Year of Mercy

Bishop Serratelli begins Diocese observances of Jubilee Year with pastoral letter, opening Holy Doors

CLIFTON  Amid the great anticipation sweeping through the universal Church, Bishop Serratelli will celebrate the Jubilee Year of Mercy — “a special time of grace” that “turns our minds and hearts to God, who is waiting with open arms to embrace us with His love” — in the Paterson Diocese with a Mass on Thursday, Dec. 10 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Philip the Apostle Church here.

Also after the start of the Year of Mercy on Tuesday, Dec. 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a holy day of obligation, Bishop Serratelli will begin Diocesan observations by opening two Holy Doors on Sunday, Dec. 13 — one at St. Margaret Church, Morristown, during 10:30 a.m. Mass and another at a 7 p.m. Mass at the diocesan Shrine of St. John Paul II at Holy Rosary Church, Passaic. On the same day, Pope Francis, who declared the Holy Year, will open a Holy Door at the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome.

Just prior to the start of the Holy Year, Bishop Serratelli wrote a pastoral letter, “The Jubilee of Mercy and the Promise of Christ,” which he promulgated Nov. 22. It appears in the centerfold of this week’s edition of The Beacon [see pages 12 and 13].

In “The Jubilee of Mercy and the Promise of Christ,” Bishop Serratelli examines the Holy Year — and its highlighting of God’s boundless forgiveness — through the prism of numerous texts, including Holy Scripture, Church teaching and the writings of Pope Francis.

“We who receive the abundant mercy of God are called to share that mercy with others. By our charitable acts, no matter how small, we relieve human misery and continue in our day the Jubilee that Jesus began. By our kindness and compassion to others, we stand before Christ who promises us: ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.’ (Mt 5: 7),” writes Bishop Serratelli in his pastoral letter, which has been posted on the websites of the Diocese, www.rcdop.org, and St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization, Madison, www.stpaulinsidethewalls.org. “In a particular way, during this Holy Year, Pope Francis invites us to share in the Jubilee indulgency by performing the spiritual works of mercy [admonishing the sinner, instructing the ignorant, counseling the doubtful, comforting the sorrowful, bearing wrongs patiently, forgiving injuries and praying for the living and the dead] and the corporal works of mercy [feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, visiting the imprisoned, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick and burying the dead],” the Bishop writes.

There will be many diocesan observances of the Year of Mercy — which will conclude on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe — that are listed in “Document of overview of Jubilee for Diocese,” on a special Holy Year page on St. Paul’s web site, http://insidethewalls.org/the-year-of-mercy. Next year, they include, among other events: a reconciliation Initiative; “Conversion of St. Paul: Ecumenism” on Monday, Jan. 25; a presentation on Consecrated life on Tuesday, Feb. 2; “24 Hours for the Lord” on Friday-Saturday, March 4-5; Mercy for Persons with Disabilities on Sunday, June 12; and conclusion of the Year of Mercy on Sunday. Nov. 20.

Bishop Serratelli encourages individuals to learn more about the Year of Mercy and parishes to plan their own observations with the help of resources that are linked on St. Paul’s site. It links with the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization, which explains the Holy Year, its logo and posts various related documents of the Church or Pope Francis’ writings and Vatican City’s Year of Mercy calendar of events. St. Paul’s page also provides links to give parishes ideas for activities — such as prayer services, a pilgrimages to Jubilee Doors and organize works of mercy — from sources like the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops, Catholic Relief Services and Catholic publishers. It also posts Year of Mercy observances at St. Paul’s and links to pages of local parishes that already have scheduled related events.