Jesus came to tell us He wants us all in Paradise, and that Hell, of which we hear so little nowadays, exists and is eternal for all those who shut His love out of their hearts". This is a passage of the homily about the Gospel passage of the adulteress, uttered yesterday by Benedict XVI at Mass in the parish church of Santa Felicita e Figli Martiri in Rome. "So, once again, we understand added the Pope that our true enemy is our attachment to sin, that can lead us to fail in our life. Jesus takes leave from the adulteress with this order: ‘Go and never sin again’. He grants her forgiveness, so that she will ‘never sin again’". In Christ’s words, added Benedict XVI, "we see that only God’s forgiveness and love, received with an open and sincere heart, give us the strength to resist evil and "never sin again". Jesus’ attitude thus becomes a model to be followed for every community called to turn love and forgiveness into the beating heart of life". Then, the Pope mentioned "the certainty that God never abandons us and that His love is a source of joy and peace; it is a strength that powerfully pushes us along the way to holiness, even through to martyrdom if needed".
