The Easter Triduum: Jesus, the Face of the Father’s Mercy
March 18, 2016
As we have journeyed as a parish through Lent, we have heard and responded to Jesus’ message of mercy. On Ash Wednesday, we embraced the Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. At our sessions on Living with Limits, Living Well and Social Justice & Works of Charity: The Two Feet of Love in Action, we explored the implications of Christ’s message of mercy, his desire to heal our broken relationships with one another and with the earth, our common home.
Pope Francis gave his very first Angelus address three years ago this week, from the balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square. His comments on the Gospel proposed for our reflection this Sunday – the merciful encounter between Jesus and a woman accused of adultery – are especially appropriate for this Jubilee Year of Mercy.
This coming week, from Monday through Wednesday evening, Fr. Mike Shaw will be leading our parish mission, dedicated to the theme: Rich in Mercy: The Gift of Forgiveness. Fr. Mike is also preaching at all the Masses this weekend, to introduce the major themes of the retreat and to inspire our desire to participate in it as fully as we can. He will lead us on a journey to deeper understanding of these beautiful and complex realities: grace, mercy, repentance, forgiveness, salvation, and redemption.
During this Jubilee Year of Mercy – and in a special way, during this season of Lent – we are invited to ponder the deeper meaning of such words as “mercy”, “forgiveness”, “repentance” and “reconciliation”. For example, Pope Francis and Donald Trump have at least one thing in common: they are both sinners. But the similarities end there. Pope Francis knows that he is a sinner, one whom God has looked on with mercy: he asks for our prayers. Mr. Trump, on the other hand, tells us that he is not a bad person, and therefore “doesn’t have to ask for forgiveness.” As Pope Francis rightly pointed out, he seems much more intent on building walls of division than bridges to understanding. Who do you think is a more credible embodiment of Christian faith and mercy?
One of the ways in which we are invited to celebrate the Jubilee Year of Mercy is through the experience of pilgrimage. “The practice of pilgrimage has a special place in the Holy Year, because it represents the journey each of us makes in this life. Life itself is a pilgrimage, and we are all pilgrims travelling along the road, making our way to a desired destination. Similarly, to reach the Holy Door – in Rome, or in any other place in the world – everyone, each according to their ability, will have to make a pilgrimage.
St. Monica's Parish