# A Little Mercy Changes Everything
*2016-03-13*

> Bill Young reflects on the Fifth Sunday of Lent, the story of the woman caught in adultery, and the example of St. Leander of Seville, urging listeners to embrace God's merciful love.

## The Liturgical Context

Good afternoon. This is Bill Young, and welcome to the Prayer and Lunch podcast. Today is the Fifth Sunday of Lent, and we are praying from the small prayer book *Renew Our Hearts*, which contains Pope Francis’s invitation to a Lenten conversion. The feast we celebrate today is St. Leander of Seville (c. 550‑600), a bishop who defended the Church against heresies and helped restore the creed at Mass.

## The Gospel of the Adulterous Woman

The Gospel reading for today is John 8:7: “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Jesus confronts the crowd that has brought a woman caught in adultery before Him. Rather than condemning her, He offers words of love and mercy, inviting conversion. He does not say, “Condemn her,” but instead says, “Go, and sin no more.”

## God’s Unfailing Mercy

God’s face is the face of a merciful Father—always patient, always ready to forgive. Even when we grow weary of asking for forgiveness, He never tires of granting it to those who return with contrite hearts. A little mercy makes the world less cold and more just. We are called to imitate that mercy in our own lives.

## A Prayer for Mercy

Let us pray: “Jesus, help me become more merciful and forgiving of others and even of myself, as God is. Amen.”

*A little mercy, received from God, transforms our hearts and the world around us.*