Gospel (Jn 12,1-11) - Six days before Easter, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead, was. And here they had a dinner for him: Martha served and Lazarus was one of the guests. Mary then took three hundred grams of pure spikenard perfume, very precious, she sprinkled it on Jesus' feet, then dried them with her hair, and the whole house was filled with the aroma of that perfume. Then Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, who was about to betray him, said: "Why wasn't this perfume sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?". He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief and, since he kept the chest, he took what they put in it. Jesus then said: «Let her do it, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. In fact, you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me." Meanwhile, a large crowd of Jews learned that he was there and came running, not only for Jesus, but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. The chief priests then decided to kill Lazarus too, because many Jews were going away because of him and believing in Jesus.

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

With Palm Sunday we entered Holy Week. The Gospel of John opens the story of the Passion with the narration of the dinner in Bethany in the house of Martha, Mary and Lazarus: a family very dear to Jesus. In those days of hard struggle with the Pharisees and the priests, the house of those friends was which became a place of rest and relaxation for Jesus. There were now six days until Easter - as for us - and Jesus was having dinner with them again. There was also Lazarus to whom Jesus had recently given life back. At a certain moment during dinner Mary gets up, approaches Jesus, kneels at her feet, sprinkling them with the ointment and then dries them with her hair. The house fills with perfume. The gesture can be a sign of affectionate gratitude for the gift of life given to the brother. However, it is a gesture of love that smells of gratuitousness. And, in fact, Maria does not calculate any "waste" at all. What counts for her is the love for that prophet who had given her her brother back and who loved her house so tenderly. Judas doesn't think so. For him that gesture so full of love is a useless waste. In reality - and the evangelist notes this - he said this not because he was interested in the poor, but in money, or rather in his own gain. The greed to possess for himself had blinded him. Jesus immediately responds to Judas and says: «Let her alone». She wants Mary to continue her gesture of love: that ointment anticipated the oil with which her body would be sprinkled before burial. And Jesus added: "For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me." In fact, shortly thereafter the "Via Crucis" would begin, until his death. Mary, alone among all, had understood that Jesus was about to be put to death and therefore needed the particular affection and closeness that every dying person requires. This woman, who had allowed herself to be overwhelmed by love for Jesus, teaches us how to be close to this extraordinary Master in these days, and how to be close to the weak and the sick in all their days, in particular the elderly especially when their body weakens and needs to be cared for, including "ointment". In that gesture so tender and full of love, made of simple and concrete gestures, the way of salvation is symbolized: by standing next to the poor, the weak, the elderly, we are next to Jesus himself. It is in this sense that Jesus says: "You will always have the poor with you." They could tell us how much they need the ointment of friendship and affection. Blessed are we - and them - if we have the tenderness and audacity of Mary!