The Mystery of Mercy

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For 13 March 2016, 5th Sunday of Lent, based on John 8:1-11

while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, 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. Now what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”


Scripture passage from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

About Karla Bellinger

Karla has a DMin in Preaching from Aquinas Institute of Theology, a Dominican school sponsored by the friars of the Chicago province. Her 2012 doctoral thesis, “Are You Talking to Me? A Study of Young Listeners’ Connection with Catholic Sunday Preaching,” arose from her passion to more effectively connect the message of the gospel with our young people. In May of 2014, Liturgical Press published her book entitled “Connecting Pulpit and Pew: Breaking Open the Conversation about Catholic Preaching.” which is available at: here . Karla is a wife and mother of five young adult children. In August of 2015, she started a new position as the Associate Director of the John S. Marten Program in Homiletics at the University of Notre Dame.