December 8, 2015 - November 20, 2016

THE DIOCESE OF FARGOwww.fargodiocese.org/yearofmercy

“Merciful like the Father”

EXTRAORDINARY

Jubilee of Mercy

The Worksof

MercyIn one of the last parables He gave us before His Passion, Death and Resurrection, Jesus clearly says that we will be judged at the end of time on how we treat people in need.

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at his left.

Then the King will say to those at his right hand, “Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.”

Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?”

And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:31-40)

In his teaching on indulgences, Pope Francis points out that while our sins are truly forgiven by God in the sacrament of confession, they alter the way we think and act. Performing the Works of Mercy becomes a means of conversion, healing us of self-inflicted wounds of selfishness and self-centeredness. We become more like Christ, not simply because we do what He did, but because we do it with His same attitude and motivation, with His heart. This is the indulgence of the heavenly Father at work within us. In this way, we are not only forgiven of sins, but freed of their effects in our lives. We grow in the ability to love, rather than falling back into sinful behaviors and attitudes.

To highlight this truth, Pope Francis has included the Works of Mercy among the works which may be done to gain the Jubilee Indulgence (see brochure “Confession & Indulgences”). Doing a work of mercy flows from our own experience of God’s mercy for us and becomes an expression of our longing to turn away from sin, selfishness and self-centered behavior. This is nothing short of a desire to live the Gospel more authentically.

God the Father’sIndulgence

The Parable of theJudgment of Nations

An ancient mosaic showing

the parable of the sheep and

the goats

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The Works of Mercy

In her reflection on the teaching and deeds of Jesus, the Church names fourteen activities “Works of Mercy.” The list is divided into Corporal Works of Mercy and Spiritual Works of Mercy. There are certainly other ways mercy can be expressed, but these are highlighted by Pope Francis and give us a good starting point.

The Corporal Works of Mercy

• Feed the hungry• Give drink to the thirsty• Clothe the naked• Welcome the stranger• Visit the sick• Visit the imprisoned• Bury the dead

What Corporal Works of Mercy will you do?

When he introduced the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis said that this year will be a time to open our hearts to those living on the fringes of society. “How many are the wounds borne by the flesh of those who have no voice because their cry is muffled and drowned out by the indifference of the rich!” Misericordiae vultus 15. As members of the Body of Christ, we can be like Christ and heal the wounds of others: we are able to alleviate suffering with consolation, bind hurts with care and cure loneliness with solidarity and vigilance. The pope continued, “Let us not fall into humiliating indifference or a monotonous routine that prevents us from discovering what is new! Let us ward off destructive cynicism!”

The Jubilee of Mercy will be a time to reawaken our conscience and obey the call to mercy given to us by Jesus (see Luke 6:36). We may think that we already do this because we take care of loved ones in our family or at work. During this Year we are called not simply to act, but to consider how we reflect the attitude of Jesus when we give ourselves to others. Do we see Jesus in others? Do we hear their plea for help? Do we recognize their dignity and realize the love Jesus wants them to experience through us? We can support them with our presence, our friendship, and our fraternity. Pope Francis concluded, “May their cry become our own, and together may we break down the barriers of indifference that too often reign supreme and mask our hypocrisy and egoism!”

The Face of the Father’s Mercy

• Counsel the doubtful• Instruct the ignorant• Admonish sinners• Comfort the afflicted• Forgive offenses willingly• Bear wrongs patiently• Pray for the living and the dead

Organize aFood drive

Participate in a

diaper & baby

product drive for

new mothers

Organize a clothing drive for the poor or for refugees

During lent,

participate in

CRS project

Rice Bowl

Visit the

residents in a

nursing home

Visit someone

who is in the

hospital or who is

homebound

Volunteer at a soup kitchen

Volunteer to be a catechist

Offer a Jubilee Indulgence for a deceased person

Pray with someone struggling with their faith

Have Masses

offered for

deceased

members of

your family

Spend some time

each day praying

for the needs of

your family and of

people throughout

the world

Engage in a conversation with

people you may not

normally talk with,

especially someone

going through a difficult time

Tell someone in your

family or among

your friends, “I’m

sorry” and ask for

forgiveness and seek

reconciliation

Talk to your local prison

chaplain to see how

you can help with those

imprisoned, such as

writing letters, making

some craft item for them

or visiting them

The Spiritual Works of Mercy

What Spiritual Works of Mercy will you do?