Isaiah 43.16-21 | Philippians 3.8-14 | John 8.1-11

With Mother Church, we begin the fifth week of Lent. It is the final stretch of this liturgical season of penance and conversion, in view of the solemnity of Easter, the resurrection of Jesus. Next Sunday we will begin Holy Week!

Today the evangelist John tells us about Jesus' forgiveness of the woman caught in the act of adultery.

The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus. Knowing that Moses in the Law ordered adulterous women to be stoned, they brought a woman in this situation to Jesus, persistently questioning Him about His opinion.

Jesus' answer was surprising: "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." Everyone left, and Jesus was left alone with the woman, in the midst of the people. And He told her that He did not condemn her, and that she could go without sinning again.

The Wisdom of Jesus came from above, from the Holy Spirit. Without nullifying the Law of Moses - without generating unnecessary controversy with His adversaries - Jesus called those men to an examination of conscience, which made them realize their own sins and the hypocrisy of their judgment. Jesus forgave the adulterous woman and did not condemn her, but also told her not to sin again.

Mother Church advises Catholics to confess at least during Easter. During this Lent, let us examine our conscience, realize our sins and hypocritical judgments, and receive forgiveness from Jesus, with the firm intention of not sinning again. May the Wisdom from above enlighten us.

Today the prophet Isaiah tells us of the new things that God would do, and that His chosen people should not remember past things or look at old facts. God created this people for Himself, so that they would sing His praises.

The awareness of our sins, past and present, saddens and depresses us; but God, out of love, is willing to forgive us, replacing sadness with joy that translates into praise to God. This Lent, let us accept reconciliation with God!

Today, the apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Philippians that he forgot what was behind, that he threw himself forward to what was ahead, that he ran straight toward the goal, toward the prize that, from above, God called him to receive in Christ Jesus.

What a great inspiration for us this Lent! Let us know Christ, experience the power of His resurrection, be in communion with His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, in the hope of attaining the resurrection from the dead.

Local: Praia Grande - SP, Brasil

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