With two days to go the Jubilee Year of Mercy is literally round the corner. Preparations of all sorts have been made so that this privileged Year of Mercy will be of great benefit to the Church and the world at large.
In the Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, which bears the date 11 April 11, the Vigil of the Sunday of Divine Mercy, we find Pope Francis’ core hope for this Year of Mercy, namely that this Holy Year would be one of healing and reconciliation.
“In this Holy Year, we look forward to the experience of opening our hearts to those living on the outermost fringes of society: fringes which modern society itself creates. How many uncertain and painful situations there are in the world today! How many are the wounds borne by the flesh of those who have no voice because their cry is muffled and drowned by the indifference of the rich! During this Jubilee, the Church will be called even more to heal these wounds, to assuage them with the oil of consolation, to bind them with mercy and cure them with solidarity and vigilant care. Let us not fall into humiliating indifference or a monotonous routine that prevents us from discovering what is new! Let us ward off destructive cynicism! Let us open our eyes and see the misery of the world, the wounds of our brothers and sisters who are denied their dignity, and let us recognize that we are compelled to heed their cry for help! May we reach out to them and support them so they can feel the warmth of our presence, our friendship, and our fraternity! May their cry become our own, and together may we break down the barriers of indifference that too often reign supreme and mask our hypocrisy and egoism!” (no. 15).
Beautiful words which absolutely inspire us as the Church But the focal point of this outreach is never to be taken merely as horizontal. Without seeing the suffering Jesus in each person we minister to as the one Body of Christ, we risk simply doing philanthropic work. Our Christian calling is far higher and nobler than philanthropic endeavours. Our unique Christian vocation is that of making Jesus Christ felt and experienced in our shattered world which is desperately searching for meaning that goes beyond the parameters of time and space. A meaning which opens our finitude to infinity and eternity.
As Christians we need to take this golden opportunity which the Year of Mercy is presenting us in order that we ourselves experience the exquisite taste of God’s mercy for us. In his catechesis on the Door of Mercy of Wednesday 18 November, Pope Francis said: “Each one of us has within himself things that burden him. All of us. We are all sinners! Let us take advantage of this moment that is coming and cross the threshold of this mercy of God, who never tires of forgiving, never tires of waiting for us! He looks at us, He is always beside us. Courage! Let us go in through this door!”
A sincere confession is surely an excellent start for this Year of Mercy. As Pope Francis noted in the Bull of Indiction through “the Sacrament of Reconciliation [people]... rediscover a path back to the Lord, living a moment of intense prayer and finding meaning in their lives”. Then the Holy Father rightly exhorted: “Let us place the Sacrament of Reconciliation at the centre once more in such a way that it will enable people to touch the grandeur of God’s mercy with their own hands. For every penitent, it will be a source of true interior peace” (no. 17).
Let us, priests, in this Mercy Jubilee, be a powerful “sign of the primacy of mercy always, everywhere, and in every situation, no matter what” (no. 17). Let us “learn to accept the plea for help and mercy pouring from the heart of every penitent” (no. 17). Most of all let us “allow ourselves to be [frequent] penitents in search of his mercy” (no .17).
We can only be merciful to others when we ask our Father’s infinite mercy for us!
Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap
Paola