Gospel (Jn 8,1-11) - At that time, Jesus set out towards the Mount of Olives. But in the morning he went again to the temple, and all the people came to him. And he sat down and began to teach them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought him a woman caught in adultery, placed her in the midst of her and said to him: «Master, this woman was caught in flagrant adultery. Now Moses, in the Law, commanded us to stone women like this. What do you think?". They said this to test him and to have reason to accuse him. But Jesus bent down and began to write with his finger on the ground. However, when they persisted in questioning him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." And, bending down again, he wrote on the ground. When they heard this, they went away one by one, starting with the older ones. They left him alone, and the woman was there in the middle. Then Jesus stood up and said to her: «Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?". And she replied: «No one, Lord». And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go and from now on sin no more."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

The Gospel tells us an extraordinary scene of mercy. Early in the morning, Jesus went to the temple. While he was busy speaking to the crowd that had gathered around him to listen to him, suddenly the circle of listeners was split by some scribes and Pharisees who threw a woman caught in the act of adultery before Jesus. According to the law of Moses, that woman had to be stoned. If the law was clear, the violence that had moved those scribes and Pharisees to throw that sinner before Jesus was even more evident. Faced with this violent scene, he is silent, bends down as if to put himself on the ground next to that sinner, and begins to write in the sand. The Lord of the word does not speak, does not condemn: he loves that woman and wants to free her from her evil. Only those accusers continue to rant recklessly. But they are not interested in the observance of the law, much less the sinful one. They want to accuse Jesus to discredit him before the people even as he teaches in the temple, the heart where they placed their authority. The woman is also silent. She is well aware, however, that her life hangs by a thread, on a sentence that could come from the mouth of the young prophet. The accusers cannot stand this silence and insist that Jesus express himself. Jesus, finally, raises his head and, turning to those accusing Pharisees, says: "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her". Then he bends down again and continues writing. The evangelist notes with some complacency: "They went away one by one, starting with the older ones." Yes, they who had come as a group - hatred always unites the servants of evil - are leaving in disarray. It's a moment of truth. No one remains in that clearing, except Jesus and the woman: the merciful one and the sinner. Jesus begins to speak with the tone he used to use with difficult people: “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? ... I don't condemn you either; go and sin no more from now on.” Jesus, the only one without sin, the only one who could have thrown a stone at her, tells her words of forgiveness and love. This is the Gospel of love that the disciples must welcome and communicate to the world at the beginning of this new century so in need of forgiveness. It's not about condescending to sin. Far from it. Each disciple knows this for himself. We are all adulterers, men and women, who have betrayed the love of the Lord. He has always remained faithful and with incredible mercy continues to forgive us. We too, together with that adulteress, are faced with Jesus and his mercy. We too are invited to listen to Jesus' exhortation to that woman: "Go and sin no more!". God's mercy is not an easy cover for evil. By its very nature it requires a change of heart, a distancing from sin and evil. Mercy is not a simple feeling, welcoming it is the beginning of salvation because it frees us from the slavery of evil.