Holy Year of Mercy commences 8th December 2015
The biblical passage for the Holy Year's theme is from Luke Chapter 6 verse 36, in which Jesus tells his disciples, “Be merciful as your Father is merciful.”
Prayer for the Holy 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;
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 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.
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 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.
The Holy Year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis commences, Tuesday 8th December 2015,
and its whole focus is on the love and mercy of The Lord. Sometimes the Church can give the impression that, like some of the Pharisees of Our Lord’s day, its main concern is to hurl condemnations and anathemas at ‘sinners’. The reality is that, in our different ways, we are all sinners who need God’s mercy and forgiveness and it is mercy that characterizes God’s dealings with us. Jesus himself is the ‘face of mercy’ and his forgiveness far outweighs our sins. However if we ask for God’s mercy and forgiveness for ourselves we, in our turn, must be willing to extend this forgiveness to others and become channels of God’s mercy, in the world, especially to the poor and needy.
and its whole focus is on the love and mercy of The Lord. Sometimes the Church can give the impression that, like some of the Pharisees of Our Lord’s day, its main concern is to hurl condemnations and anathemas at ‘sinners’. The reality is that, in our different ways, we are all sinners who need God’s mercy and forgiveness and it is mercy that characterizes God’s dealings with us. Jesus himself is the ‘face of mercy’ and his forgiveness far outweighs our sins. However if we ask for God’s mercy and forgiveness for ourselves we, in our turn, must be willing to extend this forgiveness to others and become channels of God’s mercy, in the world, especially to the poor and needy.