Mary had listened and understood; she had listened more carefully than Christ's disciples and had believed what Jesus said. Thus she came to the meal at Simon the Leper's home in Bethany and anointed Jesus, not only out of gratitude for all he had done (including raising her brother, Lazarus, from the dead), but – as Jesus himself said – she anointed him in preparation for his death. Mary did "what she could." We can never repeat Mary's act, for Christ will never die again. How can our lives reflect this lesser Lenten light?