What a great grace the Church gives us in these readings today. It is the week before Holy Week and we are invited to draw close to God in the sacrament of Reconciliation and accept not only God's forgiveness, but release from our guilt. We see Jesus, who in the Gospel revealed himself to be a deeply understanding man, to the point of exaggeration. Jesus believed in God, capable of making women a new creature. He believed in the woman, capable of changing her life. He didn't ask her an indiscreet question, or reprimand her because of her sin. He saw in her a lost daughter of her father who had already returned to her life. Once again, the Church urges us to accept this Jesus who invites us to freedom. He must not be afraid. The Jesus of the Gospel is the same one who awaits him at confession.