What alerted Mary that preparation was the call of the day?  What did she see, sense, perceive?  I confess that for many years I used the three days between Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday as a kind of Holy Week 'time out'.  After all, Palm Sunday and the Triduum (Thursday, Friday, Saturday Vigil) were the 'biggies'.  These 'time out' days were the days to get a lot of stuff done, and I am not referring to heart stuff.

    I am trying this year to be more present to the readings of these days so that they might prepare me to see even greater the build up of this whole week.

    I don't want to miss Mary and her perception.  I don't think this a matter of 'youngest child syndrome' or other socially observed phenomena that might explain away her extravagance.  I think it something about her heart preparation.  She had trained her eyes/heart/soul.  She had the eyes of the 'man born blind having found his 'sight' in the waters of the pool'.  She had the eyes/heart/soul of God: able to see a moment, able to sense a movement, able to hear in silence.  "Now is the time for the oil."  How long had she had it?  How long had she contemplated this action?  A day?  A week?  Longer?

    What we do know is she did not miss the moment.  She was watching.  How will we spend the next three days?  How can I see them as the 'biggies', the days that prep me for Thursday and following?  What kind of 'cleaning up' might I do to get the clutter out of the way, the clutter that keeps me from seeing the moment that is right before me?

Blessed Monday in Holy Week

Todd Donatelli