Pope Benedict XVI Blog

The fragrant love of John Paul II has filled the whole Church, Benedict XVI says

Papal Masses

Vatican City, Apr 2, 2007 / 11:00 pm (CNA).- Presiding at a Mass Monday afternoon in St. Peter’s Basilica to commemorate the second anniversary of the death of John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI remarked that “the fragrance of his love has ‘filled the whole house,’ that is, the whole Church.”

Before the thousands of pilgrims gathered - many of them Polish - along with various Cardinals, Bishops, and others, the Holy Father recalled that this second anniversary of Pope John Paul’s death falls in the midst of Holy Week. The Holy Father noted that today’s Gospel speaks of Mary of Bethany’s anointing of the feet of Jesus with aromatic oils (Jn 12:1-9).

The action of Mary, as recounted by John the Evangelist, “speaks of love for Christ, a superabundant love, prodigal, like that ‘costly perfumed oil’ poured upon his feet,” the Pope said.

“For us, reunited in prayer in memory of my venerated predecessor, the gesture of the anointing of Mary of Bethany is rich in echoes and spiritual meaning,” he continued.

This act, Benedict said, “evokes the luminous testimony which John Paul II offered of a love for Christ without reserve or limitation. The ‘fragrance’ of his love has ‘filled the whole house,’ that is, the whole Church.”
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 3:44 PM