{"id":1414,"date":"2016-11-13T05:00:32","date_gmt":"2016-11-13T10:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sjcmetheology.wpengine.com\/?p=1414"},"modified":"2016-11-13T05:00:32","modified_gmt":"2016-11-13T10:00:32","slug":"what-to-do-as-the-year-of-mercy-comes-to-an-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/what-to-do-as-the-year-of-mercy-comes-to-an-end\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Do as the Year of Mercy Comes to an End"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"year-of-mercy-logo\"<\/a>Pope Francis declared an Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy for the Universal Church beginning on December 8th<\/sup>, 2015 and ending on November 20th<\/sup>, 2016.\u00a0 It\u2019s outside of the normal cycle of Jubilee Years that occur every 25 years, and it draws our attention to how, as baptized Christians, we are all called to reflect the goodness of God in our lives.\u00a0 The goodness of God begins with mercy, so we are all called to become agents of mercy.<\/p>\n

The Year of Mercy goes back to ancient times (Leviticus 25).\u00a0 The Jews were to celebrate a Year of Mercy every fifty years.\u00a0 This was a special time of forgiveness during which slaves would be freed and debts would be forgiven.\u00a0 It was a reminder of the mercy and forgiveness which are at the heart of the providence of God.\u00a0 When he announced the special Year of Mercy, Pope Francis said, \u201cLet us not forget that God forgives and God forgives always. \u00a0Let us never tire of asking for forgiveness.\u201d\u00a0 So, this Year of Mercy has been, and is, a special time for us to forgive and to be forgiven.<\/p>\n

The Year of Mercy is an invitation for all of us to become what we are called to be as Disciples of Christ \u2013 people of mercy and love.\u00a0 Jesus made it clear that mercy and love are virtues that are at the very heart of the Christian vocation.\u00a0 The imitation of Christ can never be complete without the practice of mercy.\u00a0 Jesus\u2019 parables about the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin (Luke 15:1-10) are clear examples of the mercy and love of God.\u00a0 Throughout the gospels we see Jesus applying the mercy of God to real-life situations.\u00a0 The Woman at the Well, the Women Caught in Adultery, and the Good Thief on the Cross are just a few examples.\u00a0 They demonstrate that our God is a God of mercy and love, a God of second chances.<\/p>\n

God wants us to be people of mercy and forgiveness because he created us in his image and, as people created in his image, we are to reflect the mercy and forgiveness that he has extended to us.\u00a0 We must see others as God sees each of us – as infinitely valuable.\u00a0 No matter what we have done, no matter where we have been, no matter how late we experience conversion, we are all precious in his sight.\u00a0 He wants nothing more than for us to respond to his offer of infinite self-giving love and mercy, so that he can forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting life.<\/p>\n

I love the way Henry Nouwen said it in this book entitled The Life of the Beloved<\/em>: \u201cFrom all eternity, long before you were born and became a part of history, you existed in God\u2019s heart.\u00a0 Long before your parents admired you or your friends acknowledged your gifts or your teachers, colleagues and employers encouraged you, you were already chosen.\u00a0 The eyes of love had seen you as precious, as of infinite beauty, as of eternal value.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is how Christian author Max Lucado describes the love and mercy of God: \u201cGod loves you just the way we are.\u00a0 If you think his love for you would be stronger if your faith were, you\u2019re wrong.\u00a0 If you think his love would be deeper if your thoughts were, wrong again.\u00a0 Don\u2019t confuse God\u2019s love with the love of people.\u00a0 The love of people often increases with performance and decreases with mistakes.\u00a0 Not so with God\u2019s love.\u201d \u00a0God loves us just the way we are, but he refuses to leave us like that.\u00a0 He wants more for us.\u00a0 He wants us to become just like Jesus, because he knows that is what\u2019s best for us.<\/p>\n

God wants only the very best for us, and his love never ceases, never.\u00a0 Though we spurn him, ignore him, reject him, disobey him, deny him and betray him, he never changes.\u00a0 Our evil cannot diminish his love.\u00a0 Our goodness cannot increase it.\u00a0 Our faith does not earn it any more than our stupidity jeopardizes it.\u00a0 God doesn\u2019t love us less if we fail and more if we succeed.\u00a0 Who we are, and who we can become, are more important to God than anything we\u2019ve done.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Pope<\/a>

Pope Francis – penitent<\/p><\/div>\n

We must all realize that our future is not determined by our past. \u00a0Our future is not determined by what we used to be. \u00a0Our future is not determined by what we used to do.\u00a0 Instead, your future and my future is determined by who Jesus Christ is, and what he can and will do. \u00a0Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. \u00a0There is no secret – what God can do, what he\u2019s done for others, he\u2019ll do for you and me.\u00a0 So great is God\u2019s mercy that it is almost inexpressible.\u00a0 God\u2019s mercy knows no limit.\u00a0 There is none who is beyond his saving power.\u00a0 His mercy reaches to the highest mountain and flows to the lowest valley.<\/p>\n

During this Year of Mercy, we are called to ask for mercy as well as practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.\u00a0 How do we do this?\u00a0 Together, as his Church, we get alongside those who are hurting the most in whatever way we can: To feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to provide shelter for the homeless, healing for the wounded, a caring presence for the dying and comfort and support for the bereaved. \u00a0And we do this because the One we follow said clearly and unequivocally that in as much as we did these things for the least of our brothers and sisters, we did them for him.<\/p>\n

Jesus said: \u201cHeaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.\u201d (Matthew 24:35)\u00a0 In other words, \u201cThe world may be falling apart around you, but having faith in me will save you.\u201d \u00a0We live in a broken world, just turn on the news and you will hear all about it.\u00a0\u00a0We live in a\u00a0world where there is suffering, pain and sorrow.\u00a0 We live in a world where many people would rather seek revenge than extend forgiveness and mercy.\u00a0 No matter what happens and how bad things seem, just remember this: When it all comes to an end, there will only be one thing that matters.\u00a0 When it all comes to an end, there will be Christ.<\/p>\n

And so there is no need for us to be afraid.\u00a0 Our God is a God of second chances.\u00a0 We have each been given a second chance, and we have nothing to fear, if we will only place our hope and trust in him.\u00a0 Even in our suffering and pain we have nothing to fear because our hope is this: Whatever the future may hold, God can be trusted to see us through.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, we must demonstrate our faith and faithfulness by loving and serving as Jesus has taught us, and by reflecting his love and mercy in our lives.\u00a0 Through Jesus, we know that it\u2019s never too late.\u00a0 If our God is a God of second chances, then we must become people of second chances.\u00a0 God has shown us his face.\u00a0 He has shared our life so that we might share His.\u00a0 Each of us has been given a second chance, and now it\u2019s our turn to extend that second chance to others.<\/p>\n

As this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy comes to a close, Jesus invites each of us to trust in him, to reflect his goodness and to teach others to trust in him.\u00a0 The power we possess is from Jesus Himself.\u00a0 So, let us all continue to pray for his mercy and extend his mercy to others.\u00a0 Let us continue to pray and for the conversion of sinners, for peace in the world, and for our newly elected leaders!<\/p>\n

If we have not lived up to our Christian calling, if we have not reflected the love and the mercy of God in our lives during the Year of Mercy, it\u2019s not too late.\u00a0 So, contact that person who needs your forgiveness today.\u00a0 You\u2019ll be glad you did.<\/p>\n

Deacon Greg Ollick<\/strong> teaches sacred scripture for Saint Joseph\u2019s College Online<\/a>. He is a permanent deacon in the Archdiocese of Atlanta and runs The Epiphany Initiative<\/a>\u00a0website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pope Francis declared an Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy for the Universal Church beginning on December 8th, 2015 and ending on November 20th, 2016.\u00a0 It\u2019s outside of the normal cycle of Jubilee Years that occur every 25 years, and it … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1414\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}