Thou hadst bidden her. As Thou saidst to her, and commandedst her before Thy Death, she kept what was left of the ointment in order that she might therewith anoint Thy Body for Its burial. She did not sell it, as Judas would have had her, for she did not forget Thy words; but she kept it in the alabaster box, and bought yet more of it, so making preparation for Thy needs. Of a truth a friend is proved in distress; true love is shown in the action which it prompts. And so it was that this holy and most faithful Mary proved how she loved Thee in life by the depth of her grief, and by the loving care for Thee which she showed in all that she did for Thee after death in the matter of Thy burial. Not a single thing did she leave undone of all that was needed for the reverent burial of Thy sacred Body. She swathed It, she anointed It, she covered It up, she bound It round, she sewed up the linen cloths, she reverently placed upon Thy sacred Head a napkin as Its fitting covering. All the while that she was doing this she wept unceasingly: her only comfort was the thought that she was found meet to join Thy other followers in attending upon Thee and upon Thy Mother, and that she was able to see all things about Thee rightly done. When at length Thy most sacred Body had been laid in the Tomb, and the entrance to it had been firmly closed and sealed, there was a fresh outburst of grief and lamentation; for she thought that never again in this life would she see Thee, with Whom she had but a short while since enjoyed such fellowship of spiritual life and joy. Nor, even when the Tomb had been closed, could she at once leave the place where her earthly Treasure lay hid: till sundown she sat there mourning in
