Reflecting on The Year Of Mercy

02-10-2016 TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR (C).

SCRIPTURAL READING:

Hab. 1:2-3;2:2-4
Ps 95: 1-2.6-7abc. 7d-9. (R. 7d, 8a)
2 Tim. 1:6-8.13-14; Accl. 1 Peter 1:25
Gospel Lk 17:5-10.

Preamble:

Dear friends please repeat these words after me;
Thank you Jesus for your word which I will receive today,
Stay with me Lord Jesus as I give you my mind; help me understand your word.
Stay with me Lord Jesus as I give you my ears; help me hear your voice.
Stay with me Lord Jesus as I give you my heart; help me welcome you.
Holy Spirit, rekindle in me the fire of your love. Amen.

THEME: THE EUCHARIST: OUR SOURCE AND SUMMIT
TOPIC: REFLECTING ON THE YEAR OF MERCY

The holy father Pope Francis on the 28th of March, 2015 first announced his intention to proclaim a Jubilee Year of Mercy which will run from December 8th, 2015 (to commemorate both the feast of the Immaculate Conception and the 50th anniversary of the closing of the second Vatican Council) and close on November 20th, 2016 (the solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe).

The jubilee of Mercy is related to the second Vatican Council because just as the council was very revolutionary in calling on the church to open her doors and reach out to the world in new ways, bringing God’s mercy to everyone, in the same vein, in the year of Mercy, the pope calls on the church to open her doors and allow mercy flow in abundance upon everyone.

It is called Extraordinary because normally jubilees occur at intervals of 50 or 25 years. But the two Extraordinary Jubilees so far celebrated fell on the anniversaries of Christ’s redemptive act (1933-1983). This jubilee is special because it is based upon a theme; which is “Mercy.” The extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy is an opportunity for the Church to make more evident its mission of being a witness of mercy.

It is pronounced to encourage Christians meet men and women’s real needs with concrete assistance. To experience a “true pilgrimage” on foot, and to send “missionaries of mercy” throughout the world to forgive even the most serious of sins.

To achieve the aim of pronouncing the Jubilee Year of Mercy, it is desire of the Holy Father that the Jubilee Year of Mercy be celebrated in Rome as well as in all local churches of which our Archdiocese alongside other Dioceses are part of this local church so as to enrich the lives of the faithful.

The Holy father composed the beautiful prayer for the Jubilee Year of Mercy. The Holy Father also says that the Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession) will be a central action throughout the period of the Jubilee Year of Mercy. In following with the directive of the Holy father, here in our Archdiocese, every Tuesday of the week is dedicated for this purpose where various parishes as well as chaplaincies, institutions, priests and religious are availed the opportunity to go as pilgrims to Holy Cross Cathedral Lagos.

Our chaplaincy shall go on this pilgrimage to Holy Cross Cathedral on the 8th of November, 2016. I strongly encourage all to be part of it.

During this season of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, Christ’s faithful are encouraged to engage in some acts of piety and charity which included:
Walking through the Holy Door
Pilgrimage
Corporal works of Mercy
Spiritual works of Mercy.

Someone might ask, what is the meaning of the Holy Door?
The Holy Door is a special door at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome which is a symbolic sign of spiritual renewal. It is the Holy Door of Mercy which millions of pilgrims are expected to walk through. The Door of Mercy in Rome (the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica) was officially opened by Pope Francis during the solemn inauguration of the Holy Year on December 8th, 2015.

Spiritual Significance of the Walk:
In Rome the pilgrim will make a distance of about 2500 feet from Castel Sant’Angelo to the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica. The long walk is to prepare the pilgrim’s heart and mind and a sign of the individual’s commitment to renew the faith and to become a witness of mercy.

For the majority of Catholics all over the world who cannot make it to Rome in order to pass through the Holy Door, they will have the opportunity in their different dioceses to pass through the Holy Door either in the Cathedral or in a church of special significance or a shrine of particular importance for pilgrimages. It is the duty of the Bishop of the diocese to decide where these will be-in the Archdiocese of Lagos our pilgrim centre is Holy Cross Cathedral, Lagos. The Door of mercy in the archdiocese of Lagos was opened on the third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday, 13th December, 2015).

The Logo

The Logo is a representation of the deep theology and spirituality behind the theme of the Year of Mercy; and it is accompanied by the motto. It is an image quite important to the early church: that of the Son having taken upon his shoulders the lost soul, demonstrating that it is Christ’s love that brings to completion the mystery of his incarnation reaching its climax in redemption.

The logo has been designed in such a way so as to express the profound way in which the Good Shepherd touches the flesh of humanity and does so with a love that has the power to change one’s life.

The images on the logo and their meaning
The scene is enclosed in a Mandorla. This is an element typical of ancient and medieval art which represents the coexistence of the two natures, the divine, and human, in Christ.
The Three concentric Ovals: with colours progressively lighter as we move outward, suggest the movement of Christ who carries humanity out of the darkness of sin and death.Conversely, the depth of the darkest colour suggests the impenetrability of the love of the father who forgives all.

The three eyed Logo
When we look closely at the logo we would observe that there are three eyes instead of it having four pairs of eyes. The question we maybe asking is, what does it mean?
That observation is correct and it is a particular feature worthy of note. It means that while the Good Shepherd, in His great mercy, takes humanity upon himself, His eyes are merged with those of man. Christ sees with the eyes of Adam, and Adam too sees with the eyes of Christ. Every person discovers in Christ, the new Adam, his or her own humanity and the future that lies ahead.

The Logo was designed by Rev. Fr. Marko I. Rupnik. This Logo has been registered in the international forum as an exclusive property of the Catholic Church in order to safeguard its rights and to prevent any inappropriate use. It is obvious that permission must be granted by the Pontifical Council for any non-religious use of the logo and that any infringement will be duly prosecuted.

The Motto of the Jubilee Year:
The motto of the Year of Mercy is ‘Merciful like the father’ taken from the Gospel of Luke 6:36 ‘Be merciful, just as your heavenly father is merciful.’ The motto invites us to follow the merciful example of the father who asks us not to judge or condemn but to forgive and to give love and forgiveness without measure.
 

Missionaries of Mercy
The title missionary of mercy, is a peculiar feature of this jubilee. The Missionaries of Mercy are priests who volunteered from all over the world to meet with the Pope at St. Peter’s Basilica on Ash Wednesday to be commissioned.

The Missionaries of Mercy are priests to whom the Pope grants “the authority to pardon even those sins reserved to the Holy See.” For example: canon 1364-1399 of the 1983 code of Canon law discussed the offenses that merit latae sententiae (excommunication) reserved to the Holy See.

Such offences include:

1. One who throws away the consecrated species or for a sacrilegious purpose, takes them away or keeps them.

2. A person who uses physical force against the Roman Pontiff, a bishop who without a pontifical mandate, consecrates a person a bishop, and the one who receives the consecration from him.

3. A confessor who directly violates the sacramental seal and a confessor who absolves “an accomplice in a sin against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue.”

4. A person who carries out a complete abortion.

5. A heretic- that is, false teacher of the faith, and 6. Schismatic-one who propagates division in the church.

These priests will be “living signs of the Father’s readiness to welcome those in search of his pardon.” The Missionaries of Mercy must be priests who are patient, possess an understanding of human frailty and are ready to express the loving kindness of the Good Shepherd in their preaching and in the Sacrament of confession.

Hymn of the Jubilee Year of Mercy
Eugenio Costa, SJ., composed the text for the hymn of the Jubilee Year of Mercy. From among many competitors, Paul Inwood, an English Catholic Liturgical composer, submitted the favoured hymn setting for the hymn of the Year of Mercy. The author and composer donated all rights in it to the Pontifical Council to aid its diffusion around the world. One can get the hymn from the website www.iubilaeummisericordiae.va, and it can be accessed at www.im.va.

Indulgence
There is an indulgence attached to the Jubilee Year of Mercy. The meaning of Indulgence: according to Catholic Encyclopaedia, indulgence is from the Latin word indulgentia, which means to be kind or tender. Later it came to mean forgiveness of tax or debt.

Within the context of the Catholic Church indulgence means extra-sacramental remission (cancelling) of temporal punishment due, in God’s justice, to sin that has been forgiven, which remission is granted by the church in the exercise of the power of the keys, through the application of the superabundant merits of Christ and of the saints, and for some just and reasonable motive.

Those who participate actively in the activities and requirements during this Holy Year of Mercy obtain a plenary indulgence. In this sense, to experience and obtain the indulgence during the Jubilee Year of Mercy, the faithful are required to do the following:
Make a brief pilgrimage to the Holy Door in the Cathedral or designated shrines. For example: in the Archdiocese-Holy Cross Cathedral Lagos is our pilgrimage centre so we are to make every effort to be part of this pilgrimage.

Go for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. For example: in the chaplaincy, we have slated Friday 28th October, 2016 for a penitential service. Time: 5:30pm. Let us avail ourselves this opportunity to go for confession and obtain the indulgence attached to it.
Attend the Holy Mass and receive Holy Communion with a reflection on mercy.
Say the prayer for the Jubilee of Mercy.
Accompany these celebrations with the profession of faith and with prayer for the pope’s intentions and for the church.
 

THE ELDERLY

Those who are sick, the elderly, those confined to the home or bed-ridden who cannot access the Holy Door or go for Mass in the church can receive this indulgence in the following manner:
Offer their sickness and suffering as an experience of closeness to the Lord who in the mystery of his passion, death and resurrection indicates the royal road which gives meaning to pain and loneliness.
Receive Holy Communion sacramentally if a minister is available to visit them, otherwise spiritual communion in the meantime.
Attend Holy Mass and community prayer, even through various means of communication e.g. TV, Radio, Social Media. One very good DSTV Channel we can watch the Mass celebrated is EWTN channel 348.

THOSE IN PRISION

Those in prison and other forms of incarceration can also benefit from the Year of Mercy. The Holy Father says that for those incarcerated, whose freedom is limited, the jubilee year is an opportunity for great amnesty, which is intended to include the many people who, despite deserving punishment, have become conscious of the injustice they worked and sincerely wish to re-enter society and make their honest contribution to it.
They may obtain the indulgence in the chapels of the prisons. By directing their thought and prayer to the father each time they cross the threshold of their cell signify for them their passage through the Holy Door.

THE DECEASED

The indulgence can also be obtained for the deceased first because we are bound to them by the witness of faith and charity that they have left us. One can however obtain indulgence for the deceased by remembering them at Eucharistic Celebration; we can in the great mystery of the communion of saints, pray for them, that the merciful face of the father free them of every remnant of fault and strongly embrace them in the unending beatitude.

CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY
The Holy Father tells us that each time we perform one or more of these actions of the corporal works of mercy and spiritual works of mercy we obtain the Jubilee Indulgence. The corporal works of mercy include
To feed the hungry.
To give drink to the thirsty
To cloth the naked
To harbour the harbourless
To visit the sick
To ransom the captive
To bury the dead.
The spiritual works of mercy include:
To instruct the ignorant
To counsel the doubtful
To admonish sinners
To bear wrongs patiently
To forgive offences willingly
To comfort the afflicted
To pray for the living and the dead
Prayer: May the Lord lead us to embrace this year of Mercy with all zeal and participate actively in the programmes mapped out to enrich our lives we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.