Neither Do I Condemn You, Mercy and Reconciliation
remember the importance of the Sacrament of Confession.
Every time we go to confession we encounter the merciful and kind Jesus. The repentance of our sins and the forgiveness that we receive allows us to experience true peace.
However, as I have said before, do not be surprised and do not be discouraged by the fact that the spiritual life is and always will be a continual battle. Embrace your own inner poverty. Here is where true humility lies. It is by recognizing our own sinfulness and our own inner poverty that we are able to allow Jesus into our lives. This is exactly what happens to the adulterous woman. She did not argue with Jesus! She did not say that she had not sinned! She did not justify her sin! So many of our contemporaries deny the existence of sin! So many of our contemporaries justify their own sinful behavior! The only way that we can experience the presence of Jesus in our lives is by recognizing who we really are: sinful creatures in need of redemption.
"Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more".
This Sunday's beautiful gospel narrative from John's gospel reminds us that Lent is about personal conversion and change. Through the Sacrament of Confession we can conquer our sins and our evil inclinations. We can all change. We can all experience deep spiritual progress. Change and progress are always possible.
The encounter between Jesus and the adulterous woman reminds us that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.
"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'" (John 8: 10-11).
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Father James Farfaglia is the pastor of Saint Helena of the True Cross of Jesus Catholic Church in Corpus Christi, Texas. Father has a hard hitting blog called Illegitimi non carborundum. He has also published a book called Man to Man: a real priest speaks to real men about marriage, sexuality and family life.
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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.
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thank you for the perfect illustration of this article, you have giving me the hope that no sin is too big, or too dark or too strong to be forgiving, that whenever i come to realise my sin,meditate on it and deeply into my heart be soory and confess it, that i have being forgiving and there is still a future for a siner. thank you so much for feeding me with the scripture of Jesus and the adulterous woman, which shows how merciful the Lord and our reconciliation with him.God bless