Mar 29, 2025 Written by 

Stoning or granting mercy

The woman caught in adultery and brought by the scribes and Pharisees to Jesus is the specious 'fig leaf' they use to cover their sins.

The Lord knows this to be so, as to say to the bystanders:

«Let him who is without sin among you cast a stone at her first» (Jn 8:7).

He condemns the lack of mercy, shown in an arrogant and clumsy manner.

Francis was truly the herald of Compassion - the one who always made this prevail, along with patience, in the face of the sinner, giving time to change his life.

In his Letter to a Minister he writes:

"If any of the brothers, at the instigation of the enemy, has mortally sinned, he is bound by obedience to have recourse to his guardian.

And all the brothers who know of his sin, let them not be ashamed or speak ill of him, but have great mercy on him and keep the sin of their brother very secret, because it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick" (FF 237).

This attitude was also profoundly transmitted to his own, so much so that:

"One day when two brethren were walking together, they came across a madman, who started throwing stones at them.

One of them, seeing that the stones were directed at his companion, immediately stepped in front of him, preferring to be hit himself instead of his brother.

Such was the mutual love that inflamed them, and so sincerely were they ready to lay down their lives for one another" (FF 1447 - Legend of the Three Companions).

Taking upon oneself the stones directed at the other: a great merciful heart that wants the salvation of one's neighbour.

On the other hand, the Poor Man of Assisi, while hating sin, welcomed with great pity those who had fallen into error.

God had remembered him when he was in sin, and now he felt called to do the same for others.

In his memory, the Gospel sentence he had experienced was fixed:

«Go, do likewise» (Lk 10:37).

In the Testament of Francis (1226) we read:

"When I was in sin, it seemed too bitter for me to see lepers; and the Lord himself led me among them and I used mercy with them" (FF 110).

In the Major Legend, the biographer St Bonaventure narrates:

"No wonder: just as the pity of his heart had made him a brother to all creatures, so the charity of Christ made him even more intensely a brother to those who bear within themselves the image of the Creator and have been redeemed by the blood of the Redeemer.

He did not consider himself a friend of Christ if he did not lovingly care for the souls redeemed by Him.

Nothing, he said, should be put before the salvation of souls, and he confirmed this assertion above all with this argument: that the Only-Begotten of God, for the sake of souls, had deigned to go up on the cross' (FF 1168).

The clear consciousness of the salvation received gratuitously had made Francis the standard bearer of Mercy, who turns his gaze on the wretched in need of being healed and reawakened.

 

«Let him who is without sin among you cast a stone at her first» (Jn 8:7)

 

 

5th Sunday in Lent C  (Jn 8:1-11)

95 Last modified on Saturday, 29 March 2025 05:22
Teresa Girolami

Teresa Girolami è laureata in Materie letterarie e Teologia. Ha pubblicato vari testi, fra cui: "Pellegrinaggio del cuore" (Ed. Piemme); "I Fiammiferi di Maria - La Madre di Dio in prosa e poesia"; "Tenerezza Scalza - Natura di donna"; co-autrice di "Dialogo e Solstizio".

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God approached man in love, even to the total gift, crossing the threshold of our ultimate solitude, throwing himself into the abyss of our extreme abandonment, going beyond the door of death (Pope Benedict)
Dio si è avvicinato all’uomo nell’amore, fino al dono totale, a varcare la soglia della nostra ultima solitudine, calandosi nell’abisso del nostro estremo abbandono, oltrepassando la porta della morte (Papa Benedetto)
And our passage too, which we received sacramentally in Baptism: for this reason Baptism was called, in the first centuries, the Illumination (cf. Saint Justin, Apology I, 61, 12), because it gave you the light, it “let it enter” you. For this reason, in the ceremony of Baptism we give a lit blessed candle, a lit candle to the mother and father, because the little boy or the little girl is enlightened (Pope Francis)
È anche il nostro passaggio, che sacramentalmente abbiamo ricevuto nel Battesimo: per questo il Battesimo si chiamava, nei primi secoli, la Illuminazione (cfr San Giustino, Apologia I, 61, 12), perché ti dava la luce, ti “faceva entrare”. Per questo nella cerimonia del Battesimo diamo un cero acceso, una candela accesa al papà e alla mamma, perché il bambino, la bambina è illuminato, è illuminata (Papa Francesco)
Jesus seems to say to the accusers: Is not this woman, for all her sin, above all a confirmation of your own transgressions, of your "male" injustice, your misdeeds? (John Paul II, Mulieris Dignitatem n.14)
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The people thought that Jesus was a prophet. This was not wrong, but it does not suffice; it is inadequate. In fact, it was a matter of delving deep, of recognizing the uniqueness of the person of Jesus of Nazareth and his newness. This is how it still is today: many people draw near to Jesus, as it were, from the outside (Pope Benedict)
La gente pensa che Gesù sia un profeta. Questo non è falso, ma non basta; è inadeguato. Si tratta, in effetti, di andare in profondità, di riconoscere la singolarità della persona di Gesù di Nazaret, la sua novità. Anche oggi è così: molti accostano Gesù, per così dire, dall’esterno (Papa Benedetto)
Knowing God, knowing Christ, always means loving him, becoming, in a sense, one with him by virtue of that knowledge and love. Our life becomes authentic and true life, and thus eternal life, when we know the One who is the source of all being and all life (Pope Benedict)
Conoscere Dio, conoscere Cristo significa sempre anche amarLo, diventare in qualche modo una cosa sola con Lui in virtù del conoscere e dell’amare. La nostra vita diventa quindi una vita autentica, vera e così anche eterna, se conosciamo Colui che è la fonte di ogni essere e di ogni vita (Papa Benedetto)
Christians are a priestly people for the world. Christians should make the living God visible to the world, they should bear witness to him and lead people towards him. When we speak of this task in which we share by virtue of our baptism, it is no reason to boast (Pope Benedict)
I cristiani sono popolo sacerdotale per il mondo. I cristiani dovrebbero rendere visibile al mondo il Dio vivente, testimoniarLo e condurre a Lui. Quando parliamo di questo nostro comune incarico, in quanto siamo battezzati, ciò non è una ragione per farne un vanto (Papa Benedetto)

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