Mary 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?… 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…. 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.
Father Gabriel of Saint Mary Magdalen, o.c.d.
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