Accountability and Support
“Iron is sharpened by iron; one person sharpens another.”
– Proverbs 27:17
Monthly Focus on Piety
What have I studied during the past 30 days to help me better understand the gifts of God?
M1. Bible Reading
M2. Books of Formation
M3. Periodicals
M4. Other
Discussion Questions for April 6, 2025 (C) Fifth Sunday of Lent
First Reading
Isaiah 43:16-21
Thus says the LORD,
who opens a way in the sea
and a path in the mighty waters,
who leads out chariots and horsemen,
a powerful army,
till they lie prostrate together, never to rise,
snuffed out and quenched like a wick.
Remember not the events of the past,
the things of long ago consider not;
see, I am doing something new!
Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
In the desert I make a way,
in the wasteland, rivers.
Wild beasts honor me,
jackals and ostriches,
for I put water in the desert
and rivers in the wasteland
for my chosen people to drink,
the people whom I formed for myself,
that they might announce my praise.
First Reading Discussion Questions
F1. Once he got then out of Egypt, did God say, “See you. You’re on your own now”? Or did God take care of the needs of the Israelites at different times on their journey?
F2. God said, “remember not the things of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new!” What is the “something new” God is doing in your life today? Could it be synodality, where we can all discuss what needs to be changed to allow for more mercy, which would follow Jesus’ example in today’s Gospel?
Second Reading
Philippians 3:8-14
Brothers and sisters:
I consider everything as a loss
because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things
and I consider them so much rubbish,
that I may gain Christ and be found in him,
not having any righteousness of my own based on the law
but that which comes through faith in Christ,
the righteousness from God,
depending on faith to know him and the power of his resurrection
and the sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death,
if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
It is not that I have already taken hold of it
or have already attained perfect maturity,
but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it,
since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, I for my part
do not consider myself to have taken possession.
Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind
but straining forward to what lies ahead,
I continue my pursuit toward the goal,
the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.
Second Reading Discussion Questions
S1. Comparatively speaking, what are all your other possessions worth, compared to Christ? How far are you willing to “accept the loss of all things” in order to gain Christ? Does this happen all at once or would baby steps be required for you to accept the loss of all things?
S2. St. Paul says in this reading, “forgetting what lies behind, … I continue my pursuit toward the goal.” So do you forget what lies behind? Or do you drive down a highway constantly looking in your rearview mirror? Do you “strain forward to see what lies ahead?” What happens to “now” if you are always looking forward or backwards?
Gospel
John 8:1-11
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area,
and all the people started coming to him,
and he sat down and taught them.
Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman
who had been caught in adultery
and made her stand in the middle.
They said to him,
“Teacher, this woman was caught
in the very act of committing adultery.
Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.
So what do you say?”
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.
But when they continued asking him,
he straightened up and said to them,
“Let the one among you who is without sin
be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.
And in response, they went away one by one,
beginning with the elders.
So he was left alone with the woman before him.
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her,
“Woman, where are they?
Has no one condemned you?”
She replied, “No one, sir.”
Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you.
Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”
Gospel Discussion Questions
G1. What was the woman’s reaction when Jesus said “neither do I condemn you. Go and from now on do not sin anymore”? From his actions, what do you think Jesus thought about the law that dictated stoning? What would he think of torturing prisoners? Capital punishment?
G2. Jesus came to bring us new life. Which brings about conversion and new life? “Being a guardian of, and implementing the Law” or having mercy and being forgiving? Could “Mercy First” be the “something new” from the First Reading?
Once we open our hearts to him in truth, he can work wonders in us. …
We see this in the woman caught in adultery . Her situation seemed hopeless, but then a new and unexpected horizon opened up before her. She was insulted and awaiting merciless judgment and severe punishment. Yet to her amazement, she finds herself acquitted by God, who points her to a future she did not at all anticipate: “Has no one condemned you?”—Jesus says to her—“Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again” (vv. 10.11).
What a difference there is between the Master and the woman’s accusers! They cited the Scriptures to condemn her; Jesus, the very Word of God, completely rehabilitates the woman, restoring her hope. From this story, we learn that any judgment that is not inspired and moved by charity only serves to make things worse for those who receive it. God, on the other hand, always leaves room for second chance; he can always find paths that lead to liberation and salvation.
Forgiveness changed that woman’s life. Mercy and misery embraced. Mercy and misery met there, and the woman’s life changed.
Pope Francis' Homily for 5 Sunday of Lent C
April 3, 2022
**From Saint Louis University & Anne Osdieck
Suggested Strategies for Managing the Clock
For those with smaller groups or those who have the luxury of enough allotted time, it is suggested that the group cover each question from the monthly focus through the Gospel discussion questions
For those with larger groups or don't have the luxury of operating on God's Time, it is suggested that the group cover the monthly focus question and then feel free to skip around and attempt to answer only a few questions - whether that’s just the gospel, or the second reading and gospel, etc.