Merciful Like the Father A Lenten Journey with Pope Francis · of Christ prefers to use the medicine of mercy rather than arm herself with the weapons of rigor.” Nearly fifty years

Merciful Like the Father A Lenten Journey with Pope Francis

“Jesus Christ is the Face of the Father’s Mercy”

A Lenten Small Group Initiative St. Paul the Apostle Parish 2016

2 Copyright © 2016 by Michael Havercamp

Contents Introduction & Series Overview 3

Logo & Motto for the Jubilee Year of Mercy 6

Prayer of Pope Francis for the Year of Mercy 7

Small Group Guidelines 8

Session I: Second Sunday of Lent 9

Session II: Third Sunday of Lent 13

Session III: Fourth Sunday of Lent 17

Session IV: Fifth Sunday of Lent 22

Session V: Sixth Sunday of Lent 26

Session VI: Easter Sunday 30

Appendix I: The Face of Mercy, Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary 34

Jubilee of Mercy Appendix II: Stations of the Cross 50


“We want to live in the light of the word of the Lord: ‘Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful’ (Lk 6:36).

~ Pope Francis

Introduction & Series Overview When Pope John XXIII opened the Second Vatican Council, he used these words, “The Bride of Christ prefers to use the medicine of mercy rather than arm herself with the weapons of rigor.” Nearly fifty years later Pope Benedict XVI asserted mercy as the “core of the Gospel message, the name of God himself.” It was perhaps no surprise that this year Pope Francis called the Jubilee Year of Mercy to herald this most central principle, calling us, as Jesus did, to “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.”

“This is a time for mercy,” Pope Francis says. “The Church does not exist to condemn people but to bring about an encounter with the love of God’s mercy.” No better image describes the Church than that of a field hospital. “The Church does not wait for the wounded to knock on her doors,” Pope Francis exhorts. “She looks for them on the streets, she gathers them in, she embraces them, she takes care of them, she makes them feel loved.” It is Pope Francis’ hope that the Jubilee Year of Mercy will reveal this deeply maternal and merciful side of the Church’s life, inviting us to be merciful like the Father, “going forth toward those who are wounded, who are in need of an attentive ear, offering understanding, forgiveness, and love.”

Experiencing God’s Mercy But let us not forget that Lent is also a particularly meaningful moment to experience the transforming miracle of divine Mercy ourselves. It is a time to take stock of our lives, acknowledge our sin, and turn back to the Lord whose mercy is unfailing. Many of us know the love of God. We can talk about his mercy conceptually. But have we really experienced it? Now is the time. “Let us not waste this season of Lent, so favorable a time for conversion!” Pope Francis says.


Sharing God’s Mercy Receiving God’s mercy and allowing it to transform us is just the first, albeit important, step. God has so much in store for you! An old adage is helpful here: “Whatever God does to you, he wants to do through you.” God doesn’t stop with you. He wants to use you to bring the merciful love of God to others. Matter of fact, God often uses your unique story and experience to touch the lives of others who struggle in similar ways. Pope Francis reminds us that God’s mercy isn’t just something we talk about in “holy huddles.” It’s something that propels us to roll up our sleeves, hit the streets, and get our hands dirty! “To many words, too many words, too many words, and nothing is done!” Pope Francis says. “What is needed is work, Christian testimony, going to the suffering, getting close to them as Jesus did.”

Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy Jesus’ life and ministry show us the way. The Church, as Christ’s Body on earth and empowered by the Holy Spirit, is called to continue the kingdom-building project that Jesus inaugurated. Over the centuries, the Church has articulated key elements of this call through the Corporal Works of Mercy and the Spiritual Works of Mercy. These concrete actions help us make the connection not only between our heads and our hearts but also our hands.

The Corporal Works of Mercy are concerned with meeting the physical, bodily (or corporal) needs of others. They are:

• Feed the hungry • Give drink to the thirsty • Clothe the naked • Shelter the homeless • Visit the sick • Visit the imprisoned • Bury the dead

The Spiritual Works of Mercy focus on meeting the spiritual needs of others. They are:

• Instruct the ignorant • Counsel the doubtful • Correct sinners • Bear wrongs patiently • Forgive offenses willingly • Comfort the afflicted • Pray for the living and the dead

The point is not simply to know them. God challenges us to do them. This Lent God is inviting you to “Merciful Like the Father.” God’s mercy first transforms us and then makes us like the Father. These works are not theoretical abstractions but concrete actions through which we express our love for God and neighbor. We feed, clothe, shelter, visit, comfort, counsel, forgive, and pray. By these things, Christ manifests himself in the world. Also by these things, Christ tells us, we will be judged (Mt 25).


Putting Mercy into Action At the end of each week’s session is a Mercy in Action section. This action-oriented segment challenges us to apply what we’ve learned. It calls us to Receive God’s Mercy and to Live God’s Mercy. Items listed under “Receiving God’s Mercy” offer us ways to deepen our relationship with God throughout the week and personally ponder the presence of God’s mercy in our own lives. Points listed under “Living God’s Mercy” urge us to put God’s mercy into action by serving the real physical and spiritual needs of others.

Each subsequent study will begin with a follow-up discussion about how you have put mercy into action. Entitled Mercy Revisited, this is a time to share your experiences of (and experiments with) mercy. What happened? What was the result? How was it received? The results are ultimately in God’s hands. The most important thing is to try, step out of your comfort zone, and create big shadows for the Lord to work in.

This Lenten Small Group Series is provided for all members of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church with the hope of renewal, relationship, and a heightened sense of the mercy of God. The heart of the initiative will consist of six small group gatherings for prayer and reflection.

Each session of the six-week series will last about 90 minutes. Meetings will involve prayer, Scripture reflection, a discussion of Pope Francis’ manifold reflections on mercy, and specific action items. All Scripture passages and indented paragraphs from various texts should be read aloud. Please bring the study materials with you each week.

The first session in this series will begin by reflecting forward on the readings for the second Sunday in Lent. Session VI will conclude during Holy Week but we hope that your group will consider continuing into the future. Pope Francis urges us to “create spaces where we can be helped and healed, places where faith in Jesus is renewed, where questions and daily concerns are shared”(EG, 77). This is precisely the vision for small groups and the greater body of St. Paul the Apostle Church.

Dig deep and may you truly become Merciful Like the Father!

Michael & Tasha Havercamp Directors of Evangelization & Discipleship

St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church

Lenten Small Group Initiative Merciful Like the Father


Logo and Motto for the Jubilee Year of Mercy

The logo and motto provide a helpful key to understanding what the Jubilee Year of Mercy is all about. The motto “Merciful like the Father” comes from a hard-hitting section of the Sermon on the Plain found in the Gospel of Luke. Here Jesus calls his disciples to love, not in a calculating and reciprocal way (loving only those who love us, doing good to those who do good to us, lending to those who will repay), but to love our enemies as we would our friends. God, whose mercy falls on the sinner and saint alike, calls us to an utterly immeasurable and totally unmerited sort of grace. As God has shown mercy on us, we are to show mercy on others.

The logo, designed by Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik, is drawn from an important image from the early Church. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, takes upon his shoulders the wayward sheep, representing the very soul of humanity. Christ’s eyes merge in loving gaze with those in need of rescue. Human brokenness is drawn up into Christ’s sacrificed body, taking away the sins of the world.

The image is framed within a mandorla (almond in Italian), prominent in early and medieval iconography, symbolic of the two natures of Christ who is fully divine and fully human. Three concentric ovals, each shaded progressively lighter as we move outward, mark the movement of Christ who carries the sinner from darkness into the light. The depth of the darkest color represents the inexhaustible love of the Father whose bountiful mercy touches all.


Prayer of Pope Francis for the Year of Mercy

Lord Jesus Christ,

You have taught us to be merciful like the heavenly Father, and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him. Show us your face and we will be saved. Your loving gaze freed Zacchaeus and Matthew from being enslaved by money; the adulteress and Magdalene from seeking happiness only in created things; tade Peter weep after his betrayal, and assured Paradise to the repentant thief. Let us hear, as if addressed to each one of us, the words that you spoke to the Samaritan woman: “If you only knew the gift of God!”

You are the visible face of the invisible Father, of the God who manifests his power above all by forgiveness and mercy: Let the Church be your visible face in the world, its Lord risen and glorified. You willed that your ministers would also be clothed in weakness in order that they may feel compassion for those in ignorance and error: Let everyone who approaches them feel sought after, loved, and forgiven by God.

Send your Spirit and consecrate every one of us with its anointing, so that the Jubilee of Mercy may be a year of grace from the Lord, and your Church, with renewed enthusiasm, may bring good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to captives and the oppressed, and restore sight to the blind.

We ask this through the intersession of Mary, Mother of Mercy, you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.


Small Group Guidelines

1. Perspective & Purpose Always remember our purpose: to spur one another on toward a deeper relationship with Christ and one another. This is not a historical study or a theological debate, though history and theology may help us achieve our goals. This is not merely a social, though relationships are at the center of everything we do.

2. Safe Environment This is a safe place where people can be heard, supported, and loved (no simple fixes, snap judgments, or defensive posturing).

3. Group Attendance and Promptness Make this a priority, not only for your sake but for others. Your input might be just the thing someone needs. Show up. Be on time. Call if you’re late or absent.

4. Anonymity & Confidentiality What is shared in the group stays in the group. Respect others vulnerability by honoring confidentiality.

5. Welcome Newcomers Invite friends who might benefit from this study and warmly welcome newcomers. Help build a community of radical hospitality!

6. Help One Another Give group members permission to speak into your life and help you to live a healthy, balanced life that is pleasing to God. We are not there to “fix” or pressure one another, but God often uses the influence of other people to help us get back on track.

7. Healthy Conversations Don’t interrupt. Let people complete their sentences. Keep your sharing focused on your own thoughts and feelings. Avoid “cross talk,” those conversations between two individuals that exclude others. Never gossip.

8. Invest in Relationships Make a point to get to know the other members of your group. Engage them outside the study. Meet for coffee. Go for a run. Pray for them. Become true friends on the journey.

9. Pray Start and end in prayer. Encourage everyone to pray in a way that is comfortable for them. Yet step out of your box in prayer, pressing forward to deeper communion with God.

10.Have Fun! This is not a stuff-shirt occasion. Laugh, play and enjoy one another’s company. Joy is an indelible hallmark of an intentional disciple of Jesus!


this invitation is not meant for him or her. ~ Pope Francis, The Joy of the Gospel

Preparation

• Read Introduction & Series Overview, Logo and Motto page, Pope Francis’ Prayer for the Year of Mercy, and Small Group Guidelines

• Corporal & Spiritual Works of Mercy: Praying for the living and the dead. Scripture Luke 9:28b-36 Read the following passage aloud:

Session I: 2nd Sunday of Lent

I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them. No one should think that

• Read the Scripture readings for the upcoming Sunday. Found at: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/020316.cfm

• Key themes: prayer, transformation, listening to God, receiving God’s mercy ourselves Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But he did not know what he was saying. While he was still speaking, a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time tell anyone what they had seen.

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/020316.cfm


to listening to God this Lent? Write down your commitment and stick to it.

Reflecting on Mercy With Pope Francis

Unpacking the Scriptures • How would you describe this event? What happened on the mountaintop in the

disciples experience with Jesus? Offer a recap of some key components of this story. • What is the context for the whole story? What have they gone upon the mountain to

do? We all want to see God clearly, moreover, to see God’s dazzling glory transform the world around us. What does this passage say to us about “setting the table” for God’s power and brilliance to be manifested in our own lives?

• Often called the Transfiguration, this episode tells the story of Jesus being transformed (or metamorphosed) before the disciples’ very eyes. How do you think the disciples were transformed by this experience? Have you ever experienced the Lord powerfully in prayer? Share your experience.

• In this story, the voice from heaven (God’s voice) says, “This is my chosen Son. Listen to him.” Pope Francis notes, “In order to be capable of mercy, we must first of all dispose ourselves to listen to the Word of God.” How might you better dispose yourself

Listening to God

Listening to God sets us free and gives us the happiness that can never be guaranteed by what the world has to offer. Obeying God means listening to God, having our hearts open to travel down the path that God points out for us. Obedience to God means listening to God. And this sets us free.

Obeying the Lord means listening to his voice, as Peter did. Later in his life when called before the Pharisees he said, “I do what Jesus tells me, not what you want me to do.” In our lives we also hear things that do not come from Jesus, that do not come from God. Our weakness sometimes leads us down that road or down another path where we come to a fork, with “what Jesus says” in one direction and “what the world tells us” in the other. But what happens when we listen to Jesus?

Sometimes those who offer the other choice, the things of the world, become infuriated, and the road ends in persecution. Many listen to what Jesus asks of them, and so often they are persecuted. The lives of many bear witness that they want to obey God, to travel the road that Jesus points out for them.

This is the goal toward which the Church urges us today: “Go the way of Jesus.” This means not listening to what the world proposes, “proposals of sin” or of compromise that draw us away from the Lord. This will not make


listen more to the voice of Jesus this Lent? Mercy in Action Receiving God’s Mercy

us happy. The help we need to travel the road pointed out by Jesus and to obey God is to be found in the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the strength to go on, to continue on this journey. Our Father gives us the Spirit, without measure, so that we can listen to Jesus and go the way of Jesus.

But we must be courageous in this, and ask for the grace of courage, the courage to say: “Lord, I am a sinner, sometimes I obey worldly things, but I want to obey you. I want to go your way.” Let’s ask for the grace always to go the way of Jesus. And when we don’t, let’s ask for forgiveness. The Lord forgives us, because he is so good.

Discussion Questions

1) What speaks to you from this reading? 2) What, according to Pope Francis, is the relationship between listening, obeying, and

real happiness? 3) What “forks in the road” to you most frequently encounter in your life? What is Jesus

telling you and what is the world telling you? 4) Why does the “way of Jesus” require such courage? 5) Practically speaking, how can you “plug our ears” to the proposals of the world and

Commit to spending time with the Lord each day over the week. Consider the 1% challenge. One percent of a 24 hour day is exactly 14 minutes and 24 seconds. Rounding up, can you spend 15 minutes of your day in prayer? Can you give just 1% to God? Here are some tips that might help you to rise to the challenge:

• Dedicate a specific time each day to this prayer. Put it in your schedule. Morning is a great time to do this but find the time whenever you can. Set a timer if this is helpful.

• Designate a space for prayer. Make it comfortable and inviting and ensure that you won’t be interrupted. Put your phone on unavailable or turn it off (15 minutes of being unavailable is not unrealistic).

• Don’t feel the need to over-complicate your prayer. Silence, conversation and mental prayer mark the beginnings of a fruitful prayer life. Open your Bible, consider reading the daily Mass readings. Simple rest in God’s merciful presence.

Living God’s Mercy One of the Spiritual Works of Mercy is praying for the living and the dead. In your quiet prayer time find a few moments to pray for the living and the dead and offer intercessions. Consider Pope Francis’ Five Finger Prayer:



~ Pope Francis, March 5, 2014 Address Preparation


• Where did you struggle? Where were you victorious? Scripture Reflection Luke 13:1-9 Read the following passage aloud:

Session II: 3rd Sunday of Lent

We all need to improve, to change for the better. Lent helps us to leave behind the old habits

and lazy addictions to the evil that deceives and ensnares us.

• Key themes: repentance, forgiveness, confession • Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy: Visit the imprisoned, Forgive offenses

willingly

Mercy Revisited • Share how you put God’s mercy in action this past week. How did it go?

Some people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. Jesus said to them in reply, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them— do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!”

And he told them this parable: “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener,



what ways is God calling you to “Return to me with your whole heart”(Joel 2:12)? Reflecting on Mercy With Pope Francis

Being ashamed of our sins is the virtue of the humble that prepares us to

‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’”

Unpacking the Scriptures

• The backstory of the two disasters referenced in this passage are not only veiled but complicated. Yet Jesus’ question-and-response makes a very definitive point about the longstanding connection in Jewish thought between personal sin and suffering (the Jews believed that only the guilty suffer). What do you think? Do sinners suffer more than saints? Or is it the other way around?

• The parable of the fig tree suggests that uselessness is a precursor to disaster, that useless things are abandoned and destroyed. God created each of us to be useful according to his eternal design. Are you bearing fruit according to the use for which you were created? Explain.

• This parable also teaches that those things that only take cannot survive. The fig tree was drawing strength from the soil but producing nothing in return. This was precisely its sin. What about you? In what situations or relationships are you taking more than you’re giving? How is God calling you to change?

• Finally, this parable tells us that Jesus gives everything (and everyone) a second chance. Yet Jesus makes it clear that there is a final chance. If we continue to shut God out, the day may come when our choices have estranged us from a relationship with him. In

receive God’s forgiveness. The first letter of Saint John, in which it says that “God is light, and in him there is no darkness,” prompts us to think that all of us have darkness in our lives, moments in which everything, even in our conscience, is dark, but this does not mean walking in darkness.

Walking in darkness means being satisfied with ourselves, being convinced that we have no need of salvation. That is darkness! When someone starts off on this path of darkness, it is not easy to turn back. That is why John continues, because perhaps this way of thinking made him reflect: “If we say, ‘We are without sin,’ we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”


Look at your sins, at our sins. We are all sinners, all. This is the point of departure. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful, he is so just that he forgives our sins and purifies us from all iniquity. And John presents us – doesn’t he? – with that Lord who is good, so faithful, so just that he forgives us.

When the Lord forgives us, he works justice, in the first place for himself, because he came to save and forgive us, welcoming us with the tenderness of a father for his children. The Lord is tender toward those who fear him, toward those who go to him, and with tenderness he always understands us, he wants to give us that peace which comes only from him. This is what happens in the sacrament of Reconciliation, even if many times we think that going to confession is like going to the dry cleaners to clean the dirt off of our clothing.

But Jesus in the confessional is not a dry cleaner. This is an encounter with Jesus, with this Jesus who is waiting for us, but waiting for us as we are. “But, Lord, listen, this is how I am. . .” We are ashamed to tell the truth, “I have done this, I have thought this.” But shame is a true Christian virtue, and also a human virtue. This ability to be ashamed – I don’t know if you say this in Italian, but where I come from those who cannot be ashamed of themselves are called sin verguenza, shameless. This guy is “shameless” because he does not have the capacity to be ashamed of himself, and being ashamed of oneself is a virtue of the humble.

We have to have trust, because when we sin we have a defender before the Father – Jesus Christ, the just one. And he supports us before the Father and defends us in the face of our weaknesses. But we have to place ourselves before the Lord with our truth as sinners, with trust, and also with joy, without disguising ourselves. We must never disguise ourselves before God! And shame is a virtue – “blessed shame.” This is the virtue that Jesus asks of us – humility and meekness.

Humility and meekness are like the capstone of a Christian life. A Christian always walks like this, in humility and meekness. And Jesus is waiting for us, to forgive us. We can ask him a question: So going to confession is not like going to a torture session? No! It is going to praise God, because I, a sinner, have been saved by him. And is he waiting to beat me up? No! With tenderness he is waiting to forgive me. And if I do the same thing tomorrow? Go again, and go and go and go. He is always waiting for us.

Discussion Questions:

1) Share something that really jumps out at you from this reading. How does it apply to your life at this moment?


not waiting to do to us? Is this how you approach confession? Mercy in Action Receiving God’s Mercy

2) How does Pope Francis define true darkness? Have you ever been there in your life? Looking back on it now, what can you see with greater clarity?

3) Why does Pope Francis call shame a “true Christian virtue”? 4) How does Pope Francis describe God (his attitude and actions) when we go to him and

present our shame (our sins) to the Lord? What is God waiting to do to us? What is he

Confession is the sacrament of the tenderness of God, his way of embracing us.

~ Pope Francis

• Make a commitment to go to confession this week. Take some time in your schedule.

Find a place to go. Pray about it and prepare your heart for receiving this Sacrament. Living God’s Mercy

• Option 1: Visit the imprisoned. There are so many people around us that feel the shame of a wrongdoing and are desperately in need of mercy. All of us sin. Consider the segment of our population that are dealing with their shame alone, hidden in isolation in our nation’s prison system. One of the Corporal Works of Mercy is to visit the imprisoned. This week we encourage you to think about those that are in prison. Take some time as a family, or yourself, to write a letter or even a small note to someone who is incarcerated. Perhaps have one of your children draw a picture to encourage them. Purchase a soft-covered Bible (English and Spanish versions are needed) and place these notes/pictures inside it. If you bring it to your study we will help get it to members of our prison system.

• Option 2: Forgiving offenses willingly: Is there someone in your life that you are harboring a grudge against? Is there is someone who has wronged you and you have found it hard to forgive? Pray about how to approach situation. Pray for this person by name. Consider reaching out. Perhaps write a letter. Is it time to make an effort to extend grace? Should you just reach out in love? Or perhaps God is calling you to simply pray that your heart would readily forgive.


~ Pope Francis, Mar 6, 2014 Address Preparation


• Where did you struggle? Where were you victorious? Did you crash and burn? Scripture Reflection Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 Read the following passage aloud:

Session III: 4th Sunday of Lent

We can think of the Church as a field hospital. Wounds need to be treated,

so many wounds! Mercy means first treating the wounds.

• Key themes: rebellion, forgiveness, resentment, mercy, Church as field hospital • Corporal & Spiritual Works of Mercy: Feed the hungry, Give drink to the thirsty,

Shelter the homeless Mercy Revisited

• Share how you put God’s mercy in action this past week. How did it go? Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So to them Jesus addressed this parable: “A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat,



but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began. Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”


son? In what ways are you failing to “be merciful like the Father”? Reflecting on Mercy With Pope Francis

God is a careful and attentive father, ready to welcome any person who


• What do you think is the primary point of the story? • Locate yourself within the parable. Looking back on your life, are you a younger son or

an older son? Explain. • Place yourself in the father’s position. What do you think you would have said or done

to your son after he has demanded his inheritance (essentially wishing you dead) and has subsequently squandered it on wild living?

• Look carefully at the beginning of the passage. To whom does Jesus present this parable? Which son, therefore, is Jesus comparing them to in this story? How does this change how you look at this parable?

• Take an honest look at your own life. In what ways can you be compared to the elder

takes a step or even expresses the desire to take a step that leads home. He is there, staring out at the horizon, expecting us, waiting for us. No human sin – however serious – can prevail over or limit mercy.

After serving for several years as the Bishop of Vittorio Veneto, Albino Luciani (later Pope John Paul I) held some training exercises for parish priests, and when commenting on the parable of the Prodigal Son once said this about the Father: “He waits. Always. And it is never too late. That’s what he’s like, that’s how he is . . . he’s a father. A father waiting at the doorway, who sees us when we are still far off, who is moved, and who comes running toward us, embraces us, and kisses us tenderly. . . . Our sin is like a jewel that we present to him to obtain the consolation of forgiveness. . . . Giving a gift of jewels is a noble thing to do, and it is not a defeat but a joyous victory to let God win!”

The Church does not exist to condemn people but to bring about an encounter with the visceral love of God’s mercy. I often say that in order for this to happen, it is necessary to go out: to go out from the church and the parishes, to go outside and look for people where they live, where they suffer, and where they hope. I like to use the image of a field hospital to describe this “Church that goes forth”; it exists where there is combat, it is not a solid structure with all the equipment where people go to receive treatment for both small and large infirmities. It is a mobile structure that offers first aid and immediate care, so that its soldiers do not die. It’s a place for urgent care, not a place to see a specialist. I hope that the Jubilee will serve to reveal the Church’s deeply maternal and merciful side, a Church


4) If the Church is a field hospital, what does that mean for the way we “do church”? What should we be doing?

Mercy in Action Receiving God’s Mercy

that goes forth toward those who are “wounded,” who are in need of an attentive ear, understanding, forgiveness, and love.1


1) “No human sin – however serious – can prevail over God’s mercy.” Think about this for a moment. What are the implications? For your life? For the world?

2) In what way can our sin, when acknowledged and brought before God, be compared to a “jewel”? Sit with that image and unpack its meaning. How can you “let God win” in this exchange (sin for forgiveness)?

3) Explore the many ways in which the Church is like a field hospital. Name the similarities. Who, in your life and sphere of influence, is “wounded” and in need of urgent care – an attentive ear, healing, understanding, forgiveness, reconciliation, love?

This week we have an excellent opportunity to embrace the mercy of God through reflection and adoration. This Friday, March 4th we will begin our “24 Hours for the Lord,” a heightened time of prayer and repentance called by Pope Francis. It begins after the 9:30am school Mass on March 4th and ends before the 8:30am Mass on March 5th. Carve out an hour to spend with the Lord in Eucharistic Adoration.

While in adoration:

• Consider the ways that you have gone astray, all the facets of your life that need God’s mercy. Identify them. Gather them. Hold them up. Then present them, like gems, to the Lord in exchange for God’s bountiful mercy.

• Imagine God waiting for you. More than waiting, see God running to you. Feel his embrace. Receive his love and forgiveness. Feel God’s mercy cover your sin with his mantle. Express your thanks to him.

• Celebrate with him! Rejoice over the glorious freedom you receive through God’s mercy. Sing praises to God for his mighty work in your life – for the freedom, renewal, and forgiveness you receive in Jesus.

Living God’s Mercy Feed the Hungry/Give drink to the thirst/Shelter the homeless

Option 1: Consider making a couple of bags for homeless people and putting them in your car so that when you encounter someone on the side of the road you can reach out in love. Consider doing this as a family if you have children. Those bags might include (but not limited to):

1 Pope Francis, The Name of God is Mercy (New York: Penguin Random House, 2016), 51-53.


Shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, comb, razor, chapstick, scarf, hat, gloves, small first aid kit, thermal socks, small gift cards for food or grocery, lightweight snacks, gum, bottle of water, hand lotion, words of encouragement, Bible verses.

Option 2: Rid yourself of excess clothing. Go through a closet or look at your vast collection of shoes. Are they piling up? Do you not even remember the last time you wore that shirt? It’s time to take a box to Goodwill or Salvation Army.

Option 3: Is there someone in your life who would benefit from a meal? Perhaps they are experiencing a difficult time, or maybe they are shut-in, lonely or simply have been on your mind. Double your meal planning for one night and deliver them the comfort of a home-cooked meal.


• Where did you struggle? Where were you victorious? Did God surprise you? Scripture Reflection John 8:1-11

Session IV: 5th Sunday of Lent

Never stop at the surface of things, especially when we have a person before us.

No one can be excluded from the mercy of God. Do not forget that God forgives all, and God forgives always.

~ Pope Francis, Homily at St. Peter’s Basilica, March 13, 2015 Preparation


• Key themes: self-righteousness, judgment, mercy, forgiveness, freedom • Corporal & Spiritual Works of Mercy: Bear wrongs patiently

Mercy Revisited

• Share how you put God’s mercy in action this past week. How did it go? Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders.



life, despite their wrongdoings, might be freed by God’s mercy working through you? Reflecting on Mercy With Pope Francis

So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”


• Have you ever been caught “red handed”? Share a story (childhood stories might be easier to tell) and describe the situation - the thrill, the fear, the emotions. What did you want more than anything at that moment?

• What do you think Jesus wrote with his finger in the dust? Some scholars suggest that one by one, Jesus gazed at each accuser who was ready to hurl their rocks at this woman and wrote down their personal sins. Realizing they too were guilty, they dropped their stones and walked away. Place yourself in that scene. What are you feeling?

• In what situations do you find yourself picking up stones, pointing fingers, and projecting blame? In what ways do you struggle with snap judgments and preconceived prejudices (being ready to “cast the first stone”)?

• Look closely at the end of the story. Does Jesus minimize or condone sin? What does he say to this woman? Consider what the Lord might say to you?

• Jesus defended the sinner with his mercy, which saved her and freed her. Who in your

“He who is without sin”

This reading is well known. It narrates the episode in which the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus who had been caught in the act of adultery. They point out that in the law, Moses commands us to stone such women because adultery is considered a very grave sin.

Marriage is a human reality but it is also a symbol of a faithful relationship between God and his people. When the marriage is spoilt by adultery, it spoils the relationship with God. But when the scribes and the Pharisees ask Jesus, “What do you say?” they do so to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him.

If Jesus had said: “Yes, go ahead and have her stoned”, they would have told the people, “This is your good and merciful master… just look at what he has done to this poor woman!” And if Jesus had said: “Poor woman! Forgive her!” they would have said: “He does not observe the Law!”


They cared nothing about the woman. They did not care about adultery, perhaps amongst them there were some adulterers. All they cared about was catching Jesus in a trap. And to this Jesus answered: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to cast a stone at her.” And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders.

So one can imagine that their own records were not that straight.

So Jesus was left alone with the woman before him and said to her: “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” It is just you and I, alone before God, without accusations, without gossip. You and God! No one has condemned you. She replied: “No one, sir.”

Notice she does not say it was a false accusation! She does not say “I have not committed adultery.” She recognizes her sin. Then Jesus said: “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.” He was saying, do not offend God again. Do not spoil the beautiful relationship between God and his people.

Jesus forgives but here there is something that goes beyond forgiveness. Jesus goes beyond the law. He does not say: “Adultery is not a sin!” But he does not condemn it according to law. This is the mystery of mercy. It is the mystery of the mercy of Jesus.

When I am asked whether mercy removes sins, I answer that it is God’s forgiveness that removes sins: Mercy is the way in which God forgives our sins. This biblical episode shows us Jesus’s merciful attitude when he advises the woman not to sin again and to go in peace. He defends the sinner from her enemies. He defends her against a just condemnation.

How many of us should perhaps go to hell? And the condemnation would be just… but He forgives and goes beyond. How? With this mercy! Mercy goes beyond in such a way that sin is put to the side. It is like heaven.

We look at the sky, there are many, many stars. But when the sun rises in the morning, the light is such that we can’t see the stars. God’s mercy is like that. A great light of love and tenderness. God forgives us, not with a decree, but with his love, healing the wounds of sin. Because He is involved in forgiveness, He is involved in our salvation.

So when Jesus acts as confessor to the woman he does not humiliate her, he does not say: “What have you done? When did you do it? How did you do


three people would you call and why? Mercy in Action Receiving God’s Mercy

it? With whom did you do it?” No! He says: “Go and do not sin again!” God’s mercy is great. Jesus’s mercy is great. Forgive us and heal us!

Discussion Questions:

1) What from this reflection resonates with you? 2) Which is harder for you – to seek forgiveness or to forgive? Why? 3) Imagine being placed in a similar situation. Someone is brought to you having been

caught “in the act” of sin. What might your reaction be? Why is Jesus’ response so revolutionary?

4) Think about Jesus’ reaction to this woman. How does this help you face some of the sins that you struggle with?

5) You have three phone calls to make. One phone call is to say, “I’m sorry.” The second phone call is to say, “I forgive you.” The third phone call is to say, “I love you.” What

• Sin is not something we easily can face. It brings out the darkest parts of our lives and yet we know ultimately that we can be forgiven. Some of our sin resides in those hidden offenses that slowly over time begin to poison our heart - ego, pride, greed, lust. These sins can easily be dismissed and yet they undermine the abundant life that Jesus wants to give us. Reflect this week on one area of your life that is a weakness for you. How has God shown you mercy in this pattern of sin in your life? How do you need to continue to address your sin and weakness? What are you not giving up or letting go of in order to receive the mercy and freedom Jesus is offering us?

• Commit to a full day of technology fast. Allow your heart to really process the ways you are drawn into temptation. What is God saying to you and how is he calling you to repent and embrace his undeniable mercy?

Living God’s Mercy: Bear wrongs patiently In the story of the woman at the well, Jesus shows ultimate compassion for the women caught in adultery. Can you translate some of Jesus’ love to those you encounter this week?

• Pray for the person who cut you off in traffic. • Engage the clerk at the store who seems stressed. • Smile at the person who budged in front of you in line. • Can you apologize to your spouse? Or ask for forgiveness? Can you respond to

offenses lovingly and not in anger? • When your co-worker upsets you will you react with compassion and perhaps ask how

they are doing? • When a family member has done you wrong can you reach out in love?


~ Pope Francis, October 4, 2013 Address Preparation


God’s mercy to others. Scripture Reflection Phil 2:6-11

Session V: 6th Sunday of Lent

We are all called to be poor, to strip us of ourselves.

And to do this we must learn how to be with the poor, to share with those who lack basic necessities, to touch the flesh of Christ!

• Key themes: humility, servanthood, true power and promotion • Corporal & Spiritual Works of Mercy: Visit the sick, Comfort the afflicted

Mercy Revisited • Share how you put God’s mercy in action this past week. How did it go? • How did the technology fast go? Share a story about your intentional efforts to extend

Read the following passage aloud:

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,



be calling you to live “upside down”? Reflecting on Mercy With Pope Francis

to the glory of God the Father. Discussion Questions: Living U p s id e D ow n In Philippians 2, one of the most important passages of Scripture, Paul explains that the way up is down. To be elevated, one must descend. We’re called to live “upside down.” Confusing as this is, Jesus Christ shows us the way. Throughout the centuries, theologians have observed a “descending Christology” and an “ascending Christology” in this passage. Look closely at each line to follow this insightful Christian trajectory. Use these discussion questions to help you:

• The very first line reveals something important. Where does it “locate” Jesus? Where does he “begin”? Think about that for a moment. What might that be like to be the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, to be one-in-being with the Father and the Holy Spirit, to be in perfect loving communion in the community of divine persons?

• Follow the flow of the passage from there. From the heights of holy communion in the Trinity, where does Jesus’ journey take him? Try to identify each successive step in this great “descent”. What marks the end of this descending movement? Who seems to be initiating this journey?

• Where does the “ascent begin”? Note each step in the ascending journey. Who seems to be initiating this journey?

• Understanding this descending and ascending christology a little better, what does this suggest about your own life? What is your role and what is God’s role? How might God

Service, not Power

For a Christian, making progress means lowering oneself as Jesus did. True power is service. As he himself did, who came not to be serviced but to serve, and his service was precisely a service of the Cross. He lowered himself to the point of death, to death on the Cross, for us, to serve us, to save us. And there is no other way forward for us. For a Christian, moving forward, making progress, means lowering oneself. If we do not learn this Christian rule, we will never, ever be able to understand the true message of Jesus.

Making progress means lowering oneself, always being a servant. And in the Church the greatest is the one who serves the most, who is most at the service of others. This is the rule. And nonetheless from the beginning until now there have been power struggles in the [world].

When a person is given a position that in the eyes of the world is a high position, people say, “Oh, that woman has been made president of that


differently this week. Explain. Now do it. Mercy in Action Receiving God’s Mercy

association, and this man has been promoted. . .” This verb, ‘to promote’: yes, it is a beautiful word, it must be used in the Church. Yes, this one has been promoted to the Cross. That is the true promotion, the one that makes us look more like Jesus!

In his Spiritual Exercises, Saint Ignatius of Loyola asked the Lord for the grace of humiliations. This is the true power of the service of the Church. This is the true way of Jesus, true promotion, and not that of the world.

The way of the Lord is his service. As he performed his service, we must follow after him, in the path of service. This is true power in the Church. I would like to pray today for all of us, that the Lord may give us the grace to understand this: True power is service. And also to understand that golden rule which he has taught us by his example. For Christians, making progress, moving forward means lowering ourselves, lowering ourselves. Let’s ask for this grace.


1) Gandhi once said, “A servant can go anywhere.” What do you think he meant by that? How does that apply to the above passage?

2) The world often talks in terms of how many people “report” to you, how many people work “for” you. Leaders are at the “top” of the hierarchy and everyone below serves them. How do the words of Jesus and Pope Francis challenge this view?

3) What do you think would change if you actually lived out this teaching at work? At home? At church? In society?

4) What does it look like, according to Pope Francis, to get a “promotion”? If you were looking for this sort of kingdom promotion, name one thing that you would do

• Take an opportunity this week to pray through or attend the Stations of the Cross. St. Paul’s offers Stations of the Cross on Friday evenings. See Appendix II for a version of the Way of the Cross to do at home if you can’t find a time to attend.

• As you meditate on the Stations of the Cross keep in mind the downward mobility that we have talked about in Jesus. Reflect on the humility he assumed in taking on flesh, walking among us, and dying for us.

Living God’s Mercy: Visit the Sick, Comfort the Afflicted

• Option 2: Is there someone you know who is suffering from an illness or affliction? Perhaps it is someone dealing with emotional or mental trials? Reach out to them this week. Send them a card. Make a phone call or perhaps even visit.


• Option 2: Often the Lord places someone on our heart or in our mind. We dismiss it and move on, only to find it back again. Over time we realize this is the Holy Spirit and that we have a choice. We can act and reach out or we can avoid this still small voice and move on to our daily tasks. Perhaps this is happening to you. Be aware this week WHO God is putting on your heart. Is it a friend who is struggling? Is it someone you haven’t talked to in ages? Is it someone who is going through life transition? Take a moment this week to reach out in love and mercy. Set aside your own priorities for a moment, empty yourself, and take the time to comfort the afflicted.


~ Pope Francis, Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, May 2014 Preparation


been putting on your heart and how did you respond? Scripture Reflection John 20:1-9 Read the following passage aloud:

Session VI: Easter Sunday

Every time we ask forgiveness of one another, and every time we find the courage to grant and

receive forgiveness, we experience the Resurrection!

• Key themes: Resurrection, going forth, Christian identity, evangelization • Corporal & Spiritual Works of Mercy: Instruct the unknowing, Counsel the doubtful

Mercy Revisited

• Share how you put God’s mercy in action this past week. How did it go? • Did you participate in the Stations of the Cross? How did it go? Who has the Lord

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture



would bring new life to one another’s lives. Reflecting on Mercy With Pope Francis

What should an [intentional] disciple look like? A Christian is “sent.” The

that he had to rise from the dead. Unpacking the Scriptures

• The disciples “dropped their nets” and left everything to follow Jesus. He was their hope, their Savior, their future. Place yourself in the shoes of the disciples. You arrive at the tomb to find it empty. What are you feeling? Sadness? Hope? Confusion?

• Describe a time in your life when all hope seemed to be lost? How has God “resurrected” you from that situation?

• Why is the resurrection so critical to our faith? • What in your life needs to be resurrected? What is dead? What have you all but lost

hope in? Break into pairs, take 5 minutes, and pray that Jesus’ resurrecting power

Lord sends his disciples. He asks them to go forward. And this means that the Christian is a disciple of the Lord who walks, who always goes forward.

A Christian who stays still is unthinkable. A Christian who stays still is sick in his Christian identity. The Christian is a disciple of movement, of walking. The Lord says, “Go out into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel.” Go. Walk. That’s it. A first attitude of the Christian identity is to walk, and to walk even if there are difficulties, to go beyond the difficulties.

Jesus urges his followers to go to the crossroads and to invite everyone, good and bad. This is what the Gospel says, even the bad! Everyone. The Christian therefore walks and, if there are difficulties, gets past them in order to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is near.

A second aspect of the identity of the Christian is that the Christian must always remain a lamb. The Christian is a lamb, and must preserve this identity. The Lord sends us as lambs in the midst of wolves. But some might propose using force against them. We think of David, when he had to fight against the Philistine. They wanted to put all of Saul’s armor on him, and he couldn’t move. So he wasn’t himself, he wasn’t humble, he wasn't the simple David. In the end, he took his sling and won the battle.

Like lambs. Don’t become wolves. Because sometimes temptation makes us think, “But this is hard, these wolves are cunning. So I have to be even more cunning than they are.” Lamb. Not stupid, but a lamb. Lamb. With Christian craftiness, but always a lamb. Because if you are a lamb, he will


affect do you think it would have on the world around you? Mercy in Action Receiving God’s Mercy

defend you. But if you feel strong like a wolf, he will not defend you, he will leave you alone and the wolves will eat you alive.

The third aspect of this identity is the style of the Christian which is joy. Christians are persons who rejoice because they know the Lord and bear the Lord with them. We cannot walk as Christians without joy, we cannot walk as lambs without joy. Even amid problems, even in difficulties, even in our own mistakes and sins there is the joy of Jesus, who always forgives and helps. So the Gospel must go forward, carried by these lambs who have been sent by the Lord, who walk with joy.

They’re not doing any favors for the Lord or for the Church, those Christians who have a slow-dirge tempo, who are always complaining about everything, sad. This is not the style of the disciple. Saint Augustine says to Christians, “Go, go forward, sing and walk!” With joy, this is the style of the Christian. To proclaim the Gospel with joy. And the Lord does everything. But too much sadness, this excessive sadness, even bitterness leads us to live a so-called Christianity without Christ. The Cross leaves only emptiness for Christians who stand before the tomb weeping, without the joy of having found the Risen One.

May the Lord grant us the grace to live as Christians who walk like lambs and with joy!


1) What spoke to you from this passage? 2) What, according to Pope Francis, are the three marks of a Christian? 3) Which of these do you consider a strength in your life? Which is hardest for you? 4) What difficulty is God asking you to walk through right now? How can this small group

community help you walk through it with joy and confidence? 5) How would you live differently this week if you took these teachings seriously? What

What have you learned these past six weeks? What has comforted you? What has challenged you? What have you learned about God’s mercy? How have you experienced God’s mercy by sharing it? In what ways do you want to learn more? How will you continue to keep God’s mercy at the center of your Christian walk?


Living God’s Mercy: Instruct the unknowing, Counsel the doubtful • Option 1: Are there people in your midst, those you may be with often, who aren’t

pursuing the Lord faithfully? The next time you are out to eat or at dinner in a public place ask if you can pray for the meal. Step out in faith and continue to make this a practice if you haven’t already.

• Option 2: Have you experienced something recently at St. Paul’s that you want to share with someone? Is there a moment when you’ve encountered God and you feel compelled to witness it? Perhaps it was a moment in quiet prayer, or a witness of God answering your prayer, or maybe it was a moment in Mass or an experience at a CEW weekend. Think of who could benefit from hearing the story of one of God’s victories and share it with them. “Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.” -Luke 6:35

• Option 3: Is there someone you know who questions God? Someone who doubts religion and the reality of who Jesus is? Maybe they doubt that God could ever love or forgive them. Maybe someone that doesn’t attend church or seem to have a faith yet they show evidence of a certain curiosity about the transcendent? Perhaps someone who has just hit bottom? Over the weeks following Easter pray that God would give you guidance on how to reach out to this person. Don’t push but engage. Ask them out for coffee. Welcome them to your home for a meal. Invite them to Mass. Spend a little time loving them. Show them Jesus by who you are. You may walk away from that interaction having never said his name but you are witnessing the love of Christ in a transformative way.


Appendix I

Misericordiae Vultus (The Face of Mercy) BULL OF INDICTION OF THE EXTRAORDINARY JUBILEE OF MERCY

1. Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy. These words might well sum up the mystery of the Christian faith. Mercy has become living and visible in Jesus of Nazareth, reaching its culmination in him. The Father, “rich in mercy” (Eph 2:4), after having revealed his name to Moses as “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Ex 34:6), has never ceased to show, in various ways throughout history, his divine nature. In the “fullness of time” (Gal 4:4), when everything had been arranged according to his plan of salvation, he sent his only Son into the world, born of the Virgin Mary, to reveal his love for us in a definitive way. Whoever sees Jesus sees the Father (cf. Jn 14:9). Jesus of Nazareth, by his words, his actions, and his entire person[1] reveals the mercy of God.

2. We need constantly to contemplate the mystery of mercy. It is a wellspring of joy, serenity, and peace. Our salvation depends on it. Mercy: the word reveals the very mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. Mercy: the ultimate and supreme act by which God comes to meet us. Mercy: the fundamental law that dwells in the heart of every person who looks sincerely into the eyes of his brothers and sisters on the path of life. Mercy: the bridge that connects God and man, opening our hearts to the hope of being loved forever despite our sinfulness.

3. At times we are called to gaze even more attentively on mercy so that we may become a more effective sign of the Father’s action in our lives. For this reason I have proclaimed an Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy as a special time for the Church, a time when the witness of believers might grow stronger and more effective. The Holy Year will open on 8 December 2015, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. This liturgical feast day recalls God’s action from the very beginning of the history of mankind. After the sin of Adam and Eve, God did not wish to leave humanity alone in the throes of evil. And so he turned his gaze to Mary, holy and immaculate in love (cf. Eph 1:4), choosing her to be the Mother of man’s Redeemer. When faced with the gravity of sin, God responds with the fullness of mercy. Mercy will always be greater than any sin, and no one can place limits on the love of God who is ever ready to forgive. I will have the joy of opening the Holy Door on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. On that day, the Holy Door will become a Door of Mercy through which anyone who enters will experience the love of God who consoles, pardons, and instills hope.

On the following Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent, the Holy Door of the Cathedral of Rome – that is, the Basilica of Saint John Lateran – will be opened. In the following weeks, the Holy Doors of the other Papal Basilicas will be opened. On the same Sunday, I will announce that in every local church, at the cathedral


– the mother church of the faithful in any particular area – or, alternatively, at the co- cathedral or another church of special significance, a Door of Mercy will be opened for the duration of the Holy Year. At the discretion of the local ordinary, a similar door may be opened at any shrine frequented by large groups of pilgrims, since visits to these holy sites are so often grace-filled moments, as people discover a path to conversion. Every Particular Church, therefore, will be directly involved in living out this Holy Year as an extraordinary moment of grace and spiritual renewal. Thus the Jubilee will be celebrated both in Rome and in the Particular Churches as a visible sign of the Church’s universal communion.

4. I have chosen the date of 8 December because of its rich meaning in the recent history of the Church. In fact, I will open the Holy Door on the fiftieth anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. The Church feels a great need to keep this event alive. With the Council, the Church entered a new phase of her history. The Council Fathers strongly perceived, as a true breath of the Holy Spirit, a need to talk about God to men and women of their time in a more accessible way. The walls which for too long had made the Church a kind of fortress were torn down and the time had come to proclaim the Gospel in a new way. It was a new phase of the same evangelization that had existed from the beginning. It was a fresh undertaking for all Christians to bear witness to their faith with greater enthusiasm and conviction. The Church sensed a responsibility to be a living sign of the Father’s love in the world.

We recall the poignant words of Saint John XXIII when, opening the Council, he indicated the path to follow: “Now the Bride of Christ wishes to use the medicine of mercy rather than taking up arms of severity… The Catholic Church, as she holds high the torch of Catholic truth at this Ecumenical Council, wants to show herself a loving mother to all; patient, kind, moved by compassion and goodness toward her separated children”.[2] Blessed Paul VI spoke in a similar vein at the closing of the Council: “We prefer to point out how charity has been the principal religious feature of this Council… the old story of the Good Samaritan has been the model of the spirituality of the Council… a wave of affection and admiration flowed from the Council over the modern world of humanity. Errors were condemned, indeed, because charity demanded this no less than did truth, but for individuals themselves there was only admonition, respect and love. Instead of depressing diagnoses, encouraging remedies; instead of direful predictions, messages of trust issued from the Council to the present-day world. The modern world’s values were not only respected but honoured, its efforts approved, its aspirations purified and blessed… Another point we must stress is this: all this rich teaching is channelled in one direction, the service of mankind, of every condition, in every weakness and need”.[3]

With these sentiments of gratitude for everything the Church has received, and with a sense of responsibility for the task that lies ahead, we shall cross the threshold of the Holy Door fully confident that the strength of the Risen Lord, who constantly supports us on our pilgrim way, will sustain us. May the Holy Spirit, who guides the steps of believers in cooperating with the work of salvation wrought by Christ, lead the way and support the People of God so that they


may contemplate the face of mercy.[4] 5. The Jubilee year will close with the liturgical Solemnity of Christ the King on 20 November 2016. On that day, as we seal the Holy Door, we shall be filled, above all, with a sense of gratitude and thanksgiving to the Most Holy Trinity for having granted us an extraordinary time of grace. We will entrust the life of the Church, all humanity, and the entire cosmos to the Lordship of Christ, asking him to pour out his mercy upon us like the morning dew, so that everyone may work together to build a brighter future. How much I desire that the year to come will be steeped in mercy, so that we can go out to every man and woman, bringing the goodness and tenderness of God! May the balm of mercy reach everyone, both believers and those far away, as a sign that the Kingdom of God is already present in our midst!

6. “It is proper to God to exercise mercy, and he manifests his omnipotence particularly in this way”.[5] Saint Thomas Aquinas’ words show that God’s mercy, rather than a sign of weakness, is the mark of his omnipotence. For this reason the liturgy, in one of its most ancient collects, has us pray: “O God, who reveal your power above all in your mercy and forgiveness …”[6] Throughout the history of humanity, God will always be the One who is present, close, provident, holy, and merciful.

“Patient and merciful.” These words often go together in the Old Testament to describe God’s nature. His being merciful is concretely demonstrated in his many actions throughout the history of salvation where his goodness prevails over punishment and destruction. In a special way the Psalms bring to the fore the grandeur of his merciful action: “He forgives all your iniquity, he heals all your diseases, he redeems your life from the pit, he crowns you with steadfast love and mercy” (Ps 103:3-4). Another psalm, in an even more explicit way, attests to the concrete signs of his mercy: “He executes justice for the oppressed; he gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the sojourners, he upholds the widow and the fatherless; but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin” (Ps 146:7-9). Here are some other expressions of the Psalmist: “He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds… The Lord lifts up the downtrodden, he casts the wicked to the ground” (Ps 147:3, 6). In short, the mercy of God is not an abstract idea, but a concrete reality with which he reveals his love as of that of a father or a mother, moved to the very depths out of love for their child. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that this is a “visceral” love. It gushes forth from the depths naturally, full of tenderness and compassion, indulgence and mercy.

7. “For his mercy endures forever.” This is the refrain that repeats after each verse in Psalm 136 as it narrates the history of God’s revelation. By virtue of mercy, all the events of the Old Testament are replete with profound salvific import. Mercy renders God’s history with Israel a history of salvation. To repeat continually “for his mercy endures forever,” as the psalm does, seems to break through the dimensions of space and time, inserting everything into the eternal mystery of love. It is as if to say that not only in history, but for all eternity man will always be under the merciful gaze of the Father. It is no accident that the people of Israel wanted to


include this psalm – the “Great Hallel,” as it is called – in its most important liturgical feast days.

Before his Passion, Jesus prayed with this psalm of mercy. Matthew attests to this in his Gospel when he says that, “when they had sung a hymn” (26:30), Jesus and his disciples went out to the Mount of Olives. While he was instituting the Eucharist as an everlasting memorial of himself and his paschal sacrifice, he symbolically placed this supreme act of revelation in the light of his mercy. Within the very same context of mercy, Jesus entered upon his passion and death, conscious of the great mystery of love that he would consummate on the Cross. Knowing that Jesus himself prayed this psalm makes it even more important for us as Christians, challenging us to take up the refrain in our daily lives by praying these words of praise: “for his mercy endures forever.”

8. With our eyes fixed on Jesus and his merciful gaze, we experience the love of the Most Holy Trinity. The mission Jesus received from the Father was that of revealing the mystery of divine love in its fullness. “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8,16), John affirms for the first and only time in all of Holy Scripture. This love has now been made visible and tangible in Jesus’ entire life. His person is nothing but love, a love given gratuitously. The relationships he forms with the people who approach him manifest something entirely unique and unrepeatable. The signs he works, especially in favour of sinners, the poor, the marginalized, the sick, and the suffering, are all meant to teach mercy. Everything in him speaks of mercy. Nothing in him is devoid of compassion.

Jesus, seeing the crowds of people who followed him, realized that they were tired and exhausted, lost and without a guide, and he felt deep compassion for them (cf. Mt 9:36). On the basis of this compassionate love he healed the sick who were presented to him (cf. Mt 14:14), and with just a few loaves of bread and fish he satisfied the enormous crowd (cf. Mt 15:37). What moved Jesus in all of these situations was nothing other than mercy, with which he read the hearts of those he encountered and responded to their deepest need. When he came upon the widow of Nain taking her son out for burial, he felt great compassion for the immense suffering of this grieving mother, and he gave back her son by raising him from the dead (cf. Lk 7:15). After freeing the demoniac in the country of the Gerasenes, Jesus entrusted him with this mission: “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (Mk 5:19). The calling of Matthew is also presented within the context of mercy. Passing by the tax collector’s booth, Jesus looked intently at Matthew. It was a look full of mercy that forgave the sins of that man, a sinner and a tax collector, whom Jesus chose – against the hesitation of the disciples – to become one of the Twelve. Saint Bede the Venerable, commenting on this Gospel passage, wrote that Jesus looked upon Matthew with merciful love and chose him: miserando atque eligendo.[7] This expression impressed me so much that I chose it for my episcopal motto.

9. In the parables devoted to mercy, Jesus reveals the nature of God as that of a Father who never gives up until he has forgiven the wrong and overcome rejection with compassion and mercy. We know these parables well, three in particular: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the


father with two sons (cf. Lk 15:1-32). In these parables, God is always presented as full of joy, especially when he pardons. In them we find the core of the Gospel and of our faith, because mercy is presented as a force that overcomes everything, filling the heart with love and bringing consolation through pardon.

From another parable, we cull an important teaching for our Christian lives. In reply to Peter’s question about how many times it is necessary to forgive, Jesus says: “I do not say seven times, but seventy times seven times” (Mt 18:22). He then goes on to tell the parable of the “ruthless servant,” who, called by his master to return a huge amount, begs him on his knees for mercy. His master cancels his debt. But he then meets a fellow servant who owes him a few cents and who in turn begs on his knees for mercy, but the first servant refuses his request and throws him into jail. When the master hears of the matter, he becomes infuriated and, summoning the first servant back to him, says, “Should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” (Mt 18:33). Jesus concludes, “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” (Mt 18:35).

This parable contains a profound teaching for all of us. Jesus affirms that mercy is not only an action of the Father, it becomes a criterion for ascertaining who his true children are. In short, we are called to show mercy because mercy has first been shown to us. Pardoning offences becomes the clearest expression of merciful love, and for us Christians it is an imperative from which we cannot excuse ourselves. At times how hard it seems to forgive! And yet pardon is the instrument placed into our fragile hands to attain serenity of heart. To let go of anger, wrath, violence, and revenge are necessary conditions to living joyfully. Let us therefore heed the Apostle’s exhortation: “Do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Eph 4:26). Above all, let us listen to the words of Jesus who made mercy an ideal of life and a criterion for the credibility of our faith: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Mt 5:7): the beatitude to which we should particularly aspire in this Holy Year.

As we can see in Sacred Scripture, mercy is a key word that indicates God’s action towards us. He does not limit himself merely to affirming his love, but makes it visible and tangible. Love, after all, can never be just an abstraction. By its very nature, it indicates something concrete: intentions, attitudes, and behaviours that are shown in daily living. The mercy of God is his loving concern for each one of us. He feels responsible; that is, he desires our wellbeing and he wants to see us happy, full of joy, and peaceful. This is the path which the merciful love of Christians must also travel. As the Father loves, so do his children. Just as he is merciful, so we are called to be merciful to each other.

10. Mercy is the very foundation of the Church’s life. All of her pastoral activity should be caught up in the tenderness she makes present to believers; nothing in her preaching and in her witness to the world can be lacking in mercy. The Church’s very credibility is seen in how she shows merciful and compassionate love. The Church “has an endless desire to show mercy”.[8] Perhaps we have long since forgotten how to show and live the way of mercy. The temptation, on the one hand, to focus exclusively on justice made us forget that this is only the first, albeit necessary and indispensable step. But the Church needs to go beyond and strive for


a higher and more important goal. On the other hand, sad to say, we must admit that the practice of mercy is waning in the wider culture. In some cases the word seems to have dropped out of use. However, without a witness to mercy, life becomes fruitless and sterile, as if sequestered in a barren desert. The time has come for the Church to take up the joyful call to mercy once more. It is time to return to the basics and to bear the weaknesses and struggles of our brothers and sisters. Mercy is the force that reawakens us to new life and instills in us the courage to look to the future with hope.

11. Let us not forget the great teaching offered by Saint John Paul II in his second Encyclical, Dives in Misericordia, which at the time came unexpectedly, its theme catching many by surprise. There are two passages in particular to which I would like to draw attention. First, Saint John Paul II highlighted the fact that we had forgotten the theme of mercy in today’s cultural milieu: “The present-day mentality, more perhaps than that of people in the past, seems opposed to a God of mercy, and in fact tends to exclude from life and to remove from the human heart the very idea of mercy. The word and the concept of ‘mercy’ seem to cause uneasiness in man, who, thanks to the enormous development of science and technology, never before known in history, has become the master of the earth and has subdued and dominated it (cf. Gen 1:28). This dominion over the earth, sometimes understood in a one- sided and superficial way, seems to have no room for mercy… And this is why, in the situation of the Church and the world today, many individuals and groups guided by a lively sense of faith are turning, I would say almost spontaneously, to the mercy of God”.[9]

Furthermore, Saint John Paul II pushed for a more urgent proclamation and witness to mercy in the contemporary world: “It is dictated by love for man, for all that is human and which, according to the intuitions of many of our contemporaries, is threatened by an immense danger. The mystery of Christ… obliges me to proclaim mercy as God’s merciful love, revealed in that same mystery of Christ. It likewise obliges me to have recourse to that mercy and to beg for it at this difficult, critical phase of the history of the Church and of the world”.[10] This teaching is more pertinent than ever and deserves to be taken up once again in this Holy Year. Let us listen to his words once more: “The Church lives an authentic life when she professes and proclaims mercy – the most stupendous attribute of the Creator and of the Redeemer – and when she brings people close to the sources of the Saviour’s mercy, of which she is the trustee and dispenser”.[11]

12. The Church is commissioned to announce the mercy of God, the beating heart of the Gospel, which in its own way must penetrate the heart and mind of every person. The Spouse of Christ must pattern her behaviour after the Son of God who went out to everyone without exception. In the present day, as the Church is charged with the task of the new evangelization, the theme of mercy needs to be proposed again and again with new enthusiasm and renewed pastoral action. It is absolutely essential for the Church and for the credibility of her message that she herself live and testify to mercy. Her language and her gestures must transmit mercy, so as to touch the hearts of all people and inspire them once more to find the road that leads to the Father.


The Church’s first truth is the love of Christ. The Church makes herself a servant of this love and mediates it to all people: a love that forgives and expresses itself in the gift of oneself. Consequently, wherever the Church is present, the mercy of the Father must be evident. In our parishes, communities, associations and movements, in a word, wherever there are Christians, everyone should find an oasis of mercy.

13. We want to live this Jubilee Year in light of the Lord’s words: Merciful like the Father. The Evangelist reminds us of the teaching of Jesus who says, “Be merciful just as your Father is merciful” (Lk 6:36). It is a programme of life as demanding as it is rich with joy and peace. Jesus’s command is directed to anyone willing to listen to his voice (cf. Lk 6:27). In order to be capable of mercy, therefore, we must first of all dispose ourselves to listen to the Word of God. This means rediscovering the value of silence in order to meditate on the Word that comes to us. In this way, it will be possible to contemplate God’s mercy and adopt it as our lifestyle.

14. The practice of pilgrimage has a special place in the Holy Year, because it represents the journey each of us makes in this life. Life itself is a pilgrimage, and the human being is a viator, a pilgrim travelling along the road, making his way to the desired destination. Similarly, to reach the Holy Door in Rome or in any other place in the world, everyone, each according to his or her ability, will have to make a pilgrimage. This will be a sign that mercy is also a goal to reach and requires dedication and sacrifice. May pilgrimage be an impetus to conversion: by crossing the threshold of the Holy Door, we will find the strength to embrace God’s mercy and dedicate ourselves to being merciful with others as the Father has been with us.

The Lord Jesus shows us the steps of the pilgrimage to attain our goal: “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back” (Lk 6:37-38). The Lord asks us above all not to judge and not to condemn. If anyone wishes to avoid God’s judgement, 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 judgement 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.

Merciful like the Father, therefore, is the “motto” of this Holy Year. In mercy, we find proof of how God loves us. He gives his entire self, always, freely, asking nothing in return. He comes to our aid whenever we call upon him. What a beautiful thing that the Church begins her daily prayer with the words, “O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me” (Ps


70:2)! The assistance we ask for is already the first step of God’s mercy toward us. He comes to assist us in our weakness. And his help consists in helping us accept his presence and closeness to us. Day after day, touched by his compassion, we also can become compassionate towards others.

15. 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 out 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!

It is my burning desire that, during this Jubilee, the Christian people may reflect on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. It will be a way to reawaken our conscience, too often grown dull in the face of poverty. And let us enter more deeply into the heart of the Gospel where the poor have a special experience of God’s mercy. Jesus introduces us to these works of mercy in his preaching so that we can know whether or not we are living as his disciples. Let us rediscover these 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 let us not forget the 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.

We cannot escape the Lord’s words to us, and they will serve as the criteria upon which we will be judged: whether we have fed the hungry and given drink to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger and clothed the naked, or spent time with the sick and those in prison (cf. Mt 25:31- 45). Moreover, we will be asked if we have helped others to escape the doubt that causes them to fall into despair and which is often a source of loneliness; if we have helped to overcome the ignorance in which millions of people live, especially children deprived of the necessary means to free them from the bonds of poverty; if we have been close to the lonely and afflicted; if we have forgiven those who have offended us and have rejected all forms of anger and hate that lead to violence; if we have had the kind of patience God shows, who is so patient with us; and if we have commended our brothers and sisters to the Lord in prayer. In each of these “little ones,” Christ himself is present. His flesh becomes visible in the flesh of the tortured, the crushed, the scourged, the malnourished, and the exiled… to be acknowledged, touched, and cared for by us. Let us not forget the words of Saint John of the Cross: “as we prepare to leave


this life, we will be judged on the basis of love”.[12] 16. In the Gospel of Luke, we find another important element that will help us live the Jubilee with faith. Luke writes that Jesus, on the Sabbath, went back to Nazareth and, as was his custom, entered the synagogue. They called upon him to read the Scripture and to comment on it. The passage was from the Book of Isaiah where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and freedom to those in captivity; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour” (Is 61:1-2). A “year of the Lord’s favour” or “mercy”: this is what the Lord proclaimed and this is what we wish to live now. This Holy Year will bring to the fore the richness of Jesus’ mission echoed in the words of the prophet: to bring a word and gesture of consolation to the poor, to proclaim liberty to those bound by new forms of slavery in modern society, to restore sight to those who can see no more because they are caught up in themselves, to restore dignity to all those from whom it has been robbed. The preaching of Jesus is made visible once more in the response of faith which Christians are called to offer by their witness. May the words of the Apostle accompany us: he who does acts of mercy, let him do them with cheerfulness (cf. Rom 12:8).

17. The season of Lent during this Jubilee Year should also be lived more intensely as a privileged moment to celebrate and experience God’s mercy. How many pages of Sacred Scripture are appropriate for meditation during the weeks of Lent to help us rediscover the merciful face of the Father! We can repeat the words of the prophet Micah and make them our own: You, O Lord, are a God who takes away iniquity and pardons sin, who does not hold your anger forever, but are pleased to show mercy. You, Lord, will return to us and have pity on your people. You will trample down our sins and toss them into the depths of the sea (cf. 7:18-19).

The pages of the prophet Isaiah can also be meditated upon concretely during this season of prayer, fasting, and works of charity: “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, here I am. If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your desire with good things, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters fail not” (58:6-11).

The initiative of “24 Hours for the Lord,” to be celebrated on the Friday and Saturday preceding the Fourth Week of Lent, should be implemented in every diocese. So many people, including young people, are returning to the Sacrament of Reconciliation; through this


experience they are rediscovering a path back to the Lord, living a moment of intense prayer and finding meaning in their lives. 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.

I will never tire of insisting that confessors be authentic signs of the Father’s mercy. We do not become good confessors automatically. We become good confessors when, above all, we allow ourselves to be penitents in search of his mercy. Let us never forget that to be confessors means to participate in the very mission of Jesus to be a concrete sign of the constancy of divine love that pardons and saves. We priests have received the gift of the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins, and we are responsible for this. None of us wields power over this Sacrament; rather, we are faithful servants of God’s mercy through it. Every confessor must accept the faithful as the father in the parable of the prodigal son: a father who runs out to meet his son despite the fact that he has squandered away his inheritance. Confessors are called to embrace the repentant son who comes back home and to express the joy of having him back again. Let us never tire of also going out to the other son who stands outside, incapable of rejoicing, in order to explain to him that his judgement is severe and unjust and meaningless in light of the father’s boundless mercy. May confessors not ask useless questions, but like the father in the parable, interrupt the speech prepared ahead of time by the prodigal son, so that confessors will learn to accept the plea for help and mercy pouring from the heart of every penitent. In short, confessors are called to be a sign of the primacy of mercy always, everywhere, and in every situation, no matter what.

18. During Lent of this Holy Year, I intend to send out Missionaries of Mercy. They will be a sign of the Church’s maternal solicitude for the People of God, enabling them to enter the profound richness of this mystery so fundamental to the faith. There will be priests to whom I will grant the authority to pardon even those sins reserved to the Holy See, so that the breadth of their mandate as confessors will be even clearer. They will be, above all, living signs of the Father’s readiness to welcome those in search of his pardon. They will be missionaries of mercy because they will be facilitators of a truly human encounter, a source of liberation, rich with responsibility for overcoming obstacles and taking up the new life of Baptism again. They will be led in their mission by the words of the Apostle: “For God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all” (Rom 11:32). Everyone, in fact, without exception, is called to embrace the call to mercy. May these Missionaries live this call with the assurance that they can fix their eyes on Jesus, “the merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God” (Heb 2:17).

I ask my brother Bishops to invite and welcome these Missionaries so that they can be, above all, persuasive preachers of mercy. May individual dioceses organize “missions to the people” in such a way that these Missionaries may be heralds of joy and forgiveness. Bishops are asked to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation with their people so that the time of grace made possible by the Jubilee year makes it possible for many of God’s sons and daughters to take up once again the journey to the Father’s house. May pastors, especially during the liturgical season of Lent, be diligent in calling back the faithful “to the throne of grace, that we may


receive mercy and find grace” (Heb 4:16).

19. May the message of mercy reach everyone, and may no one be indifferent to the call to experience mercy. I direct this invitation to conversion even more fervently to those whose behaviour distances them from the grace of God. I particularly have in mind men and women belonging to criminal organizations of any kind. For their own good, I beg them to change their lives. I ask them this in the name of the Son of God who, though rejecting sin, never rejected the sinner. Do not fall into the terrible trap of thinking that life depends on money and that, in comparison with money, anything else is devoid of value or dignity. This is nothing but an illusion! We cannot take money with us into the life beyond. Money does not bring us happiness. Violence inflicted for the sake of amassing riches soaked in blood makes one neither powerful nor immortal. Everyone, sooner or later, will be subject to God’s judgment, from which no one can escape.

The same invitation is extended to those who either perpetrate or participate in corruption. This festering wound is a grave sin that cries out to heaven for vengeance, because it threatens the very foundations of personal and social life. Corruption prevents us from looking to the future with hope, because its tyrannical greed shatters the plans of the weak and tramples upon the poorest of the poor. It is an evil that embeds itself into the actions of everyday life and spreads, causing great public scandal. Corruption is a sinful hardening of the heart that replaces God with the illusion that money is a form of power. It is a work of darkness, fed by suspicion and intrigue. Corruptio optimi pessima, saint Gregory the Great said with good reason, affirming that no one can think himself immune from this temptation. If we want to drive it out from personal and social life, we need prudence, vigilance, loyalty, transparency, together with the courage to denounce any wrongdoing. If it is not combated openly, sooner or later everyone will become an accomplice to it, and it will end up destroying our very existence.

This is the opportune moment to change our lives! This is the time to allow our hearts to be touched! When faced with evil deeds, even in the face of serious crimes, it is the time to listen to the cry of innocent people who are deprived of their property, their dignity, their feelings, and even their very lives. To stick to the way of evil will only leave one deluded and sad. True life is something entirely different. God never tires of reaching out to us. He is always ready to listen, as I am too, along with my brother bishops and priests. All one needs to do is to accept the invitation to conversion and submit oneself to justice during this special time of mercy offered by the Church.

20. It would not be out of place at this point to recall the relationship between justice and mercy. These are not two contradictory realities, but two dimensions of a single reality that unfolds progressively until it culminates in the fullness of love. Justice is a fundamental concept for civil society, which is meant to be governed by the rule of law. Justice is also understood as that which is rightly due to each individual. In the Bible, there are many references to divine justice and to God as “judge”. In these passages, justice is understood as the full observance of the Law and the behaviour of every good Israelite in conformity with God’s commandments. Such a vision, however, has not infrequently led to legalism by


distorting the original meaning of justice and obscuring its profound value. To overcome this legalistic perspective, we need to recall that in Sacred Scripture, justice is conceived essentially as the faithful abandonment of oneself to God’s will.

For his part, Jesus speaks several times of the importance of faith over and above the observance of the law. It is in this sense that we must understand his words when, reclining at table with Matthew and other tax collectors and sinners, he says to the Pharisees raising objections to him, “Go and learn the meaning of ‘I desire mercy not sacrifice’. I have come not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mt 9:13). Faced with a vision of justice as the mere observance of the law that judges people simply by dividing them into two groups – the just and sinners – Jesus is bent on revealing the great gift of mercy that searches out sinners and offers them pardon and salvation. One can see why, on the basis of such a liberating vision of mercy as a source of new life, Jesus was rejected by the Pharisees and the other teachers of the law. In an attempt to remain faithful to the law, they merely placed burdens on the shoulders of others and undermined the Father’s mercy. The appeal to a faithful observance of the law must not prevent attention from being given to matters that touch upon the dignity of the person.

The appeal Jesus makes to the text from the book of the prophet Hosea – “I desire love and not sacrifice” (6:6) – is important in this regard. Jesus affirms that, from that time onward, the rule of life for his disciples must place mercy at the centre, as Jesus himself demonstrated by sharing meals with sinners. Mercy, once again, is revealed as a fundamental aspect of Jesus’ mission. This is truly challenging to his hearers, who would draw the line at a formal respect for the law. Jesus, on the other hand, goes beyond the law; the company he keeps with those the law considers sinners makes us realize the depth of his mercy.

The Apostle Paul makes a similar journey. Prior to meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus, he dedicated his life to pursuing the justice of the law with zeal (cf. Phil 3:6). His conversion to Christ led him to turn that vision upside down, to the point that he would write to the Galatians: “We have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified” (2:16). Paul’s understanding of justice changes radically. He now places faith first, not justice. Salvation comes not through the observance of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ, who in his death and resurrection brings salvation together with a mercy that justifies. God’s justice now becomes the liberating force for those oppressed by slavery to sin and its consequences. God’s justice is his mercy (cf. Ps 51:11-16).

21. Mercy is not opposed to justice but rather expresses God’s way of reaching out to the sinner, offering him a new chance to look at himself, convert, and believe. The experience of the prophet Hosea can help us see the way in which mercy surpasses justice. The era in which the prophet lived was one of the most dramatic in the history of the Jewish people. The kingdom was tottering on the edge of destruction; the people had not remained faithful to the covenant; they had wandered from God and lost the faith of their forefathers. According to human logic, it seems reasonable for God to think of rejecting an unfaithful people; they had


not observed their pact with God and therefore deserved just punishment: in other words, exile. The prophet’s words attest to this: “They shall not return to the land of Egypt, and Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me” (Hos 11:5). And yet, after this invocation of justice, the prophet radically changes his speech and reveals the true face of God: “How can I give you up, O Ephraim! How can I hand you over, O Israel! How can I make you like Admah! How can I treat you like Zeboiim! My heart recoils within me, my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger, I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come to destroy” (11:8-9). Saint Augustine, almost as if he were commenting on these words of the prophet, says: “It is easier for God to hold back anger than mercy”.[13] And so it is. God’s anger lasts but a moment, his mercy forever.

If God limited himself to only justice, he would cease to be God, and would instead be like human beings who ask merely that the law be respected. But mere justice is not enough. Experience shows that an appeal to justice alone will result in its destruction. This is why God goes beyond justice with his mercy and forgiveness. Yet this does not mean that justice should be devalued or rendered superfluous. On the contrary: anyone who makes a mistake must pay the price. However, this is just the beginning of conversion, not its end, because one begins to feel the tenderness and mercy of God. God does not deny justice. He rather envelopes it and surpasses it with an even greater event in which we experience love as the foundation of true justice. We must pay close attention to what Saint Paul says if we want to avoid making the same mistake for which he reproaches the Jews of his time: “For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified” (Rom 10:3-4). God’s justice is his mercy given to everyone as a grace that flows from the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus the Cross of Christ is God’s judgement on all of us and on the whole world, because through it he offers us the certitude of love and new life.

22. A Jubilee also entails the granting of indulgences. This practice will acquire an even more important meaning in the Holy Year of Mercy. God’s forgiveness knows no bounds. In the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God makes even more evident his love and its power to destroy all human sin. Reconciliation with God is made possible through the paschal mystery and the mediation of the Church. Thus God is always ready to forgive, and he never tires of forgiving in ways that are continually new and surprising. Nevertheless, all of us know well the experience of sin. We know that we are called to perfection (cf. Mt 5:48), yet we feel the heavy burden of sin. Though we feel the transforming power of grace, we also feel the effects of sin typical of our fallen state. Despite being forgiven, the conflicting consequences of our sins remain. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God forgives our sins, which he truly blots out; and yet sin leaves a negative effect on the way we think and act. But the mercy of God is stronger even than this. It becomes indulgence on the part of the Father who, through the Bride of Christ, his Church, reaches the pardoned sinner and frees him from every residue left by the consequences of sin, enabling him to act with charity, to grow in love rather than to fall back into sin.


The Church lives within the communion of the saints. In the Eucharist, this communion, which is a gift from God, becomes a spiritual union binding us to the saints and blessed ones whose number is beyond counting (cf. Rev 7:4). Their holiness comes to the aid of our weakness in a way that enables the Church, with her maternal prayers and her way of life, to fortify the weakness of some with the strength of others. Hence, to live the indulgence of the Holy Year means to approach the Father’s mercy with the certainty that his forgiveness extends to the entire life of the believer. To gain an indulgence is to experience the holiness of the Church, who bestows upon all the fruits of Christ’s redemption, so that God’s love and forgiveness may extend everywhere. Let us live this Jubilee intensely, begging the Father to forgive our sins and to bathe us in his merciful “indulgence.”

23. There is an aspect of mercy that goes beyond the confines of the Church. It relates us to Judaism and Islam, both of which consider mercy to be one of God’s most important attributes. Israel was the first to receive this revelation which continues in history as the source of an inexhaustible richness meant to be shared with all mankind. As we have seen, the pages of the Old Testament are steeped in mercy, because they narrate the works that the Lord performed in favour of his people at the most trying moments of their history. Among the privileged names that Islam attributes to the Creator are “Merciful and Kind”. This invocation is often on the lips of faithful Muslims who feel themselves accompanied and sustained by mercy in their daily weakness. They too believe that no one can place a limit on divine mercy because its doors are always open.

I trust that this Jubilee year celebrating the mercy of God will foster an encounter with these religions and with other noble religious traditions; may it open us to even more fervent dialogue so that we might know and understand one another better; may it eliminate every form of closed-mindedness and disrespect, and drive out every form of violence and discrimination.

24. My thoughts now turn to the Mother of Mercy. May the sweetness of her countenance watch over us in this Holy Year, so that all of us may rediscover the joy of God’s tenderness. No one has penetrated the profound mystery of the incarnation like Mary. Her entire life was patterned after the presence of mercy made flesh. The Mother of the Crucified and Risen One has entered the sanctuary of divine mercy because she participated intimately in the mystery of His love.

Chosen to be the Mother of the Son of God, Mary, from the outset, was prepared by the love of God to be the Ark of the Covenant between God and man. She treasured divine mercy in her heart in perfect harmony with her Son Jesus. Her hymn of praise, sung at the threshold of the home of Elizabeth, was dedicated to the mercy of God which extends from “generation to generation” (Lk 1:50). We too were included in those prophetic words of the Virgin Mary. This will be a source of comfort and strength to us as we cross the threshold of the Holy Year to experience the fruits of divine mercy.

At the foot of the Cross, Mary, together with John, the disciple of love, witnessed the words of


forgiveness spoken by Jesus. This supreme expression of mercy towards those who crucified him show us the point to which the mercy of God can reach. Mary attests that the mercy of the Son of God knows no bounds and extends to everyone, without exception. Let us address her in the words of the Salve Regina, a prayer ever ancient and ever new, so that she may never tire of turning her merciful eyes upon us, and make us worthy to contemplate the face of mercy, her Son Jesus.

Our prayer also extends to the saints and blessed ones who made divine mercy their mission in life. I think especially of the great apostle of mercy, Saint Faustina Kowalska. May she, who was called to enter the depths of divine mercy, intercede for us and obtain for us the grace of living and walking always according to the mercy of God and with an unwavering trust in his love.

25. I present, therefore, this Extraordinary Jubilee Year dedicated to living out in our daily lives the mercy which the Father constantly extends to all of us. In this Jubilee Year, let us allow God to surprise us. He never tires of casting open the doors of his heart and of repeating that he loves us and wants to share his love with us. The Church feels the urgent need to proclaim God’s mercy. Her life is authentic and credible only when she becomes a convincing herald of mercy. She knows that her primary task, especially at a moment full of great hopes and signs of contradiction, is to introduce everyone to the great mystery of God’s mercy by contemplating the face of Christ. The Church is called above all to be a credible witness to mercy, professing it and living it as the core of the revelation of Jesus Christ. From the heart of the Trinity, from the depths of the mystery of God, the great river of mercy wells up and overflows unceasingly. It is a spring that will never run dry, no matter how many people draw from it. Every time someone is in need, he or she can approach it, because the mercy of God never ends. The profundity of the mystery surrounding it is as inexhaustible as the richness which springs up from it.

In this Jubilee Year, may the Church echo the word of God that resounds strong and clear as a message and a sign of pardon, strength, aid, and love. May she never tire of extending mercy, and be ever patient in offering compassion and comfort. May the Church become the voice of every man and woman, and repeat confidently without end: “Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old” (Ps 25:6). Given in Rome, at Saint Peter’s, on 11 April, the Vigil of the Second Sunday of Easter, or the Sunday of Divine Mercy, in the year of our Lord 2015, the third of my Pontificate.

FRANCISCUS [1] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum, 4. [2] Opening Address of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Gaudet Mater Ecclesia, 11 October 1962, 2-3. [3] Speech at the Final Public Session of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, 7 December


1965. [4] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 16: Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 15. [5] Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, II-II, q. 30. a. 4. [6] XXVI Sunday in Ordinary Time. This Collect already appears in the eighth century among the euchological texts of the Gelasian Sacramentary (1198). [7] Cf. Homily 22: CCL, 122, 149-151. [8] Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, 24. [9] No. 2. [10] Saint John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Dives in Misericordia, 15. [11] Ibid., 13. [12] Words of Light and Love, 57. [13] Homilies on the Psalms, 76, 11.

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Appendix II

STATIONS OF THE CROSS By Anthony Kelly, C.Ss.R., STD

Opening Prayer

Holy God, Loving and Merciful One, we come to you in the darkness of our world. The weight of our cares and our responsibilities, of our struggles and longings, lies heavy upon us.

Yet, in our hope we know our paths lead to you, that your Holy Spirit is within us, and that Jesus has gone before us as our way.

Because he bore the cross of all the world, we gather now to follow him, to receive from him the peace the world cannot give, the joy that no one can take from us, and the energies of new life.

1. Jesus is Condemned to Death

Jesus stands before Pilate. The innocent one is condemned by the powers of this world, to be stripped, beaten and executed on the cross.

Pa u s e

Lord Jesus, let us enter into your silence. You have said everything you had to say. Now you have no further words, as you hear the judgeʹs verdict, and the cries of the crowd calling for your death. Your silence is our strength: as you left everything in your Fatherʹs hands, so now do we, knowing that an infinite love will find us wherever we are.

We pray for all who are unjustly condemned, for all who feel disgrace, for all who suffer from the merciless judgments of our world.

As we stand with you, stand also with us, a light against the surrounding darkness.

2. Jesus Accepts the Cross

On that back torn by scourging, the rough wood of the cross is now loaded. He takes the first stumbling steps of his way to Golgotha. He is bearing the sins of the world, the load of our guilt, of our selfishness, of the hard, cold heaviness of loveless lives.


Pa u s e

Lord Jesus, let us go with you on your journey. In your strength, we accept

all the sufferings, large and small, involved in following the path of justice, honesty and care for others.

We pray for all who are weakened in their struggle, who are near to breaking point, that their hope not fail and their hearts not grow hard.

As we go with you, be with us on our different ways, that we might meet in you, and find support in your love.

3. Jesus Falls the First Time

The climb is long, the path is narrow, the load is heavy, the taunting crowd presses close, the guards hurry him on. He trips; and falls beneath the weight across his shoulders...

Pa u s e

Lord Jesus, you fall into our darkness to meet us there in the weakness of doubt and discouragement. We pray for all who fall, for all who have found the burdens of life too heavy, the road too long and help far away.

Be their courage now, and by your fall lift us all up in new strength.

4. Jesus Meets His Mother The sword pierces Maryʹs heart as she sees her Son bloodied and disfigured on his way to execution. He hears that beloved voice; and looks up through a haze of pain. Eye meets eye; heart meets heart: and out of that tide of shared suffering rises the question: is this where love leads? Where can it take us now?

Pa u s e


Lord Jesus, by the love you felt for this woman, by the love she felt for you, open our hearts to the suffering of the humble and the good of this world, all who feel so defenceless against violence and hatred.

May love keep on being love, no matter what the pain, and light our way...

Mary, by the sword that pierced your heart, waken our hearts to that love that has been shown us in the passion of your Son.

5. Simon helps Jesus

This dark-skinned man from distant Africa is pressed into service. He is a farmer, coming from his fields to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. By helping the weakening Jesus, he found the beginning of faith: for his sons Alexander and Rufus were to become known to the early Church.

Pa u s e

Lord Jesus, in opening our eyes to our suffering neighbour, you come to us yourself. Help us to see the face of the other who will be without help unless we have time, unless we reach out, and make room for those we so easily overlook.

6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

The dust and the blood running down his swollen face cloud his vision. A courageous woman defies the crowd and wipes his face her veil. He sees her clearly now; and in the light of his gaze, the splendour of an infinite love shines upon her.

Pa u s e

Lord Jesus, by the love that drew Veronica to you, make each of us a healing presence in your world, to use our hands to wipe away the grime and the tears of life,

to see ourselves and others as your mercy sees us all...


Inspire us to find the beauty that lies hidden in our world, to go beyond our prejudices, harsh judgments and disappointments

to detect your grace at work in every life, and to treasure every element of your creation.

7. Jesus Falls the Second Time

He is forced on, pulled beyond those loving meetings with his Mother and the good Veronica. Even though Simon is there to help, he is drained of strength and falls once more to the ground.

Pa u s e

Lord Jesus, by the weakness you suffered for our sake, make us patient with ourselves and others. Teach us to have time, the way God has time, for the whole unfinished business of our lives and our world. Guide every step we take, and help us not to become bitter or intolerant in disappointment; so may we graciously accept, along with the joy, the pain that is the inevitable condition of growth and life and being together.

8. Jesus Speaks to the Women

Once more He hears the voice of love and tenderness. Once more it is the voice of women, mothers with children in their arms. Those who were closest to life, who knew how vulnerable and fragile our lives can be, these saw the full horror of what was taking place. He turns toward them: “Weep not for me but for yourselves and your children”.

Pa u s e

Lord Jesus, help us to answer the evils of our world with a great defiant hope, in a strong protest against all that is loveless, degrading and violent. May your compassion give us the energy

to conquer hatred though the power of your love and in all the patient works of mercy and justice.


Help us never to be so absorbed in ourselves As to forget the sufferings of the weak and the defenseless.

Teach us your own compassion...

9. Jesus falls the Third Time In staggering those final uphill steps, all strength leaves him, and he falls once more. Each step felt like the end of the journey. He can go no further. And yet, one final effort... He staggers forward, and is dragged to the place of execution.

Pa u s e

Lord Jesus, may the Spirit of your love urge us onward. Do not allow us to give up, whatever our weakness,

however often we fall. Help us to see our world through the eyes of the crushed and the broken, that we might all grow more closely together and support one another along the way in the love you have shown us.

10. Jesus is Stripped

His clothes are pulled from him, and the soldiers cast lots for his last blood‐stained possessions. He is left naked to the world ... Love has stripped him of everything: “For our sake, he became poor...”

Pa u s e

Lord Jesus, when we are stripped of everything, and left with nothing but what only God can give, clothe us with your very self. When in the midst of life

we feel lonely and at a loss, defenseless before the evils of the world, clothe us with your sense of Godʹs unfailing presence. When, finally, death comes near, clothe us with the perfect peace of trust in you.


11. Jesus is nailed to the Cross

He has been betrayed, abandoned by his followers, condemned, mocked and tortured. Now the cross, the most hideous form of execution known to the ancient world, the ultimate deterrent reserved for rebellious slaves. The nails pierce flesh and nerve, and he is lifted up in the sight of all: Behold the Man.

Pa u s e

Could this be how God appears in our world? Open our hearts, Lord Jesus, to true wisdom, the wisdom of that love revealed in you, that alone gives life:

“ the love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”—

the “love that never ends”. In place of the misery of selfishness free us to choose the way of an ever greater love.

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

12. Jesus dies on the Cross

In his hours of agony, of desperate struggle for breath, a great darkness seemed to be gathering over the land. He barely spoke again... some groaning words of prayer and forgiveness. Then a final loud cry: “Father into your hands I commend my spirit”. His head falls forward, and he is dead.

Pa u s e

Lord Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom... In doing your Fatherʹs will, you poured out your life as one great act of love. Join us to yourself in life and in death. Be our life, our food, our resurrection.

We commend to your mercy all who are dying at this moment, that you will be for them,


and for us who will follow, the fountain of endless life and undying love.

13. Jesus is taken down from the cross

It is a poor tortured body that his faithful ones now unfasten from the cross and place in the arms of Mary. The blows, the thorns, the lash, the nails, the spear have all left their mark. As his friends embraced him for the last time, they must have thought of the ancient prophecy: “Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases ... he was wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities...”.

Pa u s e

Crucified Lord, draw us more deeply into unity as members of your Body throughout the world. Unite us in the sympathy of love and in a communion of faith,

so that your Church will be purified in holiness and be a sign to the nations. Though we are earthen vessels, make us witnesses

to the peace, the healing and the hope you offer to all creation.

14. Jesus is laid in the Tomb

The once wonderful radiance of this life is no more. He had made God so real, and brought such joy and hope into the hearts of the hopeless. But it all led to the cross. He is dead now ... and buried. He joins the uncountable millions of those who died before him and those who would die after. He has gone down into the world of death. What now?

Pa u s e

Lord Jesus, by your descent into the world of the dead, fill all life, all death, all time with your presence. Be the deepest centre of our lives,

so that nothing in all creation will separate us from you: may your love grow within us to cast out all fear,

and become a hope that knows no bounds.


15. The Empty Tomb

This station is not like the others. If something momentous has not happened, the path we have followed would have been a journey to nowhere, to end in defeat and the blackest despair. But, something happened. In the simple words of our faith, we say: he is risen, he is not here. Love has proved stronger than death, stronger than any death we know...

The silence is now not the silence of death, but the silence of what no eye has seen, no ear heard, no human heart conceived, of what God has prepared for those who love him.

Pa u s e

Lord Jesus, you are no longer in the tomb because you are present in all creation: you meets us in every neighbour; you are present in every moment;

you dwell in our hearts.

No, the grave has not held you.. Truly, the night is over and the true light is already shining.

You change our tears into joy, a joy no one can take from us, in the peace the world cannot give. We hear you speak in the depths of our being: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love “ (Jn 15: 9)

Co ncl udin g P rayer

Most loving God, you so loved the world as to give your beloved Son that we might live.

As we have followed his path of suffering even to death, death upon a cross, may we feel in our hearts the victory of his resurrection

and the gentle power of your Spirit.

May we find new energies to serve our suffering neighbour,

and to work for your glory.


May your kingdom come! May your will be done on earth so that in heaven we may all rejoice together in your presence.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Merciful Like the Father A Lenten Journey with Pope Francis · of Christ prefers to use the medicine of mercy rather than arm herself with the weapons of rigor.” Nearly fifty years

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