Lenten Reflection Day 35 ~ Monday of Holy Week

Opening Prayers:

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, and Confiteor (see Day 1).  

Scripture Reading (John 12:1–3, 7–8):

“Jesus therefore, six days before the Pasch, came to Bethania… and they made Him a supper there. And Martha served, but Lazarus was one of them that were at table with Him. Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of right spikenard, of great price, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair… And Jesus said: ‘Let her alone, that she may keep it against the day of My burial. For the poor you have always with you; but Me you have not always.’”  

Reflection:

As Holy Week begins in earnest, the Church presents us with the tender scene at Bethany. Mary anoints the feet of Jesus with expensive perfume—a lavish act of love and devotion. It is a prophetic gesture: she is preparing His body for burial, though she may not yet realize the full weight of her action. Mary's act teaches us how to approach these final days of Lent: with reverence, with total surrender, and with deep, personal love for Jesus. She offers something costly—“of great price”—and does so not with calculation but with abandon. So too should we offer to Jesus all that is costly within us: our pride, our attachments, our comforts, our sins, our time. Lent is about pouring out ourselves for Love.

Note also the presence of Lazarus—once dead, now alive, reclining at table with the Lord. It is a subtle foreshadowing of the Resurrection. Where Christ is, death cannot reign. But there is also Judas. He protests this waste of money under the guise of concern for the poor. Scripture tells us it was not true concern, but greed. Let us beware the Judas within: the voice that seeks to rationalize mediocrity or that resents extravagant love. There is no middle ground in Holy Week—either we are moving toward the Cross in love like Mary, or we are slipping into cold betrayal like Judas. Let us follow Mary’s example. Let us waste nothing of this Holy Week.

Let us pour ourselves out in adoration and contrition. Let our tears, like her ointment, fall upon His feet in gratitude. Spend time today in Eucharistic Adoration, or if you cannot, make a spiritual communion with the words, “Jesus, I adore You. I offer myself to You. Let my heart be the vessel of spikenard poured out in love.”

Examine your heart: what will you “pour out” for Jesus this week?  

Saintly Insight:

“The fragrance of the ointment filled the house—such is the fragrance of true devotion. When a soul loves Christ purely, its love fills the Church, giving joy to the faithful and honor to the Savior.” ~ St. Gregory the Great 

Closing Prayers:

V: O Lord, hear my prayer. R: And let my cry come unto Thee. V: Let us bless the Lord. R: Thanks be to God. V: May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. R: Amen.