Gospel: Jn 12:1-11

Pro-Life Prayer: Heavenly Father, Mary anointed Jesus with oil in preparation for his death and burial, showing respect for His earthly body. Please bless those who are in mourning for a loved one and give them hope in your resurrection this Easter.

Activities

Coloring: Color oil jug (https://www.teachusthebible.com/Images/oil_jar.pdf)

Activity: Talk about the use of oils in burial in Biblical times and in the Church today.

Importance of oils in Jewish burial: Part of Jewish law included the proper way to bury someone, to honor their body after death. This included the anointing of the body with specific oils. There were also very specific laws which said that they could not do work on the Sabbath, which began at sundown on Good Friday. Because of this, Joseph of Arimathea and the others had to rush to get Jesus’s body into the tomb on Good Friday before sundown. It is very likely that they did not completely anoint Jesus’s body in the rush. Two of the Gospels (Mark and Luke) tell us that the women who found the empty tomb on Easter Sunday were bringing oils to anoint His body, but they never got a chance because Jesus had already raised from the dead. So, it turns out, Mary’s anointing of Jesus was not a waste as Judas believed, but a foreshadowing of the events to come and an early preparation of His body for a proper Jewish burial. (Read more about Jewish burial and mourning in the time of Jesus here.)

(A good article about oils in the Church today)

Window Display

Phrase: She had done what she could.

Displayed Art: Oil Jug from coloring