Jesus, The Face Of The Father’s Mercy

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."

How To Be A Disciple Of St. John Paul II

Just in case you missed Andreas Widmer, author of The Pope and the CEO and former Swiss Guard for Saint John Paul II, here is a video of the talk he gave here at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine on Saturday.

St. John Paul II, Pray for Us!

Jesus, I Trust In You

Today I repeat these simple and straightforward words of Saint Faustina, in order to join her and all of you in adoring the inconceivable and unfathomable mystery of God’s mercy. Like Saint Faustina, we wish to proclaim that apart from the mercy of God there is no other source of hope for mankind. We desire to repeat with faith: Jesus, I trust in you!

This proclamation, this confession of trust in the all-powerful love of God, is especially needed in our own time, when mankind is experiencing bewilderment in the face of many manifestations of evil. The invocation of God’s mercy needs to rise up from the depth of hearts filled with suffering, apprehension and uncertainty, and at the same time yearning for an infallible source of hope.

-Saint John Paul II, Dedication of the Shrine of Divine Mercy, 2002

In Case You Missed It

Many things happened last week, as the Church journeyed through Christ’s Passion and Resurrection. We’ve put together a quick recap here, just in case you missed any of the happenings at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine and other John Paul II news.

-Hundreds came to the Shrine on Saturday, March 28, to venerate eight rare relics as part of the Relics of the Passion Prayer Program. See photos here.

-The Shrine took part in a Seven-Church Pilgrimage on Holy Thursday.

-A Knights of Columbus Documentary, John Paul II in America: Uniting a Continent, began airing on national television this past weekend. It will continue to air throughout the month of April. Check the current schedule here.

-There is a beautiful Easter Reflection on the Shrine’s website, as well as reflection for the upcoming Feast of Divine Mercy.

-This Saturday, April 11, Andreas Widmer, author of The Pope and the CEO and former Swiss Guard for Saint John Paul II, will be speaking at the Shrine. After the talk there will be time for veneration of the relics of St. John Paul II, followed by a Vigil Mass of Divine Mercy. 

-Finally, here are a few of our favorite stories from the tenth anniversary of Saint John Paul II’s death:

     St. John Paul II Taught Us That Sanctity Was Possible in the Modern Age

     Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz: St. John Paul II ‘Showed People the Way to Christ’

     Ten years since the death of St. John Paul II

     St. John Paul II and the “Tyranny of the Possible”

St. John Paul II, Pray for Us!

The Jubilee Of Mercy

Last Friday, Pope Francis announced an extraordinary Jubilee dedicated to Divine Mercy. This Holy Year will begin on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception this coming December, and it will end on November 20, 2016—the Sunday we celebrate Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

The theme for this Jubilee Year comes from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians, in which St. Paul names God as “rich in mercy” (Eph 2:4). Pope Francis challenges us to believe that this mercy is for us. He also challenges us to share it with others:

The call of Jesus pushes each of us never to stop at the surface of things, especially when we are dealing with a person. We are called to look beyond, to focus on the heart to see how much generosity everyone is capable. No one can be excluded from the mercy of God; everyone knows the way to access it and the Church is the house that welcomes all and refuses no one. Its doors remain wide open, so that those who are touched by grace can find the certainty of forgiveness. The greater the sin, so much the greater must be the love that the Church expresses toward those who convert.

Saint John Paul II led the Church through two Jubilee Years, in 1983 and 2000. Let us ask him and the Mother of Mercy to pray for the Church as she prepares to embark on this Holy Year.

Prayer Of Mercy For WYD

This morning, Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, Archbishop of Krakow, presented the official prayer and logo for the 31st World Youth Day! The logo, which includes the flame of Divine Mercy, can be seen here. 

World Youth Day 2016 is to be held in Krakow, a city that still remembers the legacy of Polish Saint John Paul II quite well. The official prayer asks for the intercession of the late Holy Father, who is now the patron saint of World Youth Days.

Let us say this prayer, entrusting all people, especially the young, to the warmth of the Lord’s Divine Mercy.

God, merciful Father,

in your Son, Jesus Christ, you have revealed your love

and poured it out upon us in the Holy Spirit, the Comforter,

We entrust to you today the destiny of the world and of every man and woman.

We entrust to you in a special way

young people of every language, people and nation:

guide and protect them as they walk the complex paths of the world today

and give them the grace to reap abundant fruits

from their experience of the Krakow World Youth Day.

Heavenly Father,

grant that we may bear witness to your mercy.

Teach us how to convey the faith to those in doubt,

hope to those who are discouraged,

love to those who feel indifferent,

forgiveness to those who have done wrong

and joy to those who are unhappy.

Allow the spark of merciful love

that you have enkindled within us

become a fire that can transform hearts

and renew the face of the earth.

Mary, Mother of Mercy, pray for us.

St. John Paul II, pray for us.