Presence of God

O Lord, with Mary of Bethany I wish to pay my humble, devout homage to Your sacred Body before it is disfigured by the Passion.

Meditation

I. The Gospel for today (Jo. 12, 1-9) tells us of this impressive scene: "Jesus therefore, six days before the Pasch, came to Bethany... and they made Him a supper there; and Martha served... 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." Martha, as usual, was busy about many things. Mary, however, paid attention only to Jesus; to show respect to Him, it did not seem extravagant to her to pour over Him a whole vase of precious perfume. Some of those present murmured, "Why this waste? Could not the ointment have been sold... and the price given to the poor?" And they murmured against her (cf. Mc. 14, 4-5). Mary said nothing and made no excuses; completely absorbed in her adored Master, she continued her work of devotion and love.

Mary is the symbol of the soul in love with God, the soul who gives herself exclusively to Him, consuming for Him all that she is and all that she has. She is the symbol of those souls who give up, in whole or in part, exterior activity, in order to consecrate themselves more fully to the immediate service of God and to devote themselves to a life of more intimate union with Him. This total consecration to the Lord is deemed wasteful by those who fail to understand it—-although the same offering, if otherwise employed, would cause no complaint. If everything we are and have is His gift, can it be a waste to sacrifice it in His honor and, by so acting, to repair for the indifference of countless souls who seldom, if ever, think of Him?

Money, time, strength, and even human lives spent in the immediate service of the Lord, far from being wasted, reach therein the perfection of their being. Moreover, by this consecration, they conform to the proper scale of values. Giving alms to the poor is a duty, but the worship and love of God is a higher obligation. If urgent works of charity sometimes require us to leave His service for that of our neighbor, no change in the hierarchy of importance is thereby implied. God must always have the first place.

Jesus Himself then comes to Mary’s defense: "Let her be, that she may keep this perfume against the day of My burial." In the name of all those who love, Mary gave the sacred Body of Jesus, before it was disfigured by the Passion, the ultimate homage of an ardent love and devotion.

II. In St. John’s Gospel it is clearly stated that themurnmrings about Mary’s act were uttered by Judas Iscariot.The sinister face of the traitor appears darker still besidethat of the loyal Mary: physically, he is still numbered amongthe Twelve, but spiritually, he has been cut off from themfor a long time. Ever since the previous year, when theMaster had told them about the Eucharist, Judas was lost.Referring to him on one occasion, Jesus had said, "Havenot I chosen you twelve; and one of you is a devil" (Jo. 6, 71). Judas had been chosen by Jesus with a loveof predilection; he had been admitted to the group of Hisclosest friends and, like the eleven others, had received thegreat grace of the apostolate. In the beginning, he musthave been faithful; but later, attachment to worldly thingsand avarice began to take possession of him, so as tocompletely chill his love for the Master and transform theApostle into a traitor. Because of His divine foreknowledge,Jesus had expected the treachery; and yet, since Judas hadbeen originally worthy of His trust, He had placed himon an equal footing with the other members of the apostoliccollege. Subsequently, although he had already becomea liar, Jesus continued to treat him like the others, showinghim the same love and esteem. This was very painful tothe sensitive heart of Jesus, but He would not act otherwise,He wished that we might see with what love, patience, anddelicacy He treats even His most stubborn enemies. Howmany times must the Master have tried to enlighten thatdarkened mind! Certainly, He was thinking of Judas when He mind! Certainly, Ifc was thinking of Judas’ worldly goods :"You cannot serve God and mammon... What doth itprof it a man if he gain the whole world, and suffer the lossof His own soul?" (Mt 6,24Mt. 6, 24 — Mt. 16, 26). However, thesewords, which should have been an affectionate reproveto the traitor, did not touch him. Judas represents those soulswho have received from God graces of predilection, butwho prove to be unworthy of them, because of theirinfidelities. Consecrated souls must, therefore, be veryfaithful to the grace of their vocation and must not permitthe slightest attachment to take root in their hearts.

Colloquy

Here are two paths, Lord, as diametrically opposed as possible: one of fidelity and one of betrayal, the loving fidelity of Mary of Bethany, the horrible treachery of Judas. O Lord, how I should like to offer You a heart like Mary’s! How I should like to see the traitor in me entirely dead and destroyed!

But You tell me: "Watch ye, and pray that you enter not into temptation!" (Mt. 14, 38). Oh! how necessary it is for me to watch and pray, so that the enemy will not come to sow the poisonous germs of treason in my heart! May I be faithful to You, Lord, faithful at any cost, in big things as well as in small, so that the foxes oflittle attachments will never succeed in invading and destroying the vineyard of my heart!

"Lord Jesus, when I meditate on Your Passion, the first thing that strikes me is the perfidy of the traitor. He was so full of the venom of bad faith that he actually betrayed You—You, his Master and Lord. He was inflamed with such cupidity that he sold his God for money, and in exchange for a few vile coins delivered up Your precious Blood. His ingratitude went so far that he persecuted even to death Him who had raised him to the height of the apostolate... O Jesus, how great was Your goodness toward this hard-hearted disciple! Although his wickedness was so great, I am much more impressed by Your gentleness and meekness, O Lamb of God! You have given me this meekness as a model. Behold, O Lord, the man whom You allowed to share Your most special confidences, the man who seemed to be so united to You, Your Apostle, Your friend, the man who ate Your bread, and who, at the Last Supper, tasted with You the sweet cup, and this man committed this monstrous crime against You, his Master! But, in spite of all this at the time of betrayal. You, O meek Lamb, did not refuse the kiss of that mouth so full of malice. You gave him everything, even as You gave to the other Apostles, in order not to deprive him of anything that might melt the hardness of his evil heart" (cf. St. Bonaventure).

O Jesus, by the atrocious suffering inflicted on Your heart by that infamous treachery, grant me, I beg of You, the grace of a fidelity that is total, loving, and devoted.