This page is dedicated to Catholic content of a different kind: art. The internet is a wonderful tool but browsing and scrolling isn't always the best thing to do. Sometimes, it is being still and contemplating God through sacred art. Let's do it together.
The Woman Who Washed Jesus' Feet
Luke 7: 36-50
"One of the Pharisees asked [Jesus] to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.
... turning toward the woman [Jesus] said to Simon [the Pharisee], “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
I sin. And sometimes, when I do, I retreat from God. I retreat from the grace that he offers to all sinners who turn to Him. It makes no sense to retreat from His help but there it is.
I sin. And as a result, I feel a special connection to saints who were notable sinners. Over the years, this has led me to one in particular: Mary Magdalene. Now, no doubt she was sinful in the way that we all are, but a 'notable sinner'? The gospel texts that we use to show this do not identify Mary specifically as the woman in question. I'm talking about the woman taken in adultery and the sinful woman who washed Jesus' feet - as in the painting below; neither are named. What scripture does say about Mary Magdalene is that she had seven demons in her. She may, therefore, have been possessed, or perhaps she was mentally ill. I'm not concerned with which. In my own sinfulness rightly or wrongly, I feel a closeness to her, like he understands.
And so, I come to this painting by Daniel Gerhartz. The woman may or may not be Mary. Whoever she is, I am on her side. When I sin, I don't want to retreat from the Lord. I do it because I feel unworthy but I want to run to Him instead. I know that I need to run to Him. Contemplating this painting, I see the woman as someone who ran before me, who took that big and grace-filled step, and whose example was recorded as a sign and encouragement to others, to me. I write this post as an encouragement to myself and to you, to follow in her footsteps to the feet of the Lord, where peace and pardon await.
The Unknown Saint - pray for us
St. Mary Magdalene - pray for us
photo: Daughter of the King
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