World Youth Day USA Guides Retreat Manual | Page 36

Second Retreat Experience: Meeting Jesus, Who is Merciful
The theme for the 2016 World Youth Day is

In addition, consider the message of the Holy

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive

Father in anticipation of the thirty-first World

mercy” (Mt 5:7), and the theme for the 2015-

Youth Day, in which he outlines the specific

2016 Jubilee of Mercy is “Merciful like the

connection between mercy and WYD 2016:

Father” (Lk 6:36). Throughout the formation

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process for World Youth Day and within the

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Jubilee of Mercy, we turn to Jesus, who models

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the way for us to live as merciful disciples.

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The second formation experience on the
pilgrim journey will be encountering “Jesus,

During this retreat, people will have the

Who is Merciful.” Throughout His life, Jesus

opportunity to participate in the Sacrament of

was constantly showing mercy to all he

Reconciliation, and reflect on their own

encountered. Jesus is able to show mercy

experiences of receiving God’s mercy. For it is

because he, too, experienced the love of his

through our experience of receiving Jesus’

merciful Father – but even more, Jesus, the

mercy that we are strengthened in our

divine Son, is the face of the Father’s mercy; he

understanding and experience of the Lord’s

is the Father’s mercy. In this retreat, we will

love for us. Mercy given to us by God prepares

take a look at what “mercy” means in the Old

us to share his loving kindness and mercy with

Testament and the New Testament. This retreat

others. As the day closes, retreatants are

will look closely at how Jesus relieves others’

invited to reflect on their call to show mercy to

suffering and how Jesus relieves our own

others, while drawing on the strength of Jesus’

suffering. This retreat will explore how all

example of living a life of mercy. A suggested

people and all pilgrims are never abandoned,

outline for this retreat experience, with

and are never alone. God always seeks to

anticipated timeframes for each section, may

welcome everyo