March 27th

March 27, 2023
Monday of the 5 th Week of Lent
Mrs. Carla Hernandez: Music Teacher
Readings: Dn 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 or 13:41c-62/Jn 8:1-11

In today’s readings, we read of two very different women. 
First, there is Susanna. She lives an honest Jewish life as the wife of a rich and faithful
man. She is described as a very beautiful and God-fearing woman. She is wrongly
accused of adultery as two men who lusted over her, entered her garden as she prepared
for a bath. Susanna is mortified at how quickly she is accused of this wrongdoing. Prays
to God for help and he answers with Daniel proclaiming her innocence. 
Second, in the Gospel, we are confronted with a woman who is caught in adultery, and
everyone knows it. They pressure Jesus to cast the first stone. Instead, he writes in the
sand and says “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone
at her. “Both women's lives are spared. One innocent and one guilty. Doesn't the guilty
woman deserve all the stones to come her way? 
Let’s talk about cancel culture. How quickly our society is to “cancel'' someone whom it
perceives to have done something so gravely wrong or controversial. Even canceling
someone before all of the contexts of the situation have been released or when a
situation is taken out of context. We are quick to judge and condemn. We cause that
someone to experience public shame and humiliation. They are no longer expected in
any society and lose everything they have. No one deserves to be publicly humiliated
and shamed by society, innocent or guilty. BUT…
We canceled and continue to cancel Jesus. One day we loved him and the next day we
turned him in to be crucified. We falsely accused him to the point we brought upon him
shame and humiliation by walking a long road and dying on the cross. He was so
controversial that society disowned him. His followers could not risk being seen with
him afraid of their own cancellation. Even the society we live in now cringes at the
sound of his name. We love Jesus, but we can't be seen with him, or he will ruin our
image. Society says to love yourself more than Jesus. Society will cancel you if you
speak the truth of the Gospel and Society will cancel you if you make it known you are
religious. Society doesn't care about your happiness and well-being. But I know
someone who does, and it’s Jesus Christ. 
Let's look at the way we treat others around us. Maybe we know someone is innocent
and maybe we know all of someone's sins. We are to all be treated with kindness.
Instead of pointing fingers and gossiping about a friend, help them not fall into
temptation. Keep each other accountable. Encourage each other to fight back at the
world when it says you don’t need Jesus. Invite those and make a conscious decision to

not be afraid to call yourself a Christian. What an honor it will be to be canceled with
Jesus.