Nothing held back...

Monday of Holy Week

"There is only one anointing that is strong enough to meet death 

and that is the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the love of God.  

There is, then, something that is both exemplary and lasting 

in Mary's anointing of Jesus at Bethany.  It was above all a concern 

to keep Christ alive in this world and to oppose the powers 

that aimed to silence and kill him.  It was an act of faith and love.  

Every such act can have the same effect." - Pope Benedict XVI

(Today's Gospel: John 12:1-11)  

"Nothing is held back, no drop is kept in reserve.

The house is filled with the fragrance, 

because the perfume is no longer hers; 

it has ceased any longer to belong to her as a 

personal possession. The excess of this gesture,

 its extravagance, expresses 

the essential truth about love. 

Neither love nor the perfume, in this case, 

can remain enclosed in a container, protected 

and saved.  Instead, it must be all thrown away 

in the hour of love, wasted imprudently 

without a thought for tomorrow, 

poured out in its entirety."

Fr Donald Haggerty 

_______________

Prophetess and Penitent - The Catholic Thing 

(Fr Paul Scalia)

Painting above:  Forgiven ~ Daniel Gerhartz
Hat tip: Both quotes noted in Magnificat Magazine: Holy Week 2018, Vol. 20, No.1

This Holy Week let us together 
pour out our love before our 
Eucharistic Lord, Jesu Hostia...