Gospel
Jn 8:1-11
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. 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 women. So what do you say?” They said this to test him,
so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. 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.”
Homily
Many years ago, just after the defection of Msgr. Lefebvre entered into schism from the Catholic Church, I received a phone call from a radio talk show host who had learnt that I had been ordained deacon by the goodly bishop. After answering his questions as objectively as I could the talk show host slipped in a question whose intent was to get me to say that Msgr. Lefebvre would be condemned to hell. The question came very suddenly but God’s Spirit was with me and I was able to get out of the trap that the talk show host had set for me. Afterwards a few parishioners who had heard the broad cast spoke about the mental agility that I had to be able to escape the trap that was set for me. As I said to them that was pure influence of the Spirit and nothing else.
This is a desire for remaining abstinent until marriage, fear of intimacy or having some sort of fear towards embarrassment. levitra sale They also get misunderstanding that their males are having extra marital affairs. cialis pills australia http://mouthsofthesouth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/MOTS-07.22.17-Lecuyer-1.pdf Kamagra kaufen basically works by increasing the blood vessels, particularly of penis at the online cialis pills time when sexual stimulation takes place. A postcholecystectomy syndrome is nothing new in the viagra price in india medicine. As I read the Gospel given for our reflection this story came to mind, because this Gospel passage is the story of an encounter between the Pharisees and scribes and their attempt to discredit Jesus.
The story we know well. Jesus is teaching the people and the Pharisees and scribes who see their influence being eroded try to trap Jesus in his teaching. They use for this ploy a woman caught in the very act of adultery. If Jesus urges that the woman be released, he goes against the Mosaic Law which prescribes that such women be stoned. It could then be argued that such a man is no prophet. If he says that she should be stoned, he would be in trouble with the Romans, who had taken the right of capital punishment away from the Judeans.
In this seeming dilemma before Jesus we see the true motive of the Pharisees and scribes. They are not really interested in upholding the law, although they pretend to be. Their true motive is the retention of the power which they were accustomed to wield and which appeared to be slipping away from them because of the preaching and influence of Jesus. They had to get rid of him.
Jesus however always under the influence of God’s Spirit understood their intentions. He had no intention of falling into their trap. Instead he calls the Pharisees and Scribes to examine their own motives. “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” All of us would like to believe that the Pharisees and Scribes were ashamed of themselves and that is why they slunk away one by one.
I think it true to say that today people develop many addictions. Some of them not as notorious as the addictions to alcohol and drugs but probably just as dangerous to the human spirit. The addictions to power and prestige can be very powerful and just like drug addicts those addicted to power and prestige use all kinds of tricks to feed their addictions. For the Pharisees and Scribes their addiction to power and prestige make them use all sorts of tricks to get rid of Jesus the obstacle to their power and prestige.
We must however apply this principle to ourselves. We must discover the addictions which we have and the tricks which we use to feed those addictions.
A study of the lives of the saints shows us how they dealt with their addictions and in the process became the holy persons that they were. St. Francis left his wealthy fashionable garments at his Father’s feet in the town square. St. Ignatius of Loyola left his addictions to chivalry on his sick bed in his father’s castle. He exchanged his clothes with a beggar and went to a monastery leaving his military accoutrements at the foot of the Virgin. You and I must do no less. Like them we are called to be saints. Like them we must discover our addictions, like them we must remove them from our lives lest they destroy us.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, be with us on the journey of life. Help us to resist the temptation to addictions because addictions can destroy our spirit. Help us to resist the tricks we use to feed addictions so that our motives may be pure. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, our Mother and your son Jesus. Amen
