Jubilee Year of Mercy

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 Catholic Schools Week:

Catholic Schools Week runs from Sunday 31st January to Saturday 6th February.  The theme for 2016 is ‘Catholic Schools: Challenged to Proclaim God’s Mercy’.

A special Mass broadcasted by RTÉ on Sunday 31 January to celebrate both Catholic Schools Week and the new Grow in Love religious education programme for primary schools.  Students from Mount Mercy College, Cork, as well as pupils from Saint Pius X primary school in Templeogue, Dublin, who participated in this special liturgy. This Mass was celebrated by Bishop Brendan Kelly, Bishop of Achonry and chair of the Bishops’ Council for Education.

Click to listen to the Mass broadcast from the RTÉ studios: www.rte.ie/radio1/mass/programmes/2016/0131/764255-mass-sunday-31-january-2016/?clipid=2088608#2088608

Some Resources Catholic Schools Week:

education.dublindiocese.ie/2015/12/21/catholic-schools-week-31st-january-6th-february-2016/

www.catholicbishops.ie/2016/01/05/resources-for-catholic-schools-week-2016/

 

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Creative Spirit Competition

For the Year of Mercy with the theme is Mercy in Action  For 4-7 years, 8-12 years, 13-15 years and 16-18 years Categories include; Photo, Collage, Video, Artwork, Song, Story or Poem displaying the idea of Mercy in Action. Encourage children’s liturgy groups, youth groups and schools in your parish to get involved, provide a few prizes, host a local exhibition of entries and do a bit of printing.  More details from: siobhan.tighe@dublindiocese.ie

Comp-Mercy-in-Action-poster-YOM-150x150

 

Jubilee Year Of Mercy –Some Prayers to say:

Once they have crossed through the Holy Door or Door of Mercy, or have fulfilled one of the other conditions under which Pope Francis has granted the Jubilee Indulgence (for example, for the sick, for the imprisoned, or for anyone who carries out in person a Corporal or Spiritual work of mercy), in addition to the usual conditions which require a heart well-disposed for the grace to bring its desired fruits, the faithful should stop in prayer to fulfil the final actions asked for: the profession of faith, and prayer for the Holy Father and his intentions. The latter should be at least an “Our Father” – the prayer in which Jesus himself taught us to turn as children to the Father – but it could possibly be more. In particular, taking into consideration the spirit of this Holy Year, it is suggested that pilgrims recite the lovely prayer of Pope Francis for the Jubilee, and that they conclude the time of prayer with an invocation to the merciful Lord Jesus (for example, “Merciful Jesus, I trust in You”).

Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica

 

Prayer of Pope Francis for the Jubilee

Lord Jesus Christ,

you have taught us to be merciful like the heavenly Father,

and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him.

Show us your face and we will be saved.

Your loving gaze freed Zacchaeus and Matthew from being enslaved by money;

the adulteress and Magdalene from seeking happiness only in created things;

made Peter weep after his betrayal,

and assured Paradise to the repentant thief.

Let us hear, as if addressed to each one of us, the words that you spoke to the Samaritan woman:

“If you knew the gift of God!”

 

You are the visible face of the invisible Father,

of the God who manifests his power above all by forgiveness and mercy:

let the Church be your visible face in the world, its Lord risen and glorified.

You willed that your ministers would also be clothed in weakness

in order that they may feel compassion for those in ignorance and error:

let everyone who approaches them feel sought after, loved, and forgiven by God.

 

Send your Spirit and consecrate every one of us with His anointing,

so that the Jubilee of Mercy may be a year of grace from the Lord,

and your Church, with renewed enthusiasm, may bring good news to the poor,

proclaim liberty to captives and the oppressed,

and restore sight to the blind.

 

We ask this of you, Lord Jesus, through the intercession of Mary, Mother of

Mercy; you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and

ever.

Amen.

 

Pope Francis -Message for the Jubilee of Mercy for Young Boys and Girls

“Merciful Like the Father”

Dear Young Friends,

The Church is celebrating the Holy Year of Mercy, a time of grace, peace, conversion and joy.  It is meant for everyone: people of every age, from far and near.  There are no walls or distances which can prevent the Father’s mercy from reaching and embracing us.  The Holy Door is now open in Rome and in all the dioceses of the world.

 

This grace-filled moment also concerns you, dear young people.  I encourage you to take an active part in this celebration and to realize that each of you is a child of God (cf. 1 Jn 3:1).  I would like to invite you, one by one, calling you by name, as Jesus does each day.  For you know that your names are written in heaven (Lk 10:20), in the heart of the Father, that Merciful Heart which is the source of all reconciliation and kindness.

 

The Jubilee is a year-long celebration, in which every moment becomes a chance for us to grow in holiness.  It is a time when we can discover that life together as brothers and sisters is like a great party, perhaps the most beautiful party we can imagine, the endless party that Jesus has taught us to celebrate by his Spirit.  The Jubilee is the party to which Jesus invites us all, without excluding anyone.  That is why I also wanted to have some days of prayer and celebration with you.  I am looking forward to seeing many of you in April.

 

“Merciful like the Father”.  This is the theme of the Jubilee, but it is also the prayer we make for all of you as we welcome you in the name of Jesus.  To be merciful means to grow in a love which is courageous, generous and real.  It means to grow physically and spiritually.  You are preparing to be Christians capable of making courageous choices and decisions, in order to build daily, even though little things, a world of peace.

 

Yours is a time of life which is full of amazing changes.  Everything seems possible and impossible all at once.  I repeat what I said to some of your friends: “Remain steadfast in the journey of faith, with firm hope in the Lord.  This is the secret of our journey!  He gives us the courage to swim against the tide.  Pay attention, my young friends: to go against the current; this is good for the heart, but we need courage to swim against the tide.  Jesus gives us this courage! … With him we can do great things; he will give us the joy of being his disciples, his witnesses.  Commit yourselves to great ideals, to the most important things.  We Christians were not chosen by the Lord for little things; push onwards toward the highest principles.  Stake your lives on noble ideals” (Homily at the Conferral of the Sacrament of Confirmation, 2013).

 

Here I cannot forget those of you who are living in situations of war, extreme poverty, daily troubles and loneliness.  Don’t ever lose hope!  The Lord has a great dream which, with your help, he wants to come true!  Your friends, young people your age living in less trying conditions than your own, have not forgotten you; they are working for peace and justice for everyone everywhere.  Don’t be taken in by the messages of hatred or terror all around us.  Instead, make new friends.  Give of your time and always show concern for those who ask your help.  Be brave and go against the tide; be friends of Jesus, who is the Prince of Peace (cf. Is 9:6).  “Everything in him speaks of mercy.  Nothing in him is devoid of compassion” (Misericordiae Vultus, 8).

 

I realize that not all of you can come to Rome, but the Jubilee is truly for everyone and it is also being celebrated in your local Churches.  You are all invited to this moment of joy.  Don’t just prepare your rucksacks and your banners, but your hearts and your minds as well.  Think carefully about the hope and desires you will hand over to Jesus in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and in the Eucharist which we will celebrate together.  As you walk through the Holy Door, remember that you are committing yourselves to grow in holiness and to draw nourishment from the Gospel and the Eucharist, the Word and the Bread of life, in order to help build a more just and fraternal world.

 

May the Lord bless your journey towards the Holy Door.  I pray that the Holy Spirit will guide your steps and enlighten you.  For you and your families, and for all who help you to grow in goodness and in grace, may the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of us all, be true Door of Mercy. From the Vatican, 6 January 2016, Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord

 

Hymn

 

Misericordes sicut Pater!                                [cf. Lk 6,36] [motto of the Jubilee]

 

  1. Give thanks to the Father, for He is good

in aeternum misericordia eius                                  [cf. Ps 135/6]

He created the world with wisdom

in aeternum misericordia eius

He leads His people throughout history

in aeternum misericordia eius

He pardons and welcomes His children                    [cf. Lk 15]

in aeternum misericordia eius

 

  1. Give thanks to the Son, Light of the Nations

in aeternum misericordia eius

He loved us with a heart of flesh                             [cf. Jn 15,12]

in aeternum misericordia eius

As we receive from Him, let us also give to Him

in aeternum misericordia eius

Hearts open to those who hunger and thirst                        [cf. Mt 25,31 ff.]

in aeternum misericordia eius

 

Misericordes sicut Pater!

Misericordes sicut Pater!

 

  1. Let us ask the Spirit for the seven holy gifts

in aeternum misericordia eius

Fount of all goodness and the sweetest relief

in aeternum misericordia eius

Comforted by Him, let us offer comfort                    [cf. Jn 15,26-­27]

in aeternum misericordia eius

Love hopes and bears all things                                        [cf. 1Cor 13,7]

in aeternum misericordia eius

 

  1. Let us ask for peace from the God of all peace

in aeternum misericordia eius

The earth waits for the Good News of the Kingdom                [cf. Mt 24,14]

in aeternum misericordia eius

Joy and pardon in the hearts of the little ones

in aeternum misericordia eius

The heavens and the earth will be renewed                        [cf. Ap 21,1]

in aeternum misericordia eius

 

Misericordes sicut Pater!

Misericordes sicut Pater!

 

Jubilee year of Mercy Resources

 

A series of 8 books promulgated by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, are the official catechetical resources for the Jubilee Year of Mercy (December 8, 2015 – November 20, 2016). Pope Francis will be speaking on these themes in his weekly catechesis throughout the year. “At times we are called to gaze even more attentively on mercy so that we may become a more effective sign of the Father’s action in our lives.” — Pope Francis – See www.osv.com/holydoor

 

Please also check out: http://www.im.va/content/gdm/en.html