This week Catholics throughout the world begin the celebration of an extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. Pope Francis declared this Jubilee to remind all Christians and men and women of good will about the boundless mercy and love of God. Since becoming pope in March 2013, Pope Francis' central message has been on the mercy of God, healing for the world and a call to Christians and all people of good will to heal the world of hatred, suffering, and injustice through a radical commitment to the poor and to those on the margins of society. This Jubilee began December 8, 2015 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican II Council. Vatican II signified the openness of the Catholic Church to the modern world and her openness to embracing the riches of cultural pluralism , while learning from the movement of the Spirit in history.
In declaring this Jubilee, Pope Francis indicated that he hopes the spiritual, pastoral, social and cultural activities and rituals of the year will reflect for the church and the world concrete signs to all people that everyone is beautiful unto God and that there is a place in God's heart for all people no matter the depth of sin and despair. As the popular saying goes every sinner has a future and every saint had a past. In drawing attention to the mercy of God in this Jubilee Year, Pope Francis invites all people throughout the world to embrace the virtues of mercy, forgiveness, care and compassion for one another and for the suffering earth. He had already given an extraordinary faculty to priests to offer God's forgiveness and healing to all those who come before God in sorrow after committing abortion. He is also sending out missionaries of mercy to all local catholic churches to administer the sacrament of reconciliation among God's people and help to heal the world and the church of conflicts and division. Catholics are encouraged this year and particularly those who are in pastoral ministries to welcome Catholics and all people who are far away from God. This Jubilee is also a year of penance and reconciliation, all Catholics particularly those separated from the church are invited to come back to the Father's house with tears for the loss of the life of grace and the joy of being a child of God which occurs when one is alienated from God. The world is in need of the message of mercy and forgiveness. Our world is currently held in bondage by violence, war, hatred, fear and insecurity. This jubilee could not have come at a better time.
Many non-Catholics might argue that this is another power grab by the Pope to turn a Catholic tradition into a global event. Others might wonder why mercy is proposed by the Pope as the main spiritual practices and the ethical template for the times. But when we look at present history what do we see around the world. How many people have been killed this year alone by gun violence, religiously induced violence, terrorism, and wars? How many people have been executed through the criminal justice in many countries of the world where capital punishments are still being carried out? How many people are languishing in jails in many countries because of the miscarriage of justice or because they are poor or because of the repressive and unhealthy penal systems in many countries of the world. At the personal and inter-subjective level, one can think of wounded memories, broken hearts, and breakdown in family structures, the rising incidents of divorces and marriage breakups and breakdown in family relations. Even though recent New York Times' Data Blog Upshot statistics is optimistic about a downward trend in divorce rate in America for example, it is only a downward trend from a rate of 40-50%. The truth is that this is not the best possible world for most people whether they are religious or not.
The hole in many hearts today is what Pope Francis says 'causes people to fall into despair" and is "a source of loneliness." These holes continue to expand as people witness insecurity, pain, anxiety, anger, brokenness, and cynicism in their lives and relationships. That hole is particularly painful for those on the margins of society. Pope Francis writes about this in these words: "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." He, therefore, calls on Catholics to embrace the corporal works of mercy, heal broken relationships and wounded memories, develop closeness to one another and live in peace with themselves, and their families and to embrace all people with love, respect and reverence. The invitation to embrace the mercy of God seems to me relevant for the deepest questions in many hearts today.
The emphasis on mercy is a key towards understanding how all the aspects of the jubilee come together in daily practices of kindness, compassion, forgiveness and stewardship of one another and of creation. There is an element of sacrifice in giving up our claims and allowing the pathos and pain of another even when they have negatively affected me to be redeemed through my gracious extension of forgiveness to the person. The Church particularly is challenged in this year to be a more merciful and less judgmental church following the example of Pope Francis. There are many Catholics who are hurting and who have disconnected from the church and from religion. There are many second and third generation Catholics who have left the church. There are many other folks out there who are searching for God and for meaning and who might consider becoming a part of our religious groups if our religious message speaks of God's love, acceptance and mercy, the possibility of beginning again and of hope for a world in despair. I think of divorced and separated and remarried Catholics, those who have been sanctioned in the Catholic Church or excommunicated, those who are suffering from clerical sexual abuse, LGBTQs and many others on the margins. Will they find a home again in our church? Pope Francis is saying through this extraordinary act that the door of the Church are open to all; and that the world should open its doors to love, compassion, forgiveness, and mercy. This is a door which we all must enter through because we are all in need of mercy.