On the Jubilee of Mercy (Third blog entry)

Bishop Robert J. Brennan of Rockville Centre opens the Door of Mercy Dec. 19 at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington. The seminary is one of four sites designated by the Diocese of Rockville Centre to be places of pilgrimage during the Year of Mercy. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz, Long Island Catholic

Photo: Bishop Robert J. Brennan of Rockville Centre opens the Door of Mercy Dec. 19 at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington. The seminary is one of four sites designated by the Diocese of Rockville Centre to be places of pilgrimage during the Year of Mercy.See more information here.  (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz, Long Island Catholic)

1430832550293From Misericordiae Vultus Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee of Mercy

(Given in Rome, at Saint Peter’s on 11 April 11, 2015)

“How much I desire that the year to come will be steeped in mercy, so that we can go out to every man and woman, bringing the goodness and tenderness of God! May the balm of mercy reach everyone, both believers and those far away, as a sign that the Kingdom of God is already present in our midst!

From the Psalms (Ps103:3-4) (Ps146:7-9) (Ps 147:3,6): The mercy of God is not an abstract idea, but a concrete reality which with he reveals his love as that of a father or a mother, moved to the very depths out of love for their child.

The mission Jesus received from the Father was that of revealing the mystery of divine love in its fullness “God is love.” (1Jn 4:8,16)

The signs he works, especially in favor of sinners, the poor, the marginalized, the sick and the suffering, are meant to teach mercy. Everything in him speaks of mercy.

In the parables devoted to mercy, Jesus reveals 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author
Sister Elizabeth Geraghty, CSJ, entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1951; she has been involved in education from elementary school to high school. She served as principal of St. Clare Elementary School and taught chemistry in Holy Family High School, was Assistant Principal and Dean of Students in St. Anthony High School. Sister Elizabeth Geraghty, retired in June 2011 and now volunteers in the Diocesan Respect Life Office as coordinator of Project Rachel and at the Heart Assisted Living Facility.