“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36).

“I am Love and Mercy itself”… These words were spoken by Jesus to St. Faustina in the first half of the 20^th century and have been recognized by the Church as authentically of God. They are an important reminder of the truth that God is love even in the face of human sin. So important is this truth for our current situation that Pope Francis has opened an Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy which began on Dec. 8^th, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. This Jubilee Year will last until Nov. 20, 2016, the solemnity of Christ the King. The Holy Father has expressed the fervent desire that the Jubilee will be a special season of mercy for all in the Church and indeed all throughout the world!

None of us need convincing that mercy is truly needed in today’s world. Whether on the personal or communal level, our daily life is negatively impacted by the presence of sin and evil. Only divine mercy can vanquish that darkness and the Lord Jesus burns with an infinite longing to bless us with the healing fires of His loving mercy.

But what is a Jubilee you might ask?

A Jubilee is a centuries-old custom of dedicating a certain time to celebrate an important anniversary or to highlight a theme related to our Catholic faith. The Church has a Jubilee year every 25 years (ordinary) as well as certain special ones on certain occasions (extraordinary). The Church’s practice of Jubilees finds its origin in the ancient custom of Israel. For the people of the covenant, the jubilee system was the crowning of the Sabbath rest and entailed a year of emancipation when captives and slaves were to be set free, debts wiped away, the land allowed to lay fallow, and family property holdings returned to original owners (with a view to alleviating their poverty). It was a reminder to Israel that the many blessings they enjoyed were gifts of the Lord and that all were equal in His sight. It represented liberation from bondage and a return to total dependence upon the Lord’s providential care. It was meant to be a Sabbath of Sabbaths, a rest of rests (cf. Lev 25:8-13).

The Church’s Jubilee therefore is meant to be understood in the same way. Divine Mercy wipes away the slavery due to sin, and returns us to the freedom of the children of God. It is a time of grace and blessing for the people of God. It is concretized in various ways throughout the year.

First of all, Holy Doors are established through which pilgrims are encouraged to pass in various designated churches across the diocese. In our area, the Cathedral of St. Mary in Fargo and the Carmelite Monastery near Wahpeton have a Holy Door. Passing through the Holy Door represents the passage from death to life through the gate which is Christ (Jn 10:9).

Secondly, the faithful are encouraged to make a pilgrimage to one of the churches with a Holy Door, praying for a deeper reception of mercy through prayer and the Sacrament of Reconciliation and experiencing the beneficial effects of being reminded of our true state in life, namely as pilgrims on the way to eternity.

Thirdly, all in the Church are encouraged to practice the works of mercy in a more intentional way. The corporal and spiritual works of mercy are concrete ways of bearing credible witness to the gift of God’s mercy to those in need. As Jesus exhorted, we are to be merciful even as our heavenly Father is merciful.

Let us take advantage of this special year of favor and seek to live in the mystery of the Trinity’s merciful love for each of us! The more deeply we receive His mercy with grateful hearts, the more our lives will overflow with that same merciful love for others...and what better gift can we give to our brothers and sisters than the gift of Divine love?

 Let us become anew the face of mercy in our time so that our brothers and sisters may know the hope to which they are called (Eph. 1:18).