Jubilee Year of Mercy

December 8, 2015 � November 20, 2016

�We constantly need to contemplate the mystery of mercy.

It is a wellspring of joy, serenity, and peace.

Our salvation depends on it.�

~ Pope Francis ~

The beginning of the extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy was solemnly marked by the opening of a Holy Door by the Pope in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on 8 December 2015. All other Roman Catholic Churches in Dioceses around the world will open their own Doors of Mercy in communion with the Church of Rome. A door in everyday life has several functions, all repeated by the symbol of the Holy Door:

it marks the separation between inside and outside, between sin and the order of grace (Mi 7:18-19);
it permits entry to a new place, in showing mercy and not condemnation (Mt 9:13);
it provides protection, it provides salvation (Jn 10:7).

Jesus said: �I am the gate� (Jn 10:7). There is only one way that opens wide the entrance into the life of communion with God: this is Jesus, the one and absolute way to salvation. To him alone can the words of the Psalmist be applied in full truth: �This is the Lord�s own gate: where the just may enter� (Ps 117:20).

The Holy Door reminds the faithful of their responsibility when crossing the threshold:

It is a decision which implies the freedom to choose, and at the same time the courage to abandon something, to leave something behind (cf. Mt 13, 44-46)
Passing through this door means professing that Jesus Christ is Lord, in strengthening our faith in Him to embrace the new life He has given us. This is what Pope John Paul II had announced to the world on the day of his election: �Open wide the doors to Christ�.

The Church has received the mission of showing all people this loving face of God, manifested in Jesus Christ. Pope Francis has commissioned on Catholics around the world as individuals and as a Church �to be a witness of mercy� by reflecting on and practising the spiritual and corporal works of mercy during the year-long extraordinary Jubilee year of Mercy. By being merciful in acts of love, kindness and generosity, we will discover God and experience His mercy. It is a time for forgiveness and reconciliation. Faced with God's mercy, the challenge is not in the difficulty, but in the fact of freely making an act by which we mark our detachment from sin and our desire to be with God. To each one of us, Our Lord Jesus reveals the over-abundance of God�s love, not only does God love me but he wants to find my lost dignity. God does not condemn me in my wrongdoings nor ostracise me in what I have suffered. It is now time for each of us to be merciful towards others, to help them get up, it�s now their turn to get back on their feet.

Indulgence

To obtain the indulgence, one must be in a state of grace and have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin. One must receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, receive Holy Communion, pray for the intentions of the Holy Father and pass through the Door of Mercy. The prayer for the intentions of the Pope is left to the choice of the faithful, but an �Our Father� or a �Hail Mary� are suggested.

It is recommended, but not necessary, that these rites be completed on the same day: they may also be carried out over several days.

In addition, the faithful must perform one of the following works,

Works of Piety: for instance, a pilgrimage to a sanctuary, or again an act of piety (Way of the Cross, Rosary, Eucharistic adoration, etc.),

Works of Mercy: for instance, visit brothers and sisters who are in need or are in difficulty (the sick, the imprisoned, elderly people living alone, disabled people, etc.), as if making a pilgrimage to Christ present in them, or support, by a significant contribution, works of a religious or social nature (for the benefit of abandoned children, young people in trouble, the elderly in need, foreigners in various countries seeking better living conditions).

Acts of penance: for example, for at least one whole day, abstain from unnecessary consumption (smoking, alcohol, etc.), or fast and donate a proportionate sum of money to the poor.

One can receive an indulgence for oneself or the faithful departed, but not for another living person: it is up to that person to do what is necessary to free himself or herself from sin. Neither God nor anyone else can be a substitute for one�s own free will. To do something to obtain an indulgence is not a calculated act, but ultimately an act of trust in the absolute Mercy of God.

�In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God forgives our sins, which he truly blots out; and yet sin leaves a negative effect on the way we think and act. But the mercy of God is stronger even than this. It becomes indulgence on the part of the Father who, through the Bride of Christ, his Church, reaches the pardoned sinner and frees him from every residue left by the consequences of sin, enabling him to act with charity, to grow in love rather than to fall back into sin�.