"Misery and mercy standing together."

They have wounded by their sins and which by charity,

by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Isaiah 43:16-21

Thus says the Lord,

Who opened a way through the sea and a path in the mighty waters, who brought down chariots and horses,

a whole army of them, and there they lay, never to rise again, snuffed out like a wick.

But do not dwell on the past, or remember the things of old.

Look, I am doing a new thing: now it springs forth. Do you not see?

 

I am opening up a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

The beasts of the land will honor me, jackals and ostriches,

because I give water in the wilderness and rivers in the desert that my chosen people may drink.

I have formed this people for myself; they will proclaim my praise.

 

Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6 The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

 

＊＊＊ 2nd Reading ＊＊＊

2nd Reading: Philippians 3:8-14

Still more, everything seems to me as nothing compared with the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord.

For his sake, I have let everything fall away, and I now consider all as garbage, if, instead, I may gain Christ.

May I be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but with the righteousness that God gives to those who believe.

May I know him and experience the power of his resurrection, and share in his sufferings,

and become like him, in his death, and attain, through this, God willing, the resurrection from the dead!

 

I do not believe I have already reached the goal, nor do I consider myself perfect,

but I press on till I conquer Christ Jesus, as I have already been conquered by him. No, brothers and sisters,

I do not claim to have claimed the prize yet. I say only this: forgetting what is behind me, I race forward,

and run toward the goal, my eyes on the prize, to which God has called us from above, in Christ Jesus.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

John 8:1-11

As for Jesus, he went to the Mount of Olives. At daybreak Jesus appeared in the temple again.

All the people came to him, and he sat down and began to teach them.

Then the teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery.

They made her stand in front of everyone. "Master," they said, "this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.

Now the law of Moses orders that such women be stoned to death; but you, what do you say?"

 

They said this to test Jesus, in order to have some charge against him.

Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with his finger.

And as they continued to ask him, he straightened up and said to them,

"Let anyone among you who has no sin be the first to throw a stone at her."

And he bent down, again, writing on the ground.

 

As a result of these words, they went away, one by one, starting with the elders,

and Jesus was left alone, with the woman standing before him.

Then Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they?

Has no one condemned you?" She replied, "No one."

And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go away and don't sin again."

 

Lectio Divina

 

Gospel Reflection ：

 

Read: Isaiah's prophecy speaks of God bringing forth new life and new opportunity and calls us to look forward.

Saint Paul acknowledges his imperfections, but he presses on until he has gained complete union with his Saviour Jesus Christ.

In the Gospel we find Jesus standing by the woman caught in adultery, with the crowd using her to get at him.

Jesus turns things round, so that the hatred dissipates as, one by one, the accusers remember their own sins and failings.

 

Reflect: Saint Augustine described the encounter between the accused woman and Christ as miseria et misericordia:

misery and mercy standing together. The Latin words help us to see that when we are merciful,

we feel from the heart (cor) the misery of others. We are united to them in their sorrow and wish to lighten that burden.

We are to feel the burden of past faults and failings, and forgive.

 

We are to feel the burden of loneliness and stand alongside in friendship.

Christ stands with each of us in our sorrows, and in imitation of him we are to do the same for others.

 

Pray: Pray for those who are in distress, either in your family, community or around the world.

 

Act: Visit someone who is elderly or sick and alone to bring that person comfort.