Reflection for April 14 Monday of Holy Week: John 12:1-11

Gospel: John 12:1-11

Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him. Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.  

Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples, and the one who would betray him, said, "Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days' wages and given to the poor?" He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions. So Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."  

The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came, not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too, because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him.

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Reflection:

Is money at the top of your priority list?

Money was always on the mind of Judas. His obsession with possessing it drove him to betray Jesus. If only Judas had learned to detach himself from the love of money, he would not have encountered a gruesome death. But he chose to be enslaved by money.

Martha did not choose money over Jesus; instead, she preferred to serve Him. The same is true with Mary and Lazarus. Mary chose to anoint Jesus with expensive perfume, while Lazarus was with Him at the table.

If we want our lives to be serene and peaceful, let us always prefer Jesus over the desire for money or anything that belongs to this world. For example, which would you choose: to go to Sunday Mass or to go somewhere else to earn money?

Money will never satisfy us. The more we have, the more we desire it. And there is no end to the vicious cycle brought about by our love for money. The more we desire money, the more our lives become complicated, stressful, and problematic.

Try detaching yourself from the love of money and, in turn, begin attaching yourself to the good Lord. See for yourself the profound positive impact it will bring into your life. – Marino J. Dasmarinas