SEE BOTTOM HALF OF THIS PAGE FOR ICONS OF THE REPENTANT HARLOT – It is difficult to identify whether some of the Icons are of Saint Mary of Bethany, or of the repentant woman, with Jesus, as they both had the Blessing to anoint His most pure Head and Feet.
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John 12:1-8
Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”
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Below are some beautiful Icons of Our Lord having His head and feet anointed with fragrant oil. It is difficult to identify whether the below Icons are of Saint Mary of Bethany, or of the repentant woman, with Jesus, as they both had the Blessing to anoint His most pure Head and Feet.
Portions of Prayers from the Great Canon of Saint Andrew: As precious ointment, O Saviour, I empty on Your head the alabaster box of my tears. Like the Harlot, I cry out to You, seeking Your Mercy: I bring my Prayer and ask to receive forgiveness. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me. O wretched Soul, you have not acted like the Harlot, who took the alabaster box of precious ointment, and anointed with tears and wiped with her hair the feet of the Lord. And He tore in pieces the record of her previous sins. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.
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Now one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him, and He entered into the house of the Pharisee and reclined at the table. And behold, a woman in the town who was a sinner, when she learned that He was dining in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of perfumed oil, and standing behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears and was wiping them with the hair of her head and was kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfumed oil. Now when the Pharisee who invited him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “If this Man were a Prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he said, “Teacher, say it.” “There were two debtors who owed a certain creditor. One owed five hundred denarii and the other fifty. When they were not able to repay him, he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose that it is the one to whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” And turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered into your house. You did not give Me water for My feet, but she wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give Me a kiss, but from the time I entered, she has not stopped kissing My feet. You did not anoint My head with olive oil, but she anointed My feet with perfumed oil. For this reason I tell you, her sins – which were many – have been forgiven, for she loved much. But the one to whom little is forgiven loves little.” And He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” And those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say among themselves, “Who is this Who even forgives sins?” And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
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Audio: The harlot wept and sobbed, and she ardently wiped dry Your undefiled feet, O Compassionate Master, with the hair of her head, and sighed from the depths of her Soul and cried, “O my God, I Pray do not reject or abhor me, but accept me back who am repentant, and save me, O only benevolent Lord.”
The woman poured out the very costly fragrant oil on Your Divine and awe-inspiring Head, O Lord. O Christ, she laid hold of Your Immaculate Holy feet with her hands defiled in sin. And she cried out and sang, “All you works of the Lord, sing a hymn to the Lord, and exalt Him beyond measure unto all the ages.”
The woman guilty of sins washed the Maker’s feet with her tears and she wiped them dry with the hair of her head. For this she did not fail to be absolved of the sins she committed all her life, but she cried out and sang, “All you works of the Lord, sing a hymn to the Lord, and exalt Him beyond measure unto all the ages.”
The sacrament of the grateful woman’s ransom is performed by the Saviour’s tender love and her own fountain of tears; in which, through confession of her many sins, she was washed clean and she was not ashamed, but she cried out and sang, “All you works of the Lord, sing a hymn to the Lord, and exalt Him beyond measure unto all the ages.”
When the harlot became aware that You, the Son of the Virgin, were God, she began to weep as one who had done things deserving tears, and imploring You she said, “Undo my debt, I Pray You, as I undo my braids. Love me who am kissing You, though rightly I am hated; and alongside the publicans I will proclaim You, benevolent Benefactor.”
The harlot mingled the very costly fragrant oil with her tears, and she poured it out on Your Immaculate feet and kissed them profusely. You immediately justified her. To us, also, grant forgiveness, O Lord who suffered for us, and save us.
The sinful woman ran to purchase ointment, costly ointment, to anoint her Benefactor; and to the perfumer she cried out, “Give me the ointment, so that I in turn may anoint the One who wiped away all my sins.”
She who was submerged in sin found in You a harbor of salvation. She poured out the fragrant oil along with her tears, and she cried out to You, “Behold, the One who has authority to forgive sins! Behold, the One who waits for the repentance of sinners!” O Master, I implore You, save me from the tempest of sin, in Your great mercy.
Today, Christ is at the house of the Pharisee. A sinful woman approaches and grovels at His feet, and she cries to Him, “See me, a woman submersed in sin. I have given up in despair because of what I have done. And yet Your goodness does not abhor me. Grant me forgiveness for my wicked deeds, O Lord, and save me.”
A woman, reeking and defiled, approached You, O Saviour. She drenched Your feet with her tears, and thus announced Your Passion. “How can I look at You the Master? For You have come to save a harlot. Dead that I am, raise me up from the depths, You who raised Lazarus from the tomb after four days. Accept me, wretch that I am, O Lord, and save me.”
That woman, who was spurned because of her way of life, for which she had earned ill repute as a harlot, came to You with the fragrant oil in hand, and she cried out, “Please, do not throw me out for being a harlot, O Saviour, born of the Virgin. Please, do not dismiss my tears and weeping, O Master, the joy of the Angels. You did not reject me when I was sinning, so now accept me as I am repenting, O Lord, because of Your great Mercy.”
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More than the harlot have I transgressed, and yet no torrents of tears have I offered You, O Good One. But Praying in silence, I fall before You, and with longing I kiss Your Immaculate feet, so that You, as Master, will grant forgiveness of trespasses to me who cry out to You, O Saviour: From the mire of my
sinful burdens deliver me.
The woman, once prodigal, suddenly appeared restrained, hating the works of shameful sins and physical pleasures, and reflecting on the great shame and punishment to which harlots and prodigals will be condemned. I myself am first among them, and I am afraid, yet I persist in my bad habit, mindless that I am. The harlot, on the other hand, was afraid and hastened quickly, and came crying to You the Redeemer: O benevolent, compassionate Lord, from the mire of my sinful burdens deliver me.
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Lord, when the woman who had fallen into many sins perceived Your divinity, she assumed the role of a myrrh-bearing woman, and lamenting brought fragrant oils to anoint You before Your burial. “Woe is me,” she says. “Night for me is a frenzy without restraint, very dark and moonless, a sinful love-affair. Accept the fountains of my tears, You who draw out from the clouds the water of the sea. Take pity on me, and incline to the sighing of my heart, You who bowed the heavens by Your ineffable self-emptying. I shall cover Your unstained feet with kisses, and wipe them dry again with the locks of my hair; those feet, Whose sound at twilight in Paradise echoed in Eve’s ears, and she hid in fear. Who can reckon the multitude of my sins, or fathom the depths of Your judgments, O my life-saving Saviour? Do not
despise me, Your servant, since without measure is Your Mercy.” – Hymn of Saint Kassiani