Jubilee Year of Mercy begins Dec. 8
Pope Francis has declared a Jubilee Year of Mercy for the Church beginning Dec. 8, 2015. While celebrating a jubilee every 25 years is a longstanding tradition within the Church, the Holy Father can also proclaim an Extraordinary Holy Year for special occasions. With this Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis wishes “a special time for the Church, a time when the witness of believers might grow stronger and more effective.” (Misericordiae Vultus).
In the Bull of Indiction, the document announcing the Jubilee Year, the Holy Father expresses his desire that each of us entrust ourselves to God’s mercy in a special way. This Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy is a time for each person to experience the merciful gaze of the Father; it is a time to show mercy to our neighbor precisely because we have first experienced the mercy of God. “Mercy is the very foundation of the Church’s life. All of her pastoral activity should be caught up in the tenderness she makes present to believers; nothing in her preaching and in her witness to the world can be lacking in mercy.” (MV)
For more information of the Year of Mercy, visit the USCCB website: http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/new-evangelization/jubilee-of-mercy/index.cfm
Stay tuned for more information on how we will be celebrating the Year of Mercy on campus.