Learning from Mary

Monday of Holy Week

John 12:1-12

The anointing of Jesus at Bethany was a gesture of extravagant hospitality and compassion.  Would any of us dare to spend nearly a year’s income to welcome a guest?  Who of us would not only do what was customary in washing that guest’s feet but then anoint those feet and dry them with our hair?

For Mary, however, Jesus was more than a guest, a family friend or even a prophet.  He was her Lord, the one at whose feet she sat and who raised her brother Lazarus from the dead.  So her very tender, personal and generous anointing was also an act of gratitude.  For Jesus it was also preparation for the completion of his mission and, ultimately, his death and burial.  

As we enter the holiest week of our liturgical year, most of us are separated from and deprived of the Eucharist, “the source and summit” of our life together and the font of our activity in the world.  When we return to the table of the Lord, will we do so with a deeper spirit of humility, hospitality, compassion and gratitude, ready to offer ourselves more generously for the one who lovingly gave his life for us and has raised us from death?