Step #42-The Best We Have to Offer

“You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” John 12:8

Monday of Holy Week (April 6, 2009)

In today’s gospel passage, Judas ridicules Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, for wasting an expensive perfumed oil to anoint Jesus’ feet. Jesus defends her. It may seem by His answer that He did not care about the poor, but that was not the case at all. He knew Judas’ heart. He knew Judas did not care about the poor. He knew Judas was just thinking about himself and what he could do with the money if he sold the oil. That is why he tells him that he would not always have Jesus in his life. After Jesus died, the disciples would still have him because He would resurrect and return to them, but not to Judas. Judas was going straight to hell.

Sometimes we are ridiculed because we do something out of love for Jesus. The people at work may ridicule us because we don’t eat meat on Fridays. They just don’t see the point of it. Our sacrifices during Lent are a way to show our love to Jesus. By offering our sacrifices to allow us to get closer to Him, we are uniting ourselves to Him on the cross. If we combine our sacrifices with almsgiving, we are showing Him how much we love Him because we care for His children that are in need.

Jesus has shown us His love every step of this journey. We need to repay Him with our love. During this Holy Week, let us be like Mary who did not think of the price. She just thought that for Her Master she wanted the best. Let us give to Jesus the best we have to offer. Let us love those we encounter with all our heart. Let us smile to every person that comes in contact with us. Let us forgive those that hurt us. Let us be compassionate to those in need. Let Jesus’ love for us melt our hearts so that we can spread His love all around.