The Jubilee of Mercy Highlights the Goodness and Tenderness of God

On December 8, Pope Francis will open the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy will begin. In Face of Mercy, the Holy Father’s Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee, Pope Francis writes that this is a “special time for the Church, a time when the witness of believers might grow stronger and more effective.” It is a special time where we are called to bring “the goodness and the tenderness of God” to everyone, “believers and those who are far away.”

The official Vatican Website for the Year of Mercy can be found here. There are a number of resources provided there and it looks like they will be posting the various homilies that Pope Francis will make during the year. You can also get the logo from there.

Many dioceses and parishes have been hard at work preparing for the Year of Mercy. Hopefully, those plans include a strong internet and social media component. How can we connect with “those far away” from the Church without it?  Websites, blogs, Facebook and Twitter are tools for catechesis and evangelization especially during this Jubilee Year. If your diocese, parish, religious community, organization or ministry has already launched a web page or website for the Year of Mercy please share the link with us in the comments below.  If they will not be launching until next week or later, please come back and add the links then.

If you have plans to focus on the Jubilee Year in a blog or on a social media site during the year, please tell us about that in the comments below.  I will be sharing ideas in support of the Jubilee on this blog and I will also be posting picture quotes and other resources on the parish Facebook pages that I contribute to.

If you have planned events or activities for the Holy Year, remember to take photos.  You can share these photos along with an explanation of their significance in this Year of Mercy on your website and social media sites.  Please be kind enough to share some of your Jubilee plans in the comments below.

The Face of Mercy is a document rich with insights on the meaning of God’s mercy and the ways we can make it known more clearly to the world during this Jubilee Year. Read it and refer to it often during the year.  Here is a reflection on two sentences from the document which I find very meaningful and which express the desire of Pope Francis for this year.