by Bishop Michael J. Sis
November 8, 2016

The Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy will conclude worldwide on the Solemnity of Christ the King on November 20, 2016.  On that day Pope Francis will close the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.  In all other dioceses around the world, including San Angelo, the Holy Doors will be closing on Sunday, November 13.

At the beginning of the Holy Year I designated four Holy Doors of Mercy in the Diocese of San Angelo:

• Sacred Heart Cathedral, San Angelo
• Outdoor Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Midland
• Eucharistic Chapel of Sacred Heart Parish, Abilene
• St. Mary Church, Odessa

Over the past year, thousands of people have made pilgrimages to these four special places and walked through these doors.  What does it mean spiritually to pass through a Holy Door?  When Saint John Paul II declared the last Jubilee Holy Year in 2000, he expressed it beautifully: “To focus on the door is to recall the responsibility of every believer to cross its threshold.  To pass through that door means to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord; it is to strengthen faith in him in order to live the new life which he has given us.” (Incarnationis Mysterium, 8)

Pope Francis asked that, in this Jubilee Holy Year 2016, we let the door be a symbol of Christ, who is the door to the Father and the door to the Kingdom of Heaven.  Jesus proclaims in the Gospel of John, “I am the door.  If anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture….  I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:9, 10b)

After November 13, 2016, the four Holy Doors in the Diocese of San Angelo will no longer bear that designation.  This means the time is short to take the opportunity to receive the special plenary indulgence associated with passing through a Holy Door during the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy.  A plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful who pass through a Holy Door during a Jubilee Year and fulfill the prescribed conditions for a plenary indulgence.

What are those conditions?  According to Church teaching, they are the following: (1) truly repenting of our sin and letting go of our attachment to sin; (2) sacramental Confession; (3) reception of the Eucharist; and (4) praying for the intentions of the Pope.  A member of the Church who has fulfilled those four conditions may acquire a plenary indulgence by carrying out any of the various particular actions which the Church has designated for plenary indulgences.

An indulgence can be obtained for oneself or for someone who is deceased, but it cannot be applied to other persons living on earth.  In order to gain an indulgence, one must be in the state of grace at least at the time the indulgenced action is completed.

While there are just a few more days to gain a plenary indulgence associated with passing through a Holy Door, there is no need to be anxious.  This is because plenary indulgences may be obtained at any time by carrying out the four conditions listed above and completing any of the holy actions through which the Church grants a plenary indulgence.  Some of the more common of these actions are the following:
 

• Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for at least one half hour
• The pious exercise of the Way of the Cross
• Praying the Rosary with others
• The devout reading or listening to the Sacred Scriptures for at least one half hour
• Spending at least three entire days in the spiritual exercises of a retreat

After the Jubilee Year of Mercy is over, don’t forget that we are all still called to be merciful.  Pope Francis wrote that, “Wherever there are Christians, everyone should find an oasis of mercy.”  (Misericordiae Vultus, 12)  This is true in any year.

The most basic way to be merciful is to practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.  The seven corporal works of mercy are these: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, heal the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead.  The seven spiritual works of mercy are these: counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish sinners, comfort the afflicted, forgive offenses, bear patiently those who do us ill, and pray for the living and the dead.  I encourage all believers to continue practicing these merciful actions often, no matter what year it is.

Where do we find mercy for ourselves after the Jubilee Year of Mercy is over?  The mercy of God is still available to us in many ways, for his mercy is everlasting.  We should pray the Our Father every day, and that prayer includes the words, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  That is a daily reminder both to open our hearts to receive mercy and to extend mercy to those around us.

Christ also gave us the profound experience of receiving mercy through the Sacrament of Penance.  We don’t have to wait until another Jubilee Year to go to Confession.  Our priests make this beautiful sacrament available to us so that we may be reconciled with God through the saving power of Jesus Christ on a regular basis. Going to Confession is an act of hope.  It is a reminder that we are works of art in progress, and God is the artist.  God is the sculptor, and we are the clay.  He works out the imperfections.  He molds us and shapes us lovingly.

Another way to experience God’s mercy after the closing of the Jubilee Year of Mercy is through the Jesus Prayer.  I recommend the regular use of the Jesus Prayer as a simple way to keep in touch with the mercy of God throughout our lives.  The typical formulation of the Jesus Prayer is this: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”  This has been a very popular prayer since the first few centuries of Christianity.  It is especially used in the spirituality of Eastern Orthodox Christians, but also among Catholics around the world.

The Jesus Prayer is often used as a tool for focusing our hearts in prayer.  The way it is typically practiced is very simple.  You relax and let go of distractions.  Lead your mind from your head to your heart.  Say the Jesus Prayer slowly and reverently, either mentally or quietly with your lips: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”  Repeat the prayer peacefully and patiently, with attention to God’s presence.  The Jesus Prayer keeps the name of Jesus in our heart and reminds us to admit that each one of us is in need of God’s mercy.

One of the most popular prayers of mercy among Roman Catholics is the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.  This chaplet is typically prayed on Rosary beads, but it can also be prayed without beads, using the fingers to count the prayers.  It can be prayed at any time, but many people pray it at 3:00 p.m. on Fridays, which is the Hour of Mercy.  The Divine Mercy Chaplet is based on the apparitions of Jesus to Saint Faustina Kowalska, the Polish religious sister who is known as  "the Apostle of Mercy."   The particular prayers of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy are easy to find in many places online, such as www.thedivinemercy.org

As we say goodbye to the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, we give thanks for so many graces poured out by God in this year.  We then look forward and commit ourselves to giving and receiving mercy all the days of our lives.

A visual image from West Texas can serve to illustrate where we go from here after the closing of the Year of Mercy:  You are a section in the pipeline of God’s mercy, with a valve at each end.  The abundant supply will never end.  The question is whether you will keep those valves open for inflow and outflow.  Will you keep yourself open to receiving the mercy of God, and will you continue to pass it on?