Editorial: Jubilee of Mercy

Richard A. Sokerka

Jubilee of Mercy

On the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday, April 11, in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis officially convoked the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy with the publication of the Bull of Indiction, “Misericordiae Vultus” that constitutes the basic document for understanding the spirit in which it was convoked, as well as Pope Francis’ intentions and the fruit he hopes the Year will bear.

The scriptural focus for the jubilee year will be Christ’s command from Luke 6:36, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

“I am convinced that the whole Church will be able to find in this Jubilee the joy of rediscovering and making fruitful the mercy of God, with which we are all called to give consolation to every man and every woman,” Pope Francis said when he announced it in March and entrusted it to Mary, Mother of Mercy.

During this Jubilee year, we can practice mercy through concrete acts of charity, most especially through the Church’s seven corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

The corporal works of mercy are: to feed the hungry; to give drink to the thirsty; to clothe the naked; to give hospitality to the homeless; to visit the sick; to ransom captives, and to bury the dead. The spiritual works of mercy are: to instruct the ignorant; to counsel the doubtful; to admonish sinners; to bear wrongs patiently; to forgive offenses willingly; to comfort the afflicted, and to pray for the living and the dead.

These are the encounters Pope Francis hopes all us will make part of our daily lives during this Jubilee so we and those we help can truly encounter the heart of Christ, which is love and mercy.