Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 7, 36-50

A certain Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him,
and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table.
Now there was a sinful woman in the city
who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee.
Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment,
she stood behind him at his feet weeping
and began to bathe his feet with her tears.
Then she wiped them with her hair,
kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself,
“If this man were a prophet,
he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him,
that she is a sinner.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“Simon, I have something to say to you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
“Two people were in debt to a certain creditor;
one owed five hundred days’ wages and the other owed fifty.
Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both.
Which of them will love him more?”
Simon said in reply,
“The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.”
He said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon,
“Do you see this woman?
When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet,
but she has bathed them with her tears
and wiped them with her hair.
You did not give me a kiss,
but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered.
You did not anoint my head with oil,
but she anointed my feet with ointment.
So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven;
hence, she has shown great love.
But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”
He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The others at table said to themselves,
“Who is this who even forgives sins?”
But he said to the woman,
“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Those who love greatly are forgiven

1. Tears. Tears express more than words ever could. They’re usually the consequence of guilt and sorrow that we feel many times but have no words to express. These tears are the product of recognizing our mistakes and weaknesses. Tears cleanse the stains caused by our sins and alleviate the pains in our lives. Crying does us a great deal of good.  Let’s pray together: Today we come before you, Jesus, in tears, because we need you, because there are things we can’t forgive ourselves for and we need the peace that comes from you. Today we come before you asking you to relieve our soul and our life, because we don’t want to hurt anyone, but we have done so. We must admit, Lord, that smiles are beautiful, and we love to smile, but many times tears roll down our face, tears of helplessness as well as tears of joy. But today we come before you like this woman, asking you to relieve our pain and our guilt.

2. The Pharisee who invited Jesus. The Pharisee in this story, whose name is Simon, represents the figure of regulatory religion, a cold vision that only looks at compliance and not at the heart of the person. This is what makes us Catholics different, but it seems that we’ve lost that direction and have made many people cry when they came looking for Jesus to relieve their fear, their guilt, or their sorrow. You know, I dream of a community where we welcome those who come to cry to Jesus to restore peace in their lives. I don’t want us to be like Simon, who judges. We have a tendency to judge everything, from how the priest dresses to who put more money in the alms. Let’s return to Jesus, because many need relief.

3. Go in peace. How beautiful it is to feel forgiven, to know that God can give you peace so that you can look into his eyes again. Forgiveness and peace are the two sides of the same coin. Whoever feels truly forgiven from the heart lives in peace. There is no peace in a heart that hasn’t been forgiven and that at the same time is not able to forgive. Today I think of so many who seek peace and can’t find it. Allow me to think of my brothers who were priests and decided to leave, and even we (their own brothers) turned our backs on them when they asked us for help because they could not insert themselves in society and in the Church itself. There are many today who are looking for this peace that only Jesus can give. 

Remember that something good is on the way! 

God bless you and protect you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.