This day is the “Remembrance of the Ten Virgins.” During the Evening Service, ten youths are vested in choir robes, and each is given a lighted candle “following the example of the ten maidens” (Matthew 25:1-13). From the hymn sung …

This day’s readings recall the woman who anointed Jesus with costly oil and is scolded by the apostles for its waste (Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:1-11). Jesus defends her loving gesture, telling them that she has prepared his body for burial …