Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent:

Reading I: Daniel 13:1–9, 15–17, 19–30, 33–62
Psalm: 23:1–3a, 3b–4, 5, 6
Gospel: John 8:1-11

Today’s first reading is a long and poignant one, and we can think of it as providing us with an imaginative backdrop for Jesus’s important discussion of testimony in the Gospel.
In the reading from Daniel, the maligned Susanna has true testimony, but her protestations are dismissed. Instead, the false testimony of the two elders are believed, and it is only when Daniel intervenes that the truth comes to light. In this respect, Daniel looks forward to Christ, who always stands ready to vindicate us from the great accuser—the devil.

You may recall the scene in C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, when the evil Witch declares that the boy Edmund’s blood must be spilled on account of his being a traitor. We are all traitors for having sinned, but Jesus, like Daniel and Aslan, takes our sins upon Himself. We need only repent and turn back to Him.

It is interesting to note as well the cause of the elders’ evil ways: “Lust has perverted your heart,” Daniel tells them (13:56). This is a sobering reminder that every time we sin, we slide into spiritual darkness, and we make ourselves less capable of seeing the truth of things.
In response to our human predicament, Jesus declares Himself the light of the world. He does so, moreover, in the area of the temple where the Jews would erect huge lampstands at night during the feast of tabernacles, making the imagery especially potent for His immediate listeners. As John tells us elsewhere, the Good News of the Christian Gospel is that, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). Let us strive to allow Jesus to shine out more brightly in our lives.

Does Christ’s grace appear effective in me?

Who are examples of Catholics in my life who seem to radically reflect the light of Christ, and how can I become more like them?

Reference:

Journey Through Lent: Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings by Clement Harrold