Year of Mercy begins

By Matthew Biddle

Archbishop Christopher Prowse has encouraged Catholics to discover practical ways of showing God’s mercy to others during the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, which commenced today.

Archbishop Christopher Prowse spoke about the importance of finding practical ways of showing mercy in the Jubilee Year. PHOTO: MATTHEW BIDDLE

During Mass at St Christopher’s Cathedral to mark the start of the Year of Mercy and the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the Archbishop prayed that the months ahead would be a time of experiencing the “merciful, loving kindness of the Lord”.

“If there is one part of Pope Francis’ instruction on the Year of Mercy that is mostly highly stressed, it is the expressions of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy,” he said.

“He talks of a fervent fire in his hear that over the next 12 months the Catholic Christian community will be able to take these gifts more fully given by the Lord and express them to those on the peripheries.

“Let’s pray for the Archdiocese in union with the Church universal, that… we might all focus deeply in our heart on God’s merciful love for us and to find practical ways that we can express God’s mercy to those in the world in which we live in.”

The cathedral’s Holy Door for the Year of Mercy will be officially opened and blessed during the 11am Mass on Sunday, December 13.