by Chris Koellhoffer, IHM June 8, 2025
Have you ever found yourself remembering a long forgotten person or experience and wondering how you got from there to here? Or wondered what might have activated a decades-long memory held in your unconscious? Our olfactory system is often the trigger that evokes stories from our past.
A whiff of salt air might return us to summers by the ocean. The scent of talcum powder or Jean Naté could bring to life a beloved grandmother. Toll House cookies still warm from the oven might draw us back to after-school snacks and the person who baked them, while freshly mown grass returns us to a favorite playground.
All these musings were part of a recent post-stroll day, for as I walked in an abandoned field near my home, I noticed patches of white, purple, and shades of pink waving in the breeze. I crossed over to introduce myself to these beauties. Wild Phlox, I thought, but then, when I counted the number of petals (four, not five) on each flower, I found myself instead surrounded by Dame’s Rocket, a lovely but invasive species of wildflower. I asked the flowers’ permission to take a handful home and add them to my prayer table.
That evening I was sitting in my favorite chair, reading, when I got a whiff of a sweet fragrance, proof that even an uncultivated, unwanted species can give glory to the Holy One. Within a few minutes the air in my living room was heavy with a delicate perfume, and I was immediately transported to John 12:1-3. Jesus enjoying dinner with close friends in Bethany. Mary pouring aromatic nard onto his feet in anointing. The house filling “with the fragrance of the oil” because of Mary’s tender gesture. Imagine the consequences of her act: perfumed liquid seeping into the dirt floor, lingering there. Imagine the aftermath: for the rest of their lives, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus savoring the warm presence of their friend and the company of one another every time they caught the scent of this anointing in their home.
What memories might you be invited to notice, revisit, and explore as this day unfolds?
Takeaway
Sit in stillness with the Holy One.
If you’re able, pray with scent.
Light a candle or burn incense or add a flower or potpourri into your prayer space.
Breathe in the fragrance of these gifts.
If your sense of smell has lessened or disappeared, place before you an image of fragrance.
Linger with scent or the remembrance it evokes.
Featured Images: Maxime Doré, Unsplash; Josue Escoto, Unsplash
NOTE:
Blessings of the gifts of Spirit on this feast of Pentecost.
Blessings also to all fathers and to all who parent, guide, teach, mentor, and love young and not-so-young ones into the fullness of life the Holy One desires for us all.
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