Fifth Sunday of Lent

This Gospel’s traditional title fixates on the woman’s wrongdoing leading preachers to focus on sex and sin and Jesus’s final exhortation, ‘From now on, do not sin anymore’ which misses the more insidious brokenness of a society and faith that would sacrifice a woman’s well-being to shore up the value of men and their power. Jesus words, ‘Go, and from now on do not sin anymore,’ has been weaponised by people wishing to condemn others, such as LGBT people or sex workers, to justify telling them how to live their lives. To isolate this line from the rest of the text means we lost the whole spirit of the gospel message about not judging and to offer each other mercy.

Justice for the family of Kumanjayi Walker, for the people of Yuendumu Community, and for First Nations people in the Northern Territory

Media Release - Sydney: Wed, 16th March 2022
Call from Edmund Rice Centre

“The Edmund Rice Centre for Justice and Community Education today stands in solidarity with the family of Kumanjayi Walker, with the people of the Yuendumu community, and with First Nations people in the Northern Territory”, said Edmund Rice Centre Director, Phil Glendenning.

“The recent court verdict provides no sense of justice for the family of Kumanjayi Walker, nor for the people of the Yuendumu community, and nor for the First Nations people of the Northern Territory”, he affirmed. “They have witnessed a long history of violent gun deaths of their young people at the hands of police.”

Third Sunday of Lent

Jesus keeps repeating a message of God’s nearness that opens the way to make a more humane world for all. The gospel is engaging us to find a spark of humanity within ourselves and others especially wherever there is despair and pain. Today, we are brought up against the fathomless problem of evil expressed in gender inequality, the invasion of Ukraine, the silence about Yemen, Syria and Palestine. We can be lost for words when tragedy strikes us – or near us. As words fall short, we are left in the immediate moment with silence, touch, and the reassurance of presence.