The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today resonate with situations we witness today where misinformation and propaganda are daily challenges to efforts to support efforts to bring responsibility, truth, and compassion to our relationships with the people in our environment.
The Reading from the Book of Daniel alerts us to a tendency of the powerful to abuse their positions.
* [13:1–14:42] The short stories in these two chapters exist now only in Greek and other translations, but probably were first composed in Hebrew or Aramaic. They were never part of the Hebrew-Aramaic Book of Daniel, or of the Hebrew Bible. They are excluded from the Protestant canon of Scripture, but the Catholic Church has always included them among the inspired writings; they existed in the Septuagint, which was used as its Bible by the early church.
* [13:55–59] The contrast between the mastic tree, which is small, and the majestic oak emphasizes the contradiction between the statements of the two elders. In the Greek text there is a play on words between the names of these two trees and the mortal punishment decreed by Daniel for the elders. The mastic tree (schinon) sounds like the verb “to split” (schisai). The oak tree (prinon) suggests a play on poisai (to saw). (Daniel, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 23 presents God as a good shepherd.
* [Psalm 23] God’s loving care for the psalmist is portrayed under the figures of a shepherd for the flock (Ps 23:1–4) and a host’s generosity toward a guest (Ps 23:5–6). The imagery of both sections is drawn from traditions of the exodus (Is 40:11; 49:10; Jer 31:10).
* [23:1] My shepherd: God as good shepherd is common in both the Old Testament and the New Testament (Ez 34:11–16; Jn 10:11–18).
* [23:3] Right paths: connotes “right way” and “way of righteousness.”
* [23:5] You set a table before me: this expression occurs in an exodus context in Ps 78:19. In front of my enemies: my enemies see that I am God’s friend and guest. Oil: a perfumed ointment made from olive oil, used especially at banquets (Ps 104:15; Mt 26:7; Lk 7:37, 46; Jn 12:2).
* [23:6] Goodness and mercy: the blessings of God’s covenant with Israel. (Psalms, PSALM 23 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of John, Jesus responds to a Woman Caught in Adultery.
* [7:53–8:11] The story of the woman caught in adultery is a later insertion here, missing from all early Greek manuscripts. A Western text-type insertion, attested mainly in Old Latin translations, it is found in different places in different manuscripts: here, or after Jn 7:36 or at the end of this gospel, or after Lk 21:38, or at the end of that gospel. There are many non-Johannine features in the language, and there are also many doubtful readings within the passage. The style and motifs are similar to those of Luke, and it fits better with the general situation at the end of Lk 21: but it was probably inserted here because of the allusion to Jer 17:13 (cf. note on Jn 8:6) and the statement, “I do not judge anyone,” in Jn 8:15. The Catholic Church accepts this passage as canonical scripture. (John, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB, n.d.)
Rev. Rashmi Fernando, SJ, comments that we throw stones with our words, our assumptions, our silence in the face of injustice. In a world filled with public accusations, political polarization, wars, and deep divisions—where people are judged instantly in the courts of social media and public opinion, and the temptation to condemn is strong and convenient— Jesus bends down and writes on the ground, almost giving humanity a moment to pause, breathe, and look inward.
Lent invites us precisely into this space of examination. It reminds us not only of “giving things up” but also of “loving the way Jesus does” because justice without mercy becomes cruelty, and truth without humility becomes arrogance.
Hence, let’s ask ourselves,
When have I stood among the crowd, quick to judge others without examining my own conscience?
In moments of injustice or false accusation in the world around me, do I remain silent, or do I dare to be a voice like Daniel?
During this Lenten journey, what “stones” of judgment, resentment, or pride is Christ inviting me to drop so that mercy may take their place? (Fernando, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “Aided by Christ's grace,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"No one of us does anything good unless aided by Christ's grace. What we do badly comes from ourselves; what we do well, we do with the help of God. Therefore, let us give thanks to God who made it possible. And when we do well, let us not insult anyone who does not act in the same way. Let us not extol ourselves above such a person." (excerpt from Commentary on Psalm 93,15) (Schwager, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments that in Daniel today, a chapter only in Greek and is not accepted in the Jewish or Protestant Canon, Suzanna encounters two judges who decide to trap her in a plan to have sex with her. She is a woman of integrity and she calls the crowd who believe what the old men have said. Daniel is inspired by the Spirit in his heart and he tricks them to expose the truth and they receive the punishment of death they had intended for Suzanna. Jesus meets the woman caught in adultery and Jesus rejects the trap of the religious leaders and challenges whoever is without sin to cast the first stone. Many have speculated about what Jesus wrote? Perhaps it makes no difference. “Go and sin no more” is an act of mercy and wisdom. Friar Jude comments that in John there is only one sin, of rejection of Jesus, as evidence that this passage is not by the author of John’s Gospel. It may have been copied into John and it is not found in older manuscripts. It is a beautiful story, perhaps like Luke in theme, and in John is a lesson of mercy.
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 8:1-11 comments that in this brief but tender exchange, Jesus shows that he “did not come to condemn the world but to save the world” (John 12:47). He wasn’t interested in the voices of condemnation then, and he isn’t interested in them now.
The men wanted a heated confrontation with Jesus, but he wanted a saving encounter with the woman. Jesus wants the same for you today. He knows everything about you—good and bad—and he opens his arms to you in welcome. So let him forgive you. Let him silence the accusations. Let him set you free and give you confidence in his love so that you, too, can “not sin any more” (John 8:11).
“Thank you, Jesus, for setting me free and refusing to condemn me!” (Meditation on John 8:1-11, n.d.)
Brian McLaren considers the stories of empire and exile that appear in the Bible and continue to this day. He proposes that the English words liberate and liberation would be better translations for the Hebrew and Greek words commonly translated as save or salvation.
Many of the psalms are intense poems of pain from the Exile period. One of the best known is Psalm 137. You feel the pathos as the Judean exiles feel they have been dehumanized, turned into entertainment for their oppressors.
By the rivers of Babylon—
there we sat down, and there we wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the willows there
we hung up our harps.
For there our captors
asked us for songs,
and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
How could we sing the Lord’s song
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand wither!
Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy. (Psalm 137:1–6)
In this psalm, the refugees in exile refuse to sing. They refuse to sacrifice their own dignity and humanity for the entertainment of their oppressor. Their pain echoes through the centuries and asks us: Where are people experiencing exile today? Dare we humanize them and feel their pain? Dare we take their story seriously—even if doing so offends the elites of today’s empires of violence and domination? (McLaren, n.d.)
We seek the guidance of the Spirit in our practice of S.T.O.P. [ Stop. Take a Breath. Observe. Proceed. ] before taking impulsive action.
References
Daniel, CHAPTER 13 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 23, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/daniel/13?1
Fernando, R. (n.d.). Daily Reflection. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved March 23, 2026, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-march-23-2026
John, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March , 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/8?1
McLaren, B. (n.d.). Exile: An Ongoing Reality. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved March 23, 2026, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/exile-an-ongoing-reality/
Meditation on John 8:1-11. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved March 23, 2026, from https://wau.org/meditations/2026/03/23/1522816/
Psalms, PSALM 23 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 23, 2026, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/23?1
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Go, and Do Not Sin Again. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 23, 2026, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/
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