“Pope of Mercy” proclaims Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy

Francis has been called the pope of mercy ever since his election on March 13, 2013. He has frequently proclaimed to the world the God of mercy, who wants to save people, not to condemn them. It was the central theme of his first Mass for the public in the Church of Sant' Anna in the Vatican on March 17, 2013, and of his midday talk to the almost half million people who gathered in and around St Peter's Square that same day, when he praised Cardinal Walter Kasper's book on the topic of mercy. It is a theme that has surfaced again and again in his talks and homilies throughout the past two years.i

Pope Francis has declared an Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, December 8, 2015-

November 20, 2016. As described by Joshua McElwee, “A jubilee year is called by the church to

receive blessing and pardon from God, and remission of sins. The Catholic Church has called

jubilee years every 25 or 50 years since the year 1300, and has also called special jubilee years

from time to time, known as extraordinary jubilee years.”ii

As a child with four brothers and one sister, my next of kin and I scrapped perhaps more

than normal. I remember my parents saying at one point that they were at wits end as to how to

prevent the two of us from fighting with each other nearly every day. When we moved to our

new home in Fond du Lac and passed the Courthouse for the first time, I told my brother that he

should get used to that building because I would be dragging him to court because of all of the

fights that he had started.

By the time that I was a junior in high school, and having a very difficult time with a

cruel assistant manager at my first job, it was this same brother who befriended me before this

mean supervisor. To this day, he is usually the first person I call or email when I have run into a

situation for which I really need someone to talk to. How did our relationship evolve from one of

plaintiff and defendant to close confidant? How did we move come to realize each others’ gift of

being merciful?

It is hard, if not impossible, to comprehend the message of God without receiving grace

from the sacraments and inspiration from prayer and the reading of scripture. It is no wonder that

Pope Francis writes, “…Let us place the sacrament of reconciliation at the center 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. iii” The Holy Father also invites us to

reflect on key lessons from scripture during the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. What does Luke

6:36-38a have to say about mercy? “Be compassionate, as your Father is compassionate. Do not

judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Pardon,

and you shall be pardoned. Give, and it shall be given to you.” Pope Francis’s own commentary

on this passage bears direct quoting:

The Lord asks us above all not to judge and not to condemn. If anyone wishes to avoid God’s judgment, he should not make himself the judge of his brother or sister. Human beings, whenever they judge, look no farther than the surface, whereas the Father looks into the very depths of the soul. How much harm words do when they are motivated by feelings of jealousy and envy! To speak ill of others puts them in a bad light, undermines their reputation and leaves them prey to the whims of gossip. To refrain from judgment and condemnation means, in a positive sense, to know how to accept the good in every person and to spare him any suffering that might be caused by our partial judgment, our presumption to know everything about him. But this is still not sufficient to express mercy. Jesus asks us also to forgive and to give. To be instruments of mercy because it was we who first received mercy from God. To be generous with others, knowing that God showers his goodness upon us with immense generosity.iv

Furthermore, Pope Francis challenges us to more intentionally practice and make permanent

the corporal works of mercy--to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the

stranger, heal the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead--and spiritual works of mercy --to counsel

the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish sinners, comfort the afflicted, forgive offences, bear

patiently those who do us ill, and pray for the living and the dead--during the Jubilee.v

Br. Steve Herro, O. Praem.Pastoral Associate, St. Clare Parish

i Gerard O’Connell, “Pope Francis declares a jubilee year of mercy,” America Magazine, March 11, 2015, pp. 8-9ii Joshua McElwee, “Pope declares jubilee ear of mercy,” National Catholic Reporter, March 27, 2015, p. 1+iii Pope Francis, “Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy,” April 11, 2015, #17.iv Ibid, #14.v Ibid., #15.