THE
P RTAL
December 2016
Page 9
The Holy Doors close
Fr Julian Green meditates of the Year of Mercy
Well, there
we are. All the holy doors to the many designated churches
around the world have been closed, and the Holy Father has sealed the great Porta
Sancta of St Peter’s Basilica. The Holy Jubilee Year of Mercy has reached its conclusion.
Without a doubt, many worthy initiatives have been
carried through. Others may have been begun, but
fizzled out during the year. We could all ask ourselves:
has this year made me more aware of my sins, and the
need to be reconciled?
the corporal or spiritual works of mercy, if not both,
and every one of them recognised their own need
for repentance, relying on the mercy of God for all
that was good in them. Yes. All of these beautiful and
wonderful things I have become more aware of.
Have I been more engaged in praying for the souls of
poor sinners who stray, and worked to bring them to
experience the mercy of God? Have I reached out more
fully to others who are in need, to show the corporal
works of mercy in action? Is my life now more akin
to that of the saints who exemplify not only the life of
penance, but also the spiritual and corporal works of
mercy? If you are like me, no doubt you are hanging
your head, at least a little, in shame.
The problem with each of these ‘theme’ years is
that we expect so much from them. We expect that
they will change everything. But the invitation to go
to Confession more regularly and better prepared,
the impetus to reach out our own hands and arms as
instruments of mercy to others…
In terms of bringing new awareness of a beautiful
and ancient truth, this Year has certainly helped me.
It has reminded me of the beauty of the spirituality to
which I was exposed during my priestly training in
Spain, centred on the Heart of Jesus.
Conversion is the decisive moment, which none
of us can do without. It is the movement of the Holy
Spirit in us, making us cling to Christ and readjust
every dimension of our life to conform to his presence
within, that brings mercy to reality. There can be no
‘cheap grace’, in the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer,
here. Otherwise ‘mercy’ is only received as a cheap
absolution which costs us little.
These things do not come about because we have
had a few beautiful theme homilies, nor because of
the lovely displays illustrating the works of mercy,
We begin these Jubilee years, Holy years, years with both spiritual and corporal, nor even because we have
a particular dedication or pastoral concern, with passed, in an almost Medieval measure of superstition,
great zeal. But how far do they really go in bringing through more Holy Doors than you can shake a stick
the Church to renewal? Certainly, the desire of Pope at. God’s mercy only comes to be a living motive for
Francis, to draw us to the very source of renewal, Christian life when there has been that first and decisive
found in the merciful love of God, is a great aspiration. encounter with Christ which changes our lives.
In celebrating the liturgy each day, the word
Misericordia has struck me, not only in terms of the
beauty with which the psalms laud the mercy of God,
The mercy of God is such a treasure that, far from
but also in the ubiquity of the word, found on almost
allowing us to go on sinning, continuing along our path
every page of the breviary.
of mediocrity through life, changes us so completely
In the round of the celebrations of the saints that nothing remains the same. And this conversion
throughout the year, virtually every one of them can happen at any moment, and even every moment,
has revealed themselves to be a paragon either of whether we are in a Jubilee Year or not.
Syro-Malabar Church ... continued from page 6
colour – servers in pink albs, silken umbrellas with
strips of silver that jingle at solemn or joyous moments.
A second impression is the vigour of the music.
Ancient hymns in Syriac, translated into Malayalam
or Engli