- When I think about the situation of that woman caught in adultery,
I imagine what must be going on in her heart,
she must think that all her world has just ended.
And that seconds later she would be stoned,
that there's no hope for her,
no chance and the only thing she can do is to resign herself to die.
And to die in shame,
knowing that she was covered in absolute disgrace.
- On one hand yes, but on the other that situation,
paradoxically, put her into a very quick, lightning,
brutal, and yet still a school of humility,
which, as we said before, is needed to confess sin.
That awareness and humility are necessary to make a confession...
And also, imagine a situation,
in which, well we don't commend her for the sin she committed,
but her situation, and the consequences of her sin, were dramatic.
By committing adultery with that man,
her sin was uncovered, revealed, it became public...
That's probably the most dramatic situation that can happen...
- Yes, indeed,
an intimate moment shared by two people, sinful yes,
but very intimate, very private, suddenly got uncovered
- Half of the town start to talk about it, etc
- We don't know how it ended for the man,
as we often hear comments about this passage of the Gospel as being chauvinist,
as it protects the man and the woman is to be stoned.
And who said that he wasn't killed on the scene?
They took the woman,
who they were going to stone after hearing the decision of Jesus,
whom they wanted to test, but...
- Very often we ask God "How could you allow for this to happen in my life?
It is such a cross for me,
it is destroying me, it is stoning me.
It's you, God, who practically condemned me to death and I don't know why it has happened to me?"
Meanwhile, in the life of that woman,
it turns out that the most tragic moment,
her crucifixion, her Golgotha,
her death proves to be the moment of the greatest grace.
Had she not experienced that moment,
had God not allowed for her sin to be revealed,
she would have probably be a sinner for the rest of her life,
she would have never had the chance to convert.
- But it was for her a very difficult journey.
Imagine a situation, imagine that from here, from this table..,
at the bottom of this roman street is the last moment of your life
the stones will fall on you there,
there you will end your life.
And now, it's as if you wanted to take care of your every step,
every step brings you closer to the end of your life...
- Celebrate almost...
- It's terrifying,
I cannot even imagine that I am going to my death and every step...
it can be 200 or 500 metres,
but with every step I am closer to the end of my life
- Every breath is counted, and every heart beat...
- And you're unable to even imagine that this story might end differently
- But it could be that Jesus, or God,
simply knew that this woman would never convert
if she had not found herself on the edge of a precipice
and He granted her the grace to be caught in adultery since only
this gave her the opportunity to meet Jesus.
If He had used more delicate measures,
she simply would have never got to the point where she found herself in today's Gospel.
It's precisely like a doctor who can continue for a long time
to give you pills or injections,
but one day he says
"Enough of this treatment,
now we'll use the scalpel
and cut out the ulcer, it's the only way".
And that is perhaps why the most tragic moments
of one's life, the most terrifying,
when the sin is revealed,
are the moments of the greatest grace from God.
I wouldn't like my sins to be revealed,
I wouldn't like for example for people to know how,
where, when or with whom I sin,
because it would simply humiliate me very much.
But I also know that God's patience is not unlimited
and what has been whispered from ear to ear up till now,
one day could be proclaimed from the roofs
and it could be for my salvation as well or
rather it will be above all for my salvation,
in order for me to finally turn away from my sins.
- The consequence of sin can often be overwhelming,
it may seem like the end of our life,
it may seem that carrying these consequences
would be a burden that will cause our death but,
as you're saying,
God often let these consequences hurt us
- Defeat us..
- Even defeat us, in order for us to draw from His grace.
And Pope Francis talks about it in a fantastic way
when during the Year of Mercy he expands the teaching about the indulgences
and says that the indulgences offered for oneself above all,
not only free us from the punishment that
we deserved for the sins we did commit,
but the indulgences liberate us also
from spiritual consequences of the sins that we are bearing.
And although those, let's called them,
consequences of our sins,
for the society or the family often cannot be reversed,
because if, let's say, a marriage brakes down,
everyone is affected by socio-familial consequences of these sins,
and the indulgence will not reverse the situation.
Francis says though that the indulgences free us
from the spiritual consequences of sin,
in other words,
they put us on the path leading to a new life,
to get over that moment when we thought
that stones would fall upon us and it would be our end.
- And to that intimacy that was granted to the adulteress.
At the end of this episode I would like to go back to the other woman,
who was aware of her sin,
she wasn't resigned to it,
and came to Jesus to ask for forgiveness.
Because when I go to the confessional,
I feel exactly the same,
I feel as if my life so far was coming to an end,
as if I were letting go of the reins
that I am holding,
as if I were saying that it was the death of my life to date.
And sometimes it can be really difficult.
But I accept the end of what was going on so far,
because I want something else, something new,
immeasurably more beautiful.
I want to finally touch Jesus' feet,
kiss them and say "Lord, give me a new life".
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