Mercy Minute #1; December 2015
By Fr. Wade Menezes, CPM
Why Even Celebrate A Jubilee Year of Mercy?
“Quoting Dives in Misericordia…”
Hello, friends. Fr. Wade Menezes here of the Fathers of Mercy with another “Mercy Minute” for the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy called for by Pope Francis.
Here’s a question: “Why even celebrate a ‘Jubilee Year of Mercy’ which will take place from December 8, 2015 (Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception) until November 20, 2016 (Solemnity of Christ the King)?”
In his landmark encyclical on the Mercy of God, titled Dives in Misericordia (that is, Rich in Mercy), Pope St. John Paul II states the following: “The Parable of the Prodigal Son (found in Chapter 15 of St. Luke’s Gospel) expresses in a simple but profound way the reality of conversion. Conversion is the most concrete expression of the working of love and of the presence of mercy in the human world…(And) the Church – professing mercy and remaining always faithful to it – has the right and the duty to call upon the mercy of God… (Indeed) The Church must profess and proclaim God’s mercy in all its truth, as it has been handed down to us by (Divine) Revelation.’” (Dives in Misericordia [Rich in Mercy], 6, 12, 13; emphasis added). This, then, my friends is the heart of the message of this Extraordinary Holy Year – the Great Jubilee Year of Mercy: the realities of conversion, mercy, and the Church’s right – as the Bride of Christ – to proclaim both to the modern world.
And that’s another Mercy Minute for this Jubilee Year of Mercy. I’m Fr. Wade Menezes of the Fathers of Mercy. Be sure to visit the Fathers of Mercy website at www.fathersofmercy.com and follow us on Facebook. God bless you!