Sunday, April 6 : Saint Ambrose

A woman guilty of adultery had been dragged before the Lord Jesus by the scribes and Pharisees, who treacherously framed their accusation in such a way that, if Jesus were to absolve her, he would seem to infringe the Law but if he condemned her he would seem to have changed the reason for his coming since he came to forgive the sins of all… While they were speaking Jesus, his head bent, was writing on the ground with his finger. Since they were waiting for him, he raised his head and said: “Whoever is without sin amongst you, let him be the first to cast a stone.” Is there anything more divine than this verdict? That the sinless one should punish the sin? And indeed, how could we allow anyone to condemn another’s sin while excusing his own? Wouldn’t such a one condemn himself even more by condemning in another what he himself does? This is how Jesus spoke while writing on the ground. Why? It’s as though he said: “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?” (Lk 6,41). He wrote in the dust with the same finger with which he wrote the Law (Ex 31,18). Sinners are written in the earth and the righteous in heaven, as Jesus said to his disciples: “Rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (Lk 10,20). When they heard Jesus, the Pharisees “went away one after the other, beginning with the eldest”… The evangelist was correct in saying that those who did not want to be with Christ went away. What lies on the exterior of the Temple is the letter; what lies within are the mysteries. For what they were looking for from the divine teachings were the leaves of the tree and not its fruits. They were living in the shadow of the Law and were unable to see the sun of justice (Mal 3,20).
Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team