Pope Francis has called for an Extraordinary Year of Mercy. What is a “year of mercy”? We see in the Old Testament that Israel had a jubilee every 50 years. During the jubilee year of mercy, slaves were set free and debts were forgiven. The people returned to their family estate. It was a year of joy and restoration. They relied completely on God’s providence.
The Church continues to celebrate this jubilee. The last Jubilee was in the year 2000. However, the pope can also declare a year of mercy as needed. Since this is not the ordinary year for a jubilee, it is an extraordinary year.
In this Year of Mercy, Pope Francis encourages us to really focus on the love and mercy of God. In his Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, he states “We need constantly to contemplate the mystery of mercy. It is a wellspring of joy, serenity, and peace. Our salvation depends on it. Mercy: the ultimate and supreme act by which God comes to meet us.” The Christian faith is summed up in the life of Jesus, who is the face of mercy.
Pope Francis is hoping that during this year, everyone will come to experience “the love of God who consoles, pardons, and instills hope”. This love and mercy, as he explains, is expressed in many Psalms, including Psalm 146 – “He secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free; the Lord gives sight to the blind” and Psalm 147 – “He heals the brokenhearted, binds up their wounds”.
God’s love has been made visible to us in the life of Jesus. All of His encounters with the poor, the sick, and the sinners, are all moments of mercy and compassion. His parables of mercy “reveal the nature of God as that of a Father who never gives up until he has forgiven the wrong and overcome rejection with compassion and mercy”. Also, “mercy is presented as a force that overcomes everything, filling the heart with love and bringing consolation through pardon”. When we live lives of mercy, we are filled with joy.
The theme of this year is Merciful like the Father. “Be merciful just as your Father is merciful” – Luke 6:36. Pope Francis desires that during this year of mercy, we all receive the mercy of God, but also extend mercy to others. He wants us to dial in on the beatitude, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” – Matthew 5:7.
There are many ways we can extend mercy to others. We live mercy through the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Doing these acts with cheerfulness offers a witness to mercy.
Let us return to God and proclaim the message of God’s mercy to all in this Extraordinary Year of Mercy!
*All quotes were taken from The Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, given by Pope Francis.