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A Latin spiritual journey with discerning hearts from ashes to glory.
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The Fragrance of Love.
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A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John, chapter 12, verses 1 through 11.
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Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom he had raised
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They gave a dinner for him there.
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Martha waited on them and Lazarus was among those at table.
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Mary brought in a pound of very costly ointment, pure nard, and with it anointed the feet
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of Jesus, wiping them with her hair.
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The house was filled with the scent of the ointment.
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Then Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, the man who was to betray him, said,
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Why wasn't this ointment sold for 300 denariah and the money given to the poor?
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He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief.
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He was in charge of the common fund and used to help himself to the contents.
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So Jesus said, Leave her alone.
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She had to keep this scent for the day of my burial.
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You have the poor with you always, you will not always have me.
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Meanwhile, a large number of Jews heard that he was there and came, not only on account
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of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
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Then the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus as well, since it was on his account that
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many of the Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus.
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Holy Week begins not with fanfare, but with silence and intimacy.
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We are brought into the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, not for a miracle, but for a quiet
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Mary of Bethany says nothing, but in her silence, she listens.
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And in her listening, she responds, she kneels beside Jesus and pours out what is the
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most precious to her, the costly ointment, her dignity, her very self.
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What moved her to do this?
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There is no record of Jesus asking her, no instruction from the disciples, but she had
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been at his feet before.
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She knew the sound of his voice, and she had learned to listen, not just to words, but
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to the movement of the Spirit.
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This act is the fruit of deep prayer, of the Father working through the Spirit and the
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stillness of her heart.
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It is the Father preparing the Son for what is to come.
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Mary, hidden, faithful, receptive, says yes.
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And still, she is ridiculed.
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Her devotion is questioned, her motives assumed, but she does not defend herself.
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She had to keep this scent for the day of my burial.
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Pope Benedict XVI wrote,
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Mary's gesture is the response of one who, in encountering Jesus, has come to understand
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that no gift is too costly to give to him, because he is the infinite love of God made
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Sometimes love will look foolish.
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Sometimes prayer will lead us where others cannot follow, but if we remain in communion
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with the Father, if we listen with the heart, we will know what to do.
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And the Lord will receive it.
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The Desert Father, Abamosus once said,
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If a man wishes to be always in the presence of God, he must pray often and love with
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That is what Mary of Bethany does.
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This is what we are invited to do now.
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If you are holding back because you are afraid to be misunderstood, if you wonder whether
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your offering is too small, if your prayer has led you to something others don't see,
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stay close to the Lord.
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Trust the Spirit's prompting.
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Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom he had raised
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They gave a dinner for him there.
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Martha waited on them and Lazarus was among those at table.
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Mary brought in a pound of very costly ointment, pure nard, and with it anointed the feet of
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Jesus, wiping them with her hair.
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The house was filled with the scent of the ointment.
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Then Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, the man who was to betray him, said,
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Why wasn't this ointment sold for 300 denarii and the money given to the poor?
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He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief.
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He was in charge of the common fund and used to help himself to the contents.
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So Jesus said, Leave her alone.
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She had to keep this scent for the day of my burial.
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You have the poor with you always.
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He will not always have me.
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Meanwhile, a large number of Jews heard that he was there and came.
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Not only on account of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
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Then the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus as well, since it was on his account that
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many of the Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus.
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Do you fear pouring out for Jesus?
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Where is love asking you to move without calculation or fear?
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What would it mean today to be present and his feet as Mary was?
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Lord Jesus, you receive the love Mary poured out and you made it part of the path to the
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Help us to offer you what we cling to, our time, our comfort, even our wounds.
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Let our love be real, fragrant in its surrender, and faithful, even in silence, amen.
