Forefeast of the Entrance of the Most Holy Mother of God into the Temple; Blessed Josaphata Hordashevska, First Superior of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate (+1919); Our Venerable Father Gregory of Decapolis (842); Our Holy Father Proclus, Archbishop of Constantinople (446).
Nativity Fast. A day when the faithful are highly encouraged to participate in the Divine Liturgy.
Galatians 2:16-20; Matthew 26:6-13.
Read Matthew 26:6-13
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
What a contrast we have between the woman of Bethany (whom we understand to be Mary, sister to Martha and Lazarus from John’s account of this event) and Judas Iscariot.
Mary offered something quite beautiful and dear to the Lord. She poured out all of her spikenard, a beautiful fragrance derived from a plant in India, upon His feet as an act of devotion and love. In this act, she acknowledged that Jesus was indeed precious to her, more precious that the most valuable item she owned. And in that act of love, she became unknowingly one who fulfils what the Lord had already planned—that He would be anointed bodily before His burial.
We have already seen Judas centred on the purse of Jesus and His disciples. We know already that he had been stealing from their own store of money. It wasn’t enough. While he gave the illusion that meeting the needs of the poor was paramount in his life, the lure of more, twelve pieces of silver, caught him in a net from which he found it difficult to extricate himself. What was it in Judas that needed all this money?
Selflessness and love versus selfishness and greed. That is one of the contrasts between the woman of Bethany and Judas. Where do I find my self today? Like most, as much as I would like to always be like this woman of Bethany, I am often like Judas. Thankfully, mercifully, the Lord accepts my fountain of tears. He who is above the waters of the earth has bowed down to accept my tears, my repentance, my gift of love, even today. His mercy has no bounds!
Bible References