Remembering God's Mercy

“Yes, we can be confident of this much, that Christ has made us his own, but if we are his own there is work to be done, there is a death to be undergone to all our false securities and self-righteousness”

“We want to be set right with God, we want our lives to be in order. And how do most of us do it? We do it through this clinging to our resume, to what we've accomplished...and Paul is able to throw all that off in a great liberating move”

“Listen, that most of us spend most of our time fussing about, bragging about, defending and trying to achieve, Paul knew that all of that was lost compared to Jesus”

“We have a certain solidarity with the sinfulness of this woman – we cannot cast the first stone – but like her we are called to a new and real solidarity with Christ, who raises us from the dust to share his heavenly life”

“God’s mercy toward us challenges us to view those who are made outcasts with mercy in return. The fundamental dignity of those whom society rejects demands that not only their human rights be protected, but that they be treated with utmost respect and care.”

“Jesus shows us, that there is no judgment without mercy. Mercy is not an optional part of justice, rather it is its central part. A judgment which does not consider mercy is not just.”

“If, like the Pharisees at the beginning of our Gospel reading, we too are inclined to be somewhat judgmental in our dealings with others then we probably need to remind ourselves of our own sin and our own need for forgiveness”

“Lent is an invitation for us to grow in this silence in the heart of Jesus. To not rush to condemnation, to not reach for easy answers or to excuse ourselves from responsibility.”

“Through his Cross he teaches us to see the truth about ourselves. He lowers himself so that those who are proud can receive the gift of humility, and he raises the humble so that those who lack a sense of worth can see their true dignity as children of God.”

“God knows the stones to which we cling, and yet God does not attack us because of our foolishness. God does not shake us trying to move us out of our stubbornness. God gives us time to think.”

“may our religion be a place where misery of sin meets the mercy of God. And may each one of us be an instrument of that”

“When in humility we acknowledge our sinfulness and our limitations we encounter Jesus and his healing mercy. It is an entering into the mystery of God's transforming love”

“What is the proper purpose of law, sacrifice, ritual, etc.? Well, it's always to bring people closer to God.”

“Allow that violence that you're about to send out to move inside and look honestly and seriously at your own sin. And then allow that stone to slip from your hand.”

“Where is God taking possession of you and creating something new in you?”

“Since salvation is by definition an “exodus” or freedom from sin, we cannot be “saved” while we are still “sinning.” Sin is what we are saved from.”

“Jesus draws our path for us, and he meets us where we are, and especially in those depths of despair where we may be losing hope”

“This is one of the most beautiful stories in the bible because of how Christ converted hatred into love, sin into forgiveness. Slavery to guilt, into freedom from sin.”

“In today’s Gospel the woman caught in adultery goes on to new life, to sin no more, to new possibilities, while the Pharisees and scribes just walk away because they cannot perceive the new reality that God is creating”

“God wishes to gather us from exile into our home. If we wish to accept his invitation, then we must dare to join the accused woman at the centre of the circle, because that is where Jesus is to be found.”

“This freedom won for us in Jesus is not to be squandered”

“Our solidarity in sin ought to awaken in us a greater compassion for each other”