Mercy and Love, "Cover the Earth"

A certain paint company has a logo which came to mind today when I was listening to the Holy Week Gospel account of the Anointing of Jesus at Bethany (John 12:1-8).

I thought of the costly ointment dripping from the broken vial over Jesus feet , of Mary wiping the oil up with her hair. I thought of the extravagance of that act, the over-flowing-ness of it into our broken world,

Then I read the following from Benedict XVI:

"There is only one anointing that is strong enough to meet death and that is the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the love of God.

There is, then, something that is both exemplary and lasting in Mary's anointing of Jesus at Bethany. It was above all a concern to keep Christ alive in this world and to oppose the powers that aimed to silence and kill him.

It was an act of faith and love. Every such act can have the same effect."

Our world needs this overflowing anointing,

now more than ever,

to cure our broken-ness, to bring us peace,

to restore us to love.