Jesus forgave the adulteress. Many of you reading this have committed adultery, and you are thankful and hopeful because of the Lord's mercy. Many of you reading this have not committed adultery, but Jesus' mercy to the adulteress should mean a lot to you, for you have looked at others with lust and thereby have committed adultery in your hearts (Mt 5:28). Some of you reading this have neither committed adultery nor looked lustfully. Nevertheless, Jesus' mercy to the adulteress should be important to you, for it was only by God's mercy that you received the grace to overcome temptations. You can say what St. Augustine said when he saw a disgraceful sinner: "But for the grace of God, there go I."

Any good in our lives is due to God's mercy (see Jas 1:17; Phil 2:13). He is "rich in mercy" (Eph 2:4). "His mercy is everlasting" (Ps 136:l, our transl), and His "mercy triumphs over judgment" (Jas 2:13). "Once you were no people, but now you are God's people; once there was no mercy for you, but now you have found mercy" (1 Pt 2:10). Let the fullness of God's mercy flow to us and through us. "Blest are they who show mercy; mercy shall be theirs" (Mt 5:7).

Nihil Obstat:  Reverend Giles H. Pater, August 18 8, 2004

Imprimatur:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, August 23, 2004