VERBUM DOMINI

The Fragrance Prayer

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“Dear Jesus, help me to spread your fragrance everywhere I go.” These words begin what has been popularly called “The Fragrance Prayer,” written by Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman. The prayer continues: “Flood my soul with your spirit and life. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly, that my life may only be a radiance of yours. Shine through me, and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence in my soul.”

The Fragrance Prayer came to mind as I read this Sunday’s gospel. A “sinful woman,” who learns that Jesus is dining at the home of Simon the Pharisee, enters Simon’s home with an alabaster flask of ointment, stands behind Jesus, anoints his feet with the perfumed oil and dries his feet with her hair. Imagine for a moment the fragrant aroma that must have spread throughout the house as she poured this perfumed oil over Jesus’ feet.

Simon, the Pharisee, then wonders why Jesus would allow this sinful woman to touch him. “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” But Simon completely misses the point. Jesus knows exactly who this woman is. He knows that she is a sinner…as is each one of us. But Jesus doesn’t focus on her sins; rather, he focuses on her repentance and her love. This is why Jesus says, “her many sins have been forgiven because she has shown great love.” What matters most to Jesus is not the woman’s sins but her repentance and love.

This is an important lesson for us, particularly during the Year of Mercy. As Pope Francis has stated over and over again, God loves to forgive; therefore, God loves repentance. It’s not difficult for God to deal with our sins. All we need to do is simply repent, like the woman in the gospel. And when we approach Jesus with a heart filled with repentance and love, he in turn floods our souls with his spirit and life, as the Fragrance Prayer states.

The alabaster flask of ointment that the woman pours over Jesus’ feet is symbolic of a heart filled with repentance and love that pours itself out to Jesus. As the woman in the gospel anointed Jesus’ feet with perfumed oil, we are called to spread the fragrance of the love and mercy of Jesus, first by pouring our hearts out to him, then by sharing the message of his love and mercy with others. As you attend Mass this weekend, offer these words to Jesus: “Dear Jesus, help me to spread your fragrance everywhere I go… Flood my soul with your spirit and life… Shine through me, and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence in my soul.”

Father Michael Najim is Spiritual Director of Our Lady of Providence Seminary, Providence, as well as Catholic Chaplain at LaSalle Academy, Providence.