There is a tendency to think that the Christian's response to the materialistic utopia is activism; the response to the world that is obsessed with "having" is "doing." Especially during Lent, we often hear people not simply giving up such and such an object or activity, but making promises such as “I will be kinder to my co-workers,” “I will try to obey my parents,” “I will be kind to my brothers and sisters,” “I will pray more,” “I will go to Mass more,” etc. Frankly, these promises do not usually last and it is usually rooted in the egotistic mentality that we can achieve salvation. Activism fails simply because it distances itself from the contemplative character of Christian existence. The story of Mary and Martha is evidence that life is not about doing, but rather being. The Christian of the twenty first century is either a mystic or a moralist.
The mystic is not a person who is in solitude, but rather one who is aware of a Presence that dominates and sustains every aspect of his being. The awareness of a mystic is that which recognizes a presence that arouses the heart and responds with an openness and attentiveness that allows the totality of the person to be brought into light. This is why the first mystic is the Virgin. Her virginity is the promise of the Incarnation and therefore salvation. Virginity is not abstinence but rather availability to the triune tenderness of the Father. It is the summit of love, the existence of a person who is fully satisfied with God. Here we can understand Fr. Carron’s remark that the problem of Martha is not about action vs. contemplation, but one about depth: Martha failed to be satisfied in her work. Virginity seen not as abstinence but rather availability, is the character of every Christian, the vocation of every human life. It is the awareness of the satisfaction that the Presence of Christ brings in this world; it is the hundredfold.
Virginity comes with toil, however, and a continuous alertness towards the One who has come eucharistically is necessary. Without this continuous Marian and receptive form of existence, life becomes a burdensome passive form of existence. Rather, the mystic is one who is certain that God's faithfulness has the form of friendship and therefore he is never alone; friendship becomes promise and sign. It is in this way that we understand that the Church is the embodiment of the Spirit of Christ. Advent is a time, then, when the Spirit of Christ plunges down into the darkness of our hell and cry out, "Abba! Father!" This is essentially the eschatological character of the Church.
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