clearly and completely in love
"Mary brought a pound of costly perfume made from genuine aromatic nard, with which she anointed Jesus' feet. Then she dried His feet with her hair." —John 12:3
The Lord gives us the command and the privilege to love Him with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength (Lk 10:27). David prayed: "For You my flesh pines and my soul thirsts," and "My soul clings fast to You," and "Your kindness is a greater good than life" (Ps 63:2, 9, 4). Another psalmist prayed to the Lord: "When I am with You, the earth delights me not" (Ps 73:25). Pope John Paul II has spoken of having an encounter with the living God (Church in America, 7ff) and of praying "until the heart truly 'falls in love' " with God (Entering the New Millennium, 33).
In effect, the Lord wants us to have a relationship with Him as Mary of Bethany did. The Lord wants us to throw ourselves at His feet without counting the cost (see Jn 12:3). The Lord wants our love for Him to be so manifest that it is written all over our lives in our speech, work, relationships, decisions, sufferings, etc. Our lifestyles should proclaim our passion for Jesus so comprehensively and boldly that anyone observing us for a few minutes would have to come to the conclusion that we are preoccupied with loving Jesus.
This Holy Week, pray to be like Mary of Bethany in her obvious love for Jesus.
Prayer: Father, may I take personally Jesus' death on the cross.
Promise: "I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness." —Is 42:6-7
Praise: When asked why she never remarried, Sarah proclaims Jesus as her Spouse. She quotes this Scripture as God's new calling for her life: "The reproach of your widowhood no longer remember. For He Who has become your husband is your Maker; His name is the Lord of hosts" (Is 54:4-5).
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, October 9, 2003
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, October 14, 2003