FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT – YEAR C - Gospel (John 8:1-11) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (Jn 8:7)

FIRST READING - Is 43:16-21

A reading from the Book of Isaiah

Thus says the LORD,

who opens a way in the sea

and a path in the mighty waters,

who leads out chariots and horsemen,

a powerful army,

till they lie prostrate together, never to rise,

snuffed out and quenched like a wick.

Remember not the events of the past,

the things of long ago consider not;

see, I am doing something new!

Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

In the desert I make a way,

in the wasteland, rivers.

Wild beasts honor me,

jackals and ostriches,

for I put water in the desert

and rivers in the wasteland

for my chosen people to drink,

the people whom I formed for myself,

that they might announce my praise.

SECOND READING from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians - Phil 3:8-14

Brothers and sisters:

I consider everything as a loss

because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things

and I consider them so much rubbish,

that I may gain Christ and be found in him,

not having any righteousness of my own based on the law

but that which comes through faith in Christ,

the righteousness from God,

depending on faith to know him and the power of his resurrection

and the sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death,

if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

It is not that I have already taken hold of it

or have already attained perfect maturity,

but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it,

since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ Jesus.

Brothers and sisters, I for my part

do not consider myself to have taken possession.

Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind

but straining forward to what lies ahead,

I continue my pursuit toward the goal,

the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - 8:1-11

From the Gospel according to John

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area,

and all the people started coming to him,

and he sat down and taught them.

Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman

who had been caught in adultery

and made her stand in the middle.

They said to him,

“Teacher, this woman was caught

in the very act of committing adultery.

Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.

So what do you say?”

They said this to test him,

so that they could have some charge to bring against him.

Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.

But when they continued asking him,

he straightened up and said to them,

“Let the one among you who is without sin

be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.

And in response, they went away one by one,

beginning with the elders.

So he was left alone with the woman before him.

Then Jesus straightened up and said to her,

“Woman, where are they?

Has no one condemned you?”

She replied, “No one, sir.”

Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you.

Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT – YEAR C - Gospel (John 8:1-11)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

In today's Word of God, God the Father calls all His children to live in reconciliation with Him by being faithful, obedient, and fearing Him at all times and places, like the image of the suffering servant, Jesus Christ. Jesus absolutely obeyed the will of God the Father and always did everything that God the Father wanted.

God the Father wanted Jesus Christ to come to earth and become a human being, sacrifice Himself, die, and rise again to save humanity. He also did exactly as God the Father had commanded. Jesus came to this world to bring eternal life to humanity in the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven in the future.

Therefore, in this earthly life, people must practice what Jesus Christ taught: to love and forgive, to fear and obey God the Father. Jesus did what He said, like the image of the Servant who loved, forgave, sacrificed, endured, and gave up everything to do what God the Father wanted. Today, God the Father also calls all His children: do not live in hatred anymore, do not live in passion, desires, and sins of the body and soul anymore. Return and make peace with God the Father. God the Father said that everyone is a sinner before Him, except for Jesus Christ, who came to earth and became a human being, and the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. So, as sinners among one another, can we blame, condemn, hate, or exclude our brothers and sisters? God is infinitely pure. He came to this world to enlighten and dispel the darkness of sin caused by Satan. Therefore, the act of the Scribes and Pharisees bringing the woman caught in adultery to Jesus to test Him was an act of blasphemy. How could a weak, lowly, sinful, and arrogant creature overcome its Creator? How could it trap the One without beginning or end and make Him commit a sin? Therefore, God the Father calls all His children not to be arrogant or presumptuous before Him, not to test Him, not to seek to condemn or exclude Him anymore, but to bow their heads, silently look deeply into their miserable condition, humble themselves, and bow down before the power and authority of God! Let the Light of God illuminate your soul so that you can wisely recognize Him. He is the infinite and endless light, the One with boundless intelligence and absolute power. No one can hide from Him! All sins in our thoughts, in our eyes, in actions, in deeds, and in our beings, God sees through them all! Do not hide from God the Father and live in sin anymore! Do not condemn, judge, or hate, causing division, persecution, exclusion, and killing your brothers and sisters!

During this holy Lent, let each person return to God the Father, bow down and worship Him, and look deeply into the depths of their sinful self to see the filth, the imperfections, the weaknesses, the hatred, the jealousy, the envy, the disputes, the anger, the superiority, and the mutual exclusion in themselves, their families, their communities, and their countries. Let them be determined to stop sinning, to love, and to forgive. Holy Lent is also an opportunity that God the Father gives people to have time to reflect on themselves, repent of their sins, examine and recognize their sins under the light and grace of God the Father, ask Him for forgiveness, the grace of conversion, and to resolutely abandon sin to please God the Father while still living in this world, and to atone for their sins right now. Do not look at your brothers and sisters and condemn or judge them like the Scribes and Pharisees did with the adulterous woman.

Before God the Father, we must have absolute confidence that He knows everything! Do not deceive God the Father, do not hide from Him anymore! Do not disobey the will of God the Father, but sit down and reflect: Who am I in this life, and who are my brothers and sisters to me? Let us judge our own sins, repent of them, but not condemn, blame, or be angry with our brothers and sisters. Indeed, if anyone judges the sins of his brothers and sisters, he is arrogant and presumptuous before God the Father.

What do we see in the image of Jesus Christ with the adulterous woman and with the Scribes and Pharisees in today's Word of God? God, who is pure, innocent, spotless, and sinless, did not condemn the adulterous woman but was generous in forgiving, loving, supporting, sheltering, preserving, and protecting her, lifting her up from sin and the shackles of Satan by advising and encouraging her with kindness: "Neither do I condemn you. From now on, go and do not sin again!" Yet the Pharisees and Scribes sought to trap Jesus Christ, to stone the adulterous woman! Facing God the Father, people who are so sinful and full of mistakes condemn their sinful sisters, bringing them out to be accused, are they themselves innocent?

Today's Word of God reminds us that when reading the story between Jesus Christ and the adulterous woman, look back at yourself! Do not imitate the Scribes and Pharisees, nor the adulterous woman, but take on the identity of the suffering servant, Jesus Christ. Live in a morally pure and innocent spirit before your brothers and sisters, eliminating sins and passions, resolutely resisting the temptations of Satan. Instead, love, forgive, support, and tolerate all of your brothers and sisters. Build unity and holiness in the love of the Triune God: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, who are The One and Only God.

Once again, God the Father emphasizes to all His children: Look at the image of Jesus Christ, full of forgiveness, to know how to love and forgive your brothers and sisters and only look at your own sins, not the sins of your brothers and sisters. Ask God the Father to give you the opportunity to repent, so that you can repent of your sins while living on this earth. Thanks to that, you have the opportunity to atone for your sins before God the Father and your brothers and sisters, the opportunity to be cleansed by God the Father to become pure and holy right here on earth.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

19:00 April 6th,2025 Prayer of Divine Mercy - The Way to Heaven