The Jubilee year of mercy continues through November 20, the day celebrated next year as the feast of Christ the King.
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“The Jubilee challenges us to this openness, and demands that we not neglect the spirit which emerged from Vatican II, the spirit of the Samaritan, as Blessed Paul VI expressed it at the conclusion of the council”, Francis said in his homily at mass in St. Peter’s Square.
The answer, he said, is because “the Church needs this extraordinary moment”.
While most Jubilees have been focused on calling pilgrims to Rome to receive such pardon, Francis has widely expanded his Jubilee, asking that dioceses throughout the world open a holy door at a cathedral or other church to expand the practice globally.
One day after inaugurating the Year of Mercy, the pope dedicated his audience talk to the significance he hopes the year will have for the church saying that it is a time to experience the “sweet and gentle touch” of God’s forgiveness and his presence in hard times.
“The Jubilee is an opportune time for all of us so that, contemplating the divine mercy that overcomes every human limit and shines over the darkness of sin, we can become more convincing and efficacious witnesses”, he continued.
The opening of the door is meant to symbolically illustrate the idea that the Church’s faithful are offered an “extraordinary path” toward salvation during the time of jubilee. Without mercy, the pope said, any reform would be in vain because “we would become slaves of our institutions and our structures”.
Only mercy can truly contribute to a “more human world”, the pope said, particularly at a time where forgiveness is “a rare guest in the areas of human life”.
Nothing, he said, “is more important that choosing that which pleases God most: his mercy!”
Francis cautioned that the biggest enemy of mercy is “self-love”, which in the world is manifested in the exclusive pursuit of one’s own interests, in the search of hedonistic pleasures and honors, as well as the greedy desire to accumulate wealth.
“Through the church we go out to the world”, he said, adding that the door to the church is also the “door of mission”. While some may believe that the church has more important objectives, he said, rediscovering divine mercy and forgiveness is essential to avoid falling into self-love, which can often be “disguised in Christian life as hypocrisy and worldliness”.
“This year we have a mission”, said the cardinal.
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At the main entrance of the church he will bless the designated Door of Mercy, read our Holy Father’s Prayer for the Beginning of the Holy Year, and lead all in attendance into the church for a Short Prayer Service (Moleben).
