretly, saying, "Jesus is here and is asking for you." As she heard this, Mary quickly rose and went to him. For Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still where Martha had met him. So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting  her saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her, presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother, Lazarus, would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Sir, come and see."

After that, Jesus wept. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him." But some of them said, "Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?"

Mary brings Jesus to Lazarus' tomb where he commands to be removed from its entrance. After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus said, "Loose him and let him go."  

Six days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him. Mary took an liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples, and the one who would betray him, said, "This is an outrage! Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days' wages and given to the poor?" He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions. So Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me." 

Mary was venerated in Catholic Church, Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, and Lutheran Church. According to Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican Communion liturgical calendar, her feast is on July 29, while in Orthodox liturgical calendar, her feast day is on June 4.