Praying with the Gospels: The Tears of a Sinner

Lord, I so often fail to show my devotion to You,
not giving you water for your feet, not greeting
You with the kiss of peace, nor anointing You
with oil upon the head which bore all suffering.

Grant me the grace, I pray, to humble myself in
recognizing my sinfulness so that I might honor
You by anointing Your Body by pouring upon
it the oil of the praises of a faithful worshiper.

May I in my gratitude learn to wash Your feet
as You washed the feet of the Apostles before
You were pierced with nails in hands and feet,
washing them with the gentle tears of a sinner.



By Unknown - This image is available from the National Library of Wales You can view this image in its original context on the NLW Catalogue, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44920333


Note:  The Anointing of Jesus is a well-known description of his encounter with a sinful woman.  It appears in slightly different forms in all 4 of the Gospels, but the one I used is from the Gospel of Luke.