The world we are journeying through is marked by the dominance of sin; by this I mean that things are not as they should be, that human beings are alienated from one another, and that we do not yet live in a kingdom of justice, love and peace, but must still help to build it. Sin, therefore, is a fact of life, and we come to Lourdes, not to escape the facts, but to see them in perspective. There is sin in Lourdes as well (for we are in Lourdes, and we are sinners): but in Lourdes we discover that sin is not the whole story: we get a glimpse of a vision of how things ought to be, and that is a cheering discovery. At the same time, of course, it often happens that we get a clearer understanding of our own involvement with sin while we are in Lourdes, and that ought not to be a depressing discovery, provided that it comes along with an insight into how much God loves us. Therefore, not as a "guilt-trip", but as a return to our real selves, the healing encounter with the Lord in the Sacrament of Reconciliation is strongly recommended as part of our pilgrimage to Lourdes.
Scripture reading
John 8: 1-11
… but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple; all the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribers and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?" This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." And once more he bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the eldest, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus looked up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no-one condemned you?" She said, "No-one, Lord" and Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go and do not sin again."