As we begin the journey of Holy Week, the Gospel gives us a quiet but powerful scene from John 12:1–11.

Jesus is at dinner with friends. In the middle of that ordinary moment, Mary of Bethany approaches Jesus Christ with a jar of costly perfume. Without hesitation, she pours it on His feet and wipes them with her hair.

It is an extravagant act. The perfume is worth nearly a year’s wages.

Immediately, Judas Iscariot objects. From his perspective, the gesture makes no sense. The perfume could have been sold. The money could have been used for something else.

In other words, Judas is thinking about profit and efficiency. Mary is thinking about Jesus.

The Gospel shows us two different ways of seeing the same moment. Mary sees someone worthy of her love. Judas sees something being wasted. And in that contrast, we begin to see the deeper invitation of Holy Week.

Mary’s action appears costly. She gives up something valuable in order to honor Jesus. But what she gains is far greater. She gains closeness to Christ at a moment that prepares Him for the cross. She participates in the beginning of the mystery that will unfold throughout Holy Week.

Judas, on the other hand, holds tightly to what he believes is valuable. Yet in the end he loses the very relationship that mattered most. This Gospel quietly raises a question for us. What are we willing to give up in order to draw closer to Christ?

For many people, Holy Week arrives in the middle of busy schedules. Work responsibilities continue. Meetings, deadlines, and daily routines do not stop.

Sometimes entering into the liturgies of Holy Week requires a real decision. It might mean leaving work earlier than usual. It might mean setting aside other activities or opportunities.

In a small way, it may even feel like losing something—time, productivity, or profit. But the Gospel invites us to look at this differently. Mary seemed to lose something valuable that evening. Yet what filled the house was not loss, but fragrance. Her love for Christ filled the room.

Holy Week invites us to make a similar choice: to set aside some things that seem important so that we can enter more deeply into what truly matters.

During this week the Church walks with Christ:

• from His entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday
• to the gift of the Eucharist on Holy Thursday
• to the sacrifice of the cross on Good Friday
• and finally to the joy of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday.

These days are not simply events we remember. They are moments we are invited to enter. Like Mary, we are invited to draw close to Jesus at the beginning of His final journey.

This week, we might ask ourselves a simple but honest question: Am I willing to lose a little profit, time, or comfort this week in order to gain Christ? Am I willing to pause from the usual routines of work and activity so that I can walk with Him through these sacred days?

Because in the end, Holy Week is not only about remembering what Jesus did. It is about deciding whether we are willing to draw close enough to Him to let His sacrifice shape our lives.

And when we do, something beautiful happens.



Like the perfume in Bethany, the fragrance of that encounter begins to fill our lives—and the lives of those around us.