YEAR OF MERCY
at ST WINEFRIDES
BEING EVER MORE CONVINCED OF GOD’S MERCY
From the Homily of Pope Francis:
This Extraordinary Holy Year is itself a gift of grace. To pass through the Holy Door means to rediscover the infinite mercy of the Father who welcomes everyone and goes out personally to encounter each of them. This will be a year in which we grow ever more convinced of God’s mercy.
How much wrong we do to God and his grace when we speak of sins being punished by his judgment before we speak of their being forgiven by his mercy (cf. Saint Augustine, De Praedestinatione Sanctorum, 12, 24)! But that is the truth.
We have to put mercy before judgment, and in any event God’s judgement will always be in the light of his mercy. In passing through the Holy Door, then, may we feel that we ourselves are part of this mystery of love. Let us set aside all fear and dread, for these do not befit men and women who are loved. Instead, let us experience the joy of encountering that grace which transforms all things.
YEAR OF MERCY
PRAYER
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;
made 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 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 of you, Lord Jesus, through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Mercy;
you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever.
Amen.
Year of Mercy
Pope Francis explains the reason he called for a Jubilee Year of Mercy.
Misericordiae Vultus:
BULL OF INDICTION OF THE EXTRAORDINARY JUBILEE OF MERCY
Extracts
Jesus, is the face of Mercy
‘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.’ (1)
Holy Door
'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'. (4)
Mercy is concrete
‘…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.’ (6)
Never gives up
‘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.’ (9)
Vatican's Year of Mercy website
Hymn for the Year of Mercy
This is the official Vatican Version and is in Italian and Latin
Full Score in English
DIOCESE OF SHREWSBURY YEAR OF MERCY ACTIVITIES
Bishop Mark Davis
Opening of the diocesan Holy Door of Mercy: by Bishop Mark Davies
Saturday, 13th December at 3.30pm, St Anthony's, Wythenshawe.
St Anthony's Wythenshawe
The Holy Door will be available each Saturday between 9am and 6pm, (NB: Mass at 10am and Vigil Mass at 5pm). Those who wish to visit should contact St Anthony's with requirements for Mass or Confessions.
Groups: Parish and other groups should contact the Wythenshawe clergy team or Fr Murray or Fr Thomas outside office opening hours with details of proposed visiting days (other days can be arranged).
Team Office: 10am - 3pm, Mon-Fri (holidays excepted) 0161 436 5622 or preferably email team.ministry@btinternet.com Fr Murray/Fr Thomas: 0161 437 2861 Individuals: should come on Saturdays. It may be possible to arrange specific times by request through the Clergy Team Office.
From Easter until the close of the Holy Year in November, the Holy Door will be at the Cathedral.
Four Reflections: Jesus as the Ultimate Revelation of the Mercy of God
Our Lady's Parish Centre, Ellesmere Port CH65 8BY 7:30 - 9:00pm
13th January 2016
“The Incarnation: “Mystery of God's Merciful Love”
Miss Barbara Davies
20th January 2016
“Christ's Passion & Death: Expression of God's Merciful Love”
Fr David Long
27th January 2016
“Christ's Resurrection and Ascension: Triumph of God's Merciful Love”
Fr Nick Kern
3rd February 2016
“The Communion of Saints: Sharing in God's Merciful Love, with Mary, Mother and Model of Compassion”
Miss Barbara Davies
Jubilee Day for Youth
Palm Sunday, 20th March 2016, 2-5pm, St Chad's High School, Runcorn
World Youth Day Krakow 2016
25th-31st July 2016 for young people aged 16 and over. For more information see www.dioceseofshrewsbury.org/youth
Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes
27th -28th July to 2nd-3rd August 2016
Youth 2000 Prayer festival, Walsingham
25th– 29th August 2016
Holy Year Pilgrimage to Rome
17th - 21st October 2016
Led by Bishop Mark in this Year of Mercy, we will visit the major Basilicas of Rome including passing through the Holy Door at St Peter’s. In addition there will be a General Audience with the Holy Father and a visit and Holy Hour at the Venerable English College. Flights from Manchester, accommodation half board: £695 (twin room), £565 (triple room), supplement of £130 (limited single rooms). Booking forms available from Parish Office or the Diocesan Website. Contact Fr David Long 638 1520.