Reflections for the Jubilee Year of Mercy

On Dec. 8, 2015, Pope Francis launched the Jubilee Year of Mercy, an effort to focus the mission of the church and of the faithful on mercy and forgiveness rather than on judgment. This is a call for both individuals and for the institution. Here are a couple of quotes on mercy, including one from Pope Francis.

Photo via Norbertine Community of Santa Maria de la Vid

Mercy is not a virtue that you choose to put on one day. Mercy has to be your deepest way of seeing, a generosity of spirit that draws from your identity, your deepest dignity, which is love. It is basically a worldview of abundance, wherein I do not have to withhold, protect, or hoard myself.   -Rev. Richard Rohr OFM

The mystery of divine mercy is revealed in the history of the covenant between God and his people Israel. God shows himself ever rich in mercy, ever ready to treat his people with deep tenderness and compassion, especially at those tragic moments when infidelity ruptures the bond of the covenant, which then needs to be ratified more firmly in justice and truth. Here is a true love story, in which God plays the role of the betrayed father and husband, while Israel plays the unfaithful child and bride. These domestic images – as in the case of Hosea (cf. Hos 1-2) – show to what extent God wishes to bind himself to his people.  -Pope Francis (from message for Lent, 2016)