Sts. Mary and Martha, sisters of St. Lazarus (1st c.)
Commemorated on the Sunday of Myrrh-Bearing Women and June 4 and
Mary and Martha, with their brother Lazarus, were especially
devoted disciples of our Lord; their story up to the time of the Resurrection
can be found in Luke 10 and John 11-12. Mary and Martha were among the
Myrrh-bearing women. They, with their brother, reposed in Cyprus, where Lazarus
became first Bishop of Kition after he was raised from death by Christ.
An ancient tradition holds that Lazarus was thirty years old when he was
restored to life by the Lord, and that he lived another thirty years. After he
was raised from the dead, he never again laughed; but once, when he saw someone
stealing a clay pot, he smiled and said, 'Clay stealing clay.' His name is a
Greek version of Eleazar, meaning 'God has
helped.'