Last April 11, at First Vespers of Divine Mercy Sunday (Second Sunday of Easter), Pope Francis presented the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee of Mercy, entitled “Misericordiae Vultus” or “The Face of Mercy.”
The Holy Father explained that the year will begin on Dec. 8, significant not only because it is the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception (our national patronal feast in the U.S. and, in a particular way, our diocesan patronal feast here in Brooklyn and Queens), but also because it is the 50th anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council.
The basic message of the Second Vatican Council was to bring the message of the Gospel to all the people of the world, to enter into dialogue with the modern world, both Christian and non-Christian, both believers and non-believers alike, all the while remaining faithful to the fonts of Divine Revelation, Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium of the Church. The basic message of both the Immaculate Conception and Vatican II was to allow every living being to have an encounter with the Word of God, not simply the proclaimed Scripture, but the Incarnate Word of God, Jesus Christ.
In the Papal Bull, Pope Francis, reminds us that “The mercy of God is not an abstract idea, but a concrete reality through which he reveals his love as that of a father or a mother, moved to the very depths out of love for their child,” and that “Mercy is the very foundation of the Church’s life…The Church’s very credibility is seen in how she shows merciful and compassionate love.”
The motto for the year is “Merciful like the Father” and the pope stated, “Wherever the Church is present, the mercy of the Father must be evident…Wherever there are Christians, everyone should find an oasis of mercy.”
We should start on a diocesan level, a parish level and a personal level to think about how to let the world find an “oasis of mercy.” The Holy Father offers some concrete suggestions: go on pilgrimage as an “impetus to mercy.”
He’s not suggesting that we even have to physically go on a pilgrimage, but more so to view our life as a pilgrimage in itself. All of the Christian life is conversion and each day, the Christian is called to have an intellectual, spiritual, moral and psychic conversion, to become more and more like Christ.
Pope Francis mentions that we all can try harder to not judge or condemn but forgive and give, all the while being certain to avoid the pitfalls of gossip, envy and jealousy. He encourages a greater use of the Sacrament of Penance. Perhaps our parish priests can preach and catechize more on the sickness of sin and its remedy, confession, as well as teaching people why we all need to avail ourselves more to the Sacrament of Penance and also how to make a good confession.
Our parishes can also think about offering reconciliation more often and at times that are more accessible to parishioners, even if it means rethinking some of their long-set schedules. The Holy Father speaks about justice, without which there can be no real mercy. Mercy is not the “cheap grace” decried by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, but comes a precious price – the spilling of the Blood of the Son of Justice, Jesus Christ.
We need to prepare ourselves for this Jubilee of Mercy, beginning now, especially in light of the upcoming papal visit. This jubilee offers us a unique opportunity to grow in the knowledge of what the Old Testament would call “hesed,” God’s faithful and life-giving mercy. Let’s not waste this time, as individuals or as parishes.
As Others See It
“Only God can give or take life and the state does not have the competency to shorten this precious gift, even for seemingly laudable purposes.”
– The Catholic Bishops of New Mexico
