In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me.

I adore you with profound reverence.

I ask your pardon for my sins. And the grace to make this time of prayer fruitful.

My immaculate mother, St. Joseph, my father and Lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

We find ourselves just a few days away from the beginning of Holy Week,

that holiest week of the year,

that is the culmination of this effort of ours during these blessed days of Lent,

of seeking conversion.

We have been watching Jesus week after week,

not simply watching, but observing very intently

because we want to learn from him.

And today on this fifth Sunday of Lent, we watch an amazement as the Lord gives us a masterful

lesson in what mercy looks like.

At first glance, we could be a bit surprised at the gospel passage that the church has offered us.

But we'll see in a minute why it is perfect for us.

Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle.

They said to him,

Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery.

Now, in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such people. So what do you say?

We go with our imagination to this scene, and we can see, with our mind's eye

the frame of mind of these men

...