The WORD in Other Words by Fr Lino Nicasio SVD (Philippines) for Holy Monday
Once I commented to a parishioner: “Wow, you brought so many flowers, and very expensive ones too!” The donor replied: “Father these are for the Lord. Why should I be stingy with the Lord who has always been generous to me?”
In the gospel we see Mary anointing the feet of Jesus with expensive perfumed oil. Is this wrong? Do we side with the hypocrite/thief Judas Iscariot in condemning what Mary did? Of course not. We side with Mary who gives us the following lessons:
First, we should be generous to the Lord. As the above-mentioned parishioner observed: “Father these flowers are for the Lord. Why should I be stingy with the Lord who has always been generous to me?” On another occasion, someone asked me: “Father, until when should one be generous to God and others?” I replied: “When the Lord stops being generous to you, then you can stop being generous to Him and to others.”
Second, we should give the best to the Lord. When we have VIP guests at home, don’t we bring out the best and imported towels, soap and the like for their use? So why should we not treat the Lord thus, by giving Him the best that we can give, as Mary did. For example, to God we give the best time for prayer, the best efforts at participating in the sacred liturgies, the best offerings and the like. God indeed deserves the best from us, for He gave us the best gift: His only-begotten Son to be our Savior.
We often say: “God is good all the time; all the time God is good.” Should we not then be good to Him and offer Him the best that we can give?
– Fr. Lino E. Nicasio, SVD (The National Shrine of Saint Jude Thaddeus)
Source – The WORD in Other Words, Bible Diary 2020
