“They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.” (John 8:6)
Saint Augustine of Hippo offers the following insight on this verse from today’s Gospel:
“He wrote with his finger on the ground, as if indicating that the names of people like these men were to be written in earth, not in heaven, which is where he told his disciples they should rejoice that their names were written. Or perhaps he meant to convey the idea of humility when he bowed his head [to write on the ground]; or he wrote on the ground to signify that the time had now arrived when his law should be written on soil that would bear fruit and not on sterile stone, as before.” (Harmony of the Gospels, 4)
O God, by whose wondrous grace
we are enriched with every blessing,
grant us so to pass from
former ways to newness of life, that we may be made ready
for the glory of the heavenly Kingdom.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
we are enriched with every blessing,
grant us so to pass from
former ways to newness of life, that we may be made ready
for the glory of the heavenly Kingdom.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Glory to You Father, Son and Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen!
