Pastor's Pen - November 15, 2015

Back in April, 2015, Pope Francis made a proclamation, Misericordiae Vultus, that, beginning on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8th, 2015, the Catholic Church around the world celebrate a “ Year of Mercy.” Mercy is that virtue that inclines us to be compassionate to those who suffer and to do what we can to alleviate their misery. It is God’s mercy that knows no bounds. God is always ready to forgive. We have all been recipients of His mercy. So must we be forgivers of one another.

Within our own Archdiocese there will be an entire year of activities designed to help people grow in and practice the Virtue of Mercy. As the Holy Father opens the “Door of Mercy” at St. Peter’s Basilica on December 8th, our Archbishop will do the same at St. John’s Cathedral during a 5:15 p.m. Mass that same evening. Everyone is invited! Each of the ten Deaneries of our Archdiocese will have a “Door of Mercy” in one of its churches. In our Deanery (Waukesha West) Catholics can make a ‘pilgrimage’ to St. Charles Church in Hartland and enter through the “Door of Mercy” and participate in the spiritual exercises that grant an “indulgence.” We will have a “Year of Mercy Prayer Card” that we will pray from at different times. On the back of that card both the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy will be listed. Hopefully we will reflect on and practice them more deliberately.

This Year of Mercy would be a great time for us to become reacquainted with the Sacrament of Reconciliation if we haven’t been celebrating Jesus’ sacramental love, mercy and forgiveness. Maybe reading about the beauty and the power of this sacrament would throw some light on the significance and importance of it for our self. Seven months of the Year of Mercy will be dedicated to the Corporal Works of Mercy. Each of those months the Archbishop will pilgrimage to a part of the Archdiocese to highlight one of Corporal Works and everyone will be asked to practice that month’s work of mercy. (We will publish those in advance of each month.) There will also be monthly “Mercy Actions” suggested for us to practice.

During Lent (2016) everyone is invited to make a Lenten E-Mail Retreat with daily reflections available from our parish website. Hopefully every one of us will be willing to make an effort to grow and practice mercy in this coming year and throughout our life. God is so merciful to us! We need to exercise it more perfectly in our own life!
Fr. Ralph