Wednesday of Holy Week: Anointing at Bethany

Mad Muncher hanging a perfume bottle

On Wednesday of Holy Week, Jesus went to dinner at the house of Simon the Leper.  When we open our egg for today, inside we find some small bottles of perfume tied with ribbons for hanging.  You can usually buy a box of tiny perfume bottles around Christmas time, and sometimes stores give these out for free as samples.  (There are other options here at the Amazon search page.  I'm sure there are other possibilities as well online or at craft stores.)

Anointing at Bethany,  Francois Maitre

Our Gospel reading today is Mark 14:1-11, the story of the woman anointing our Lord's head with oil before His death.
In the Old Testament, prophets, priests, and kings were all anointed before assuming their roles.  The anointing oil symbolized the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on them.  Our Lord is the true prophet--the Word of God Himself.  He is the High Priest forever.  He is the King of Kings.  He is the One Who will send the Holy Spirit down to us.  His anointing thus points forward to His Passion and death, and, beyond that, to His Resurrection, His power, and His glory.