The Year of Mercy opened in the diocese of Annecy during the celebration of December 13 at the Basilica of the Visitation in Annecy.
http://www.diocese-annecy.fr/actualites/ouverture-des-portes
Here is the homily of Bishop Yves Boivineau on this occasion.(translated by a Visitandine to English from French)
” Do not be afraid ! Open wide the doors to Christ! “.
It was with this appeal that John Paul II opened his pontificate. “The joy of the Gospel fills the heart and all the lives of those who encounter Jesus. They that are saved by him are freed from sin, sorrow, of inner emptiness, isolation. With Jesus Christ joy is born and reborn always, “insistently reiterated Pope Francis.
We open the door of Mercy in the third Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of joy. We just heard the prophet Zephaniah: “Fear not … The Lord your God is in you … He will have in you his joy and gladness, he will renew you in his love … “. The Apostle Paul is not forgotten: “Always be joyful in the Lord, I repeat rejoice. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything … “.
“May the Holy Year be for all believers a true moment of encounter with God’s mercy”: this is the wish of the Pope, to discover the depth of the mercy of the Father who welcomes us and is going to meet each one personally. “Let us leave, he said, any form of fear , because it is not fitting for one who is loved.” “Mercy is a source of joy, serenity and peace.”
We are fragile beings in a fragile world. There is anxiety, confusion, and we can get caught up in this whirlwind, by constantly fingering everything that goes wrong. We then feed it gloom and despondency. This year’s mercy is perhaps timely. Not to minimize the facts, not to deny justice, – mercy is not contrary to the Justice- but to confront evil in God’s way. We must strengthen the conviction that mercy can really contribute to building a more humane world. “And the people were waiting”, said the gospel . Maybe it’s that expectation that we must perceive and welcome?
“How I wish that the coming years are as steeped in mercy to meet everyone by offering him mercy and tenderness of God! “Pope Francis said again. “Mercy is not a sign of weakness, but rather the expression of the omnipotence of God.” The omnipotence of love that goes to the end. “In this era of profound changes, the Church is called to offer its unique contribution in rendering visible the signs of the presence and proximity of God. … The Jubilee is a favorable time for all of us, so that in contemplating the divine mercy, we can become more confident and more effective witnesses “(Homily 8 December)
Crossing the Door of Mercy during this year, we are “embraced” by the mercy of God. We are so much in need of mercy. May we make concrete the experience of God’s love that comforts, forgives and gives hope. Be open to the goodness and tenderness of God: “do not put limits on God’s love”! “God never tires of forgivivg us, never! We get tired of asking forgiveness! “God never tires of loving us.
The word “mercy” comes from two words from Latin. Mercy is the sense in which the misery of others touches our heart. Merciful God is the Father who has heart and who is touched, moved to the bowels, by our misery, our fragility, our sin. We are invited to let ourselves be surprised by God who “never gets tired of opening the door of his heart to repeat that He loves us and wants to share his life with us.” Do not be not afraid to appear before the Lord with our misery, our misery, our suffering, our pain.
Let us not forget what was said by St. Francis de Sales, as we are at home here, “The more we are miserable, the more we must trust in the goodness and mercy of God.” We experience confusion, “when we have the knowledge and the feeling of our misery and our imperfection, but do not stop there, do not drop into despair … (God) never changes and remains always so gentle and merciful when we are weak and imperfect, when we are strong and perfect. I used to say that the throne of God’s mercy is our misery, so we must, especially as our misery will be larger, have more confidence … “(Conference2)
” What do we have to do ? “Asked the disciples of John the Baptist. Jean-Baptiste’s response is still valid, and joins the works of mercy: “He who has two garments, which he shares with one that does not; and he who has food, let him do the same …. Do violence to no one, do not accuse someone wrongly … “. We have a whole year like a long pilgrimage to find out how the Father is merciful, to live mercy, to become ourselves merciful as the Father.
The days that prepare us for Christmas is an appropriate time to take the path. The celebration of the Jubilee of mercy seeks to put again at the center of our personal lives and our communities the specificity of the Christian faith, that Jesus Christ, is the merciful God: “Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy. ” Jesus shows us the Father and gives us all that He is. Jesus is the door: “No one can come to the Father except through me.”
Open all our doors to Christ!
Open the door of your heart. You are loved, infinitely loved.