Week Six: Before the Cross, A Fragrance That Lingers

Week Six: Before the Cross, A Fragrance That Lingers

Love lingers where death still casts its shadow.

Before the crowd cries Hosanna.
Before the palms are laid down.
Before the curtain tears and the tomb breaks open—
There is this week.

A man has walked out of a grave.
And still, the cross draws near.

This is the in-between moment, the breath before the plunge.
Jesus returns to Bethany, where the scent of resurrection still lingers.
And there, Mary bends low—breaking a jar, anointing his feet,
filling the room with a fragrance that will not fade.

She does what no one else dares:
She prepares him for what’s coming.
She names what no one wants to say.
And in her silence, devotion speaks louder than words.

This week is not yet Passion Week.
It is the ache that precedes it.
The intimacy of knowing and not turning away.
The quiet courage of staying close.

This Week, We Will...

• Sit in the sacred stillness before the procession begins

• Let Mary's anointing teach us the language of love that prepares and grieves

• Explore the tension of resurrection glimpsed but not yet fulfilled

• Dwell in the mystery of a God who allows himself to be touched, held, and prepared for death

• Reflect on the cost of devotion, and what we too are called to pour out

Where We Are in the Journey

This is the final week before Passion Week.
We do not rush ahead.
We stay in the room where oil spills,
Where a woman kneels,
Where a body is tenderly made ready.

Let us breathe in what lingers.
Let us love him now, while he is still with us.
Let us not skip this part.