This week, the Vatican
announced more specific details about the upcoming Year of Mercy. They also introduced a logo
for the Holy Year. There has been much excitement about this Jubilee –which is
to begin this coming December, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate
Conception—especially on Divine Mercy Sunday when Pope Francis released Misericordiae Vultus, the Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy.
The Holy Father called for
this Year of Mercy, because we “need constantly to contemplate the mystery of
mercy.” He continues:
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.
We also need to contemplate this beautiful mercy,
“so that we may become a more effective sign of the Father’s action in our
lives.” If the Church does not show the world mercy, then how will the world
know of the all-merciful Father? How will they know of His presence? Of His
love for us? Pope Francis declared this Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy as a
time for the Church “when the witness of believers might grow stronger and more
effective.”
There would be no Year of Mercy if it weren’t for
the Pope of Divine Mercy. During his presentation at the Shrine last month, Andreas Widmer said
that this Holy Year is "one of the many fruits of the teachings of John
Paul."
