[00:00] In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen. Today's Gospel is a reminder to us of God's infinite mercy. And we see that the Pharisees tried to trap and the scribes tried to trap Jesus by bringing a woman who had been caught in the act committing the sin of adultery, and that the law of Moses required her to be stoned.

[00:31] And then we see that Jesus begins to write on the ground with His finger. Spiritual writers and theologians speculated what it was that Jesus was writing on the ground. Some speculate He was writing the commandments. Some speculate He was writing specific sins. We don't really know. But we do know that the Pharisees and the scribes, in seeing this, recognize that by this act and by Our Lord's words that they were being hypocrites and that they were themselves

[01:07] sinners and committed sin, and that they were unjust and unmerciful towards this woman. And so they leave, recognizing that they are not without sin. But the Gospel also points to us God's mercy and forgiveness and Jesus responding, "I do not condemn you." But our Lord includes a very specific admonition, "Go and from now on do not sin anymore."

[01:41] And this is what we must recognize. Jesus is merciful. God is merciful. He calls us to experience His mercy through the Sacrament of Confession and brings us healing and forgiveness. But also, we must recognize God is calling us also to be freed from these sins and strive to avoid them in the future and to not continue to live in sin. This phrase is very important because there are those who say in our times there's no

[02:14] such thing as sin or God doesn't care. "I'm a good person." "I'm a good person, and God does not care that I do these sins or commit these sins." Or there's indifference, or there's a lack of understanding of the nature of sin that sin separates us from God and cuts us off from God's grace. And also sin is just glorified in our society through film, through movies, through television

[02:45] and other sources. Sin is glorified. People have lost the sense of sin, and they boast of sin, boast of sin. And so our Lord is reminding us that our call is to be freed from sin and to experience God's mercy and forgiveness. But also that we are not shackled anymore to the passions, and not in any way dominated by our passions, that we can be freed from sin and attachment to sin.

[03:19] These last weeks of Lent are an opportunity for us to be truly renewed in our love and faith for Jesus and to seek God's mercy and forgiveness, especially in the Sacrament of Confession, that our hearts may truly be freed and united to Jesus as we prepare for His great victory over death and sin, and His triumph on the cross. May our Blessed Mother help us in these last days of Lent to truly be renewed in our love

[03:49] for Jesus and to have a detachment from all sin, that we may celebrate the Easter Festival with renewed hearts filled with light and joy. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.