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What the Fathers say
Eastern Fathers
Theophylact of Ohrid
For in that she hath poured this myrrh on My Body, she did it for My burial. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this Gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her. He teaches us that the woman did this by some divine inspiration, prefiguring His death and the burial of His Body. For the Lord would not have allowed Himself to be anointed with myrrh if it did not reveal a mystery. …
Western Saints
Jerome
For she has poured this ointment on my body, to bury me. What you perceive as a waste of ointment is actually a burial ritual. It is not surprising that she has given me the sweet smell of her faith, as I am about to shed my blood for her.
Thomas Aquinas
And what did she do? For she, in pouring this ointment upon my body, hath done it for my burial. But what is this? Did she intend to bury Christ? No. But, as Augustine says, the Holy Spirit, just as he moves to speaking, so sometimes he moves to acting; hence it is written, Romans 8:14: whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are not under the law. Hence it happens that someone is instructed by the Holy Spirit toward a meaning he did not intend. So she intended a good work, but the Holy Spirit was directing it toward the burial. …
Remigius of Rheims
It was the custom among this people to embalm the bodies of the dead with divers spices, to the end that they might be kept from corruption as long as possible. And as this woman was desirous of embalming the Lord's dead Body, and would not be able because she would be anticipated by His resurrection, it was therefore arranged by Divine Providence that she should anoint the Lord's living Body. This then is what He says, In that she hath poured, that is, By anointing My living Body she shows forth My death and burial.
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