“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

Mercy is a beautiful thing. It is a gift to receive from others and a kindness and virtue to offer it to others. When that ocean of mercy is poured out upon us from Christ, our parched souls are refreshed, and our hearts are made new. There are not too many things better than that feeling right after a good confession when you’ve heard the words of absolution spoken over you, “God, the Father of mercies, through the Death and Resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and poured out the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins;

through the ministry of the Church may God grant you pardon and peace. And I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

What must it have been like to be that woman in today’s gospel? Caught in the very act of adultery by men wanting to use her to bring charges upon Jesus. The humiliation and shame of being dragged into the middle of all of those people and publicly accused of your sin must have been horrific. She must have known that her life was about to be taken from her in a most painful way by others who would not even listen to her cries for forgiveness as they were blinded by their own anger. 

But what does she face from Jesus? He doesn’t address her first. He speaks to her accusers and calls them out, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Maybe right at that moment, her heart started to calm its racing beat. As she braced for the first blow from the rocks she could see in their hands, did the words of Jesus give her a glimmer of hope? As she lay in the dirt watching the rocks fall quietly at the men’s feet and not upon her own skin, did she wonder what would happen next?

Imagine Jesus gently touching her chin and raising her eyes towards His. He says to her quietly, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” And she looks around and sees that it is just the two of them; her and Jesus face to face. I wonder if her answer, “No one, sir.” didn’t have a hint of a question in it as if she wondered if He was going to condemn her now. But here is His merciful gaze and His beautiful words, mirroring what we hear each time we go to confession. “Neither do I condemn you.” The gift of mercy. 

But, that gift comes with one important aspect we can’t overlook. He doesn’t just forgive, but he challenges as well. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.” It won’t be easy, but I wager that the way in which she experienced His mercy, changed her in such a powerful way that she was ready to be different from that moment on. How can we open ourselves up to experience God’s forgiveness in such a way that we do not want to continue in our sin as well? 

Reflection Questions: How often do you take advantage of the mercy given in the Sacrament of Confession? A healthy idea is to go at least once a month because it makes us stop and take stock of our lives and find the areas that we need to work on. And receiving the graces from frequent confession can also make it easier to avoid the near occasion of those sins that we battle. How can you approach this sacrament with a sense of the power of God and His deep love for you so that even though the shame of our sin can make us feel unworthy, His love for us can heal and make us whole again?

Prayer: Dear Jesus, look upon me with Your eyes of Mercy. Help me to recognize that You see past my sins and love me; that You call me to more and want to help me leave the sinful habits I’ve acquired and become truly Yours. I love you, Jesus and I want to bathe in Your mercy and learn to share it with others, because I know how good it feels to be free and cherished by You. Amen.