During the Sunday Angelus, Pope Francis reflected on what he said to be one of his favorite Gospel stories: Jesus' encounter with the adulteress about to be stoned.
He recalled how Jesus told the Pharisees: 'those free from sin, cast the first stone,â? and how one by one, they all left, until Jesus was left alone with the woman.
POPE FRANCIS
'All it took was his look filled with mercy, filled with love, for this woman to feel, possibly for the first time in her life, that she has dignity, that she is not her sin. She has human dignity, she can change her life, she can get out of her bondage and find a new path.â?
The Pope said that this woman represents every Catholic, because as sinners, we all betray God's faithfulness.
POPE FRANCIS
'God does not attach us to our sin, he does not identiy us with the evil that we have done. We have a name, and God does not identify this name with the sin we have committed. '
Before leaving, the Pope announced that 40,000 copies of the Gospel of Luke would be distributed in the square. He said that on the last page, he added on all the works of mercy. On top of that, he gave advice:
POPE FRANCIS
'It would be good to commit these to memory, so it will be easier to practice them.'
It was his only public appearance on his third year anniversary as Pope. He did not mention it during the Angelus, but did so indirectly later on Twitter, where he wrote his traditional request: 'Pray for me.'
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