Holy Monday: Remembering to Pay Attention
So Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” (John 12:7-8)
“The Key to a Christian conception of studies is the realization that prayer consists of attention. It is the orientation of all the attention of which the soul is capable towards God.” - Simone Weil
Before his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Jesus stops in Bethany to visit the home of Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary. After he had miraculously raised Lazarus from the dead and stayed briefly in the town of Ephraim, we are told that he returned to Bethany for a dinner which Lazarus, Mary, and Martha hosted for him. While Christ was there among them, Mary took expensive ointment and anointed his feet, wiping them with her hair. Judas was taken aback, asking, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” (John 12:5). In response, Christ tells Judas that it was frivolous to worry about opportunity cost when the Son of God was in his presence.
Would we have made the same mistake? As Christians, our faith is wondrously expansive. It is supplied with a wealth of writings from master theologians, mystics, and philosophers. Even when we aren’t filled with greed as Judas was, we may imagine that our faith demands our attention everywhere, all at once. While it is true that our faith has a history of addressing many particular issues and controversies, it is not practical for us to reflect on every social malaise and solve all of them in due order. Christ does not ask us to do this. He asks us to follow him first. To me, it seems that to follow means to pay close attention. And attention, as Mary shows us, means directing both your mind and your means to that which demands and deserves it.
Over Lent, I’ve deeply reflected on the importance of focus in our spiritual lives. Simone Weil, a twentieth-century Catholic French writer, penned a short letter to the Superior of the Dominicans of Montpellier on precisely this topic. In the letter, she made sure to point out several ways in which students fool themselves into believing they are focused or attentive. They may contract their brows, stiffen their muscles, or hold their breath while studying. But this is not study. It confuses intellectual exertion with physical strain. Attention is instead something which is not only the brain’s natural function, but also an important attribute of our soul’s intellect.
Paying close attention is not easy, and Simone Weil unveils a hard truth: “There is something in our soul which has a far more violent repugnance for true attention than the flesh has for bodily fatigue.” Reading this, I am reminded that temptation often starts in the imagination. It is often greed and pride that cause us to imagine ourselves as more powerful or weaker than we are, that we may do as we wish or that we need more than we should. As Holy Week begins, let us fight against these two temptations by reflecting on our Lord’s passion and towards those who may greatly benefit from our fellowship this Easter.
Therefore, it is crucial that we should seek to focus more intently in our prayers this week and throughout Easter. There is a reason why spiritual directors urge students especially to begin their days with prayer—it prepares our intellect for the abundance of attention it must then give to classes, homework, and to others throughout the remainder of the day. As Easter nears, let us resolve, as students especially, to keep God close in our minds and our hearts.
Gustavo Alcantar is a senior in Columbia College majoring in Economics with a concentration in History. As someone who loves to cook, he is always ready to share and make his family recipes or help others prepare theirs. You can usually find him waiting in line Sunday mornings for an Absolute Bagel and coffee, or most weekday afternoons in Avery Library. Gustavo is an active member of Columbia Catholic Ministry, Model UN, and the Columbia Undergraduate Law Review.