Homily: April 3, 2023, Monday of the Holy Week

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 "Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus, then dried them with her hair.”

According to Judas' valuation, the cost of that bottle of essential oil which Mary used to anoint Jesus, was equal to one year's wages.

How much do you earn in a year? Would you give all to Jesus?

That is quite a significant amount of money. For most of us, we would probably not even give one month of our salary. Well, we do have other obligations and commitments to take care of, don’t we?

That was what Judas thought too, that it was a waste to use the precious expensive oil on Jesus’ feet. It could have fed the poor and hungry.

But not Mary. To her, Jesus is above all, He more than deserve everything from us. Yet He doesn’t want anything from us, He wants us, the whole of us.

Are we able to give all our money, all our time, all our energy, all our talents, all our heart, all our mind, all our soul to Jesus? To God?

We must be thinking, there are other people, other tasks, other needs, other objectives in our lives to feed, to fulfil, to satisfy, to achieve, am I right?

It is not easy. To give up so much. It demands sacrifice, total selfless giving, complete self-denial. Only true love can move anyone to give totally, completely, fully for the good of the other.

Jesus can. Jesus did. For sinners, for us.

We are now in the most holy and sacred week of the liturgical year, let us not waste our time or energy on other matters but devote ourselves to the Lord. Walk with the Lord, who kept nothing for Himself, but gave totally to us.

Amen.


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