Jesus, King of MERCY

Be Merciful, rediscover and experience the Mercy of God the Father

Jubilee Year of Mercy

December 8, 2015 � November 20, 2016

�We constantly need to contemplate the mystery of mercy. 

It is a wellspring of joy, serenity, and peace. 

 Our salvation depends on it.�

~ Pope Francis ~

The beginning of the extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy was solemnly marked by the opening of a Holy Door by the Pope in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on 8 December 2015. All other Roman Catholic Churches in Dioceses around the world will open their own Doors of Mercy in communion with the Church of Rome. A door in everyday life has several functions, all repeated by the symbol of the Holy Door:

• it marks the separation between inside and outside, between sin and the order of grace (Mi 7:18-19);
• it permits entry to a new place, in showing mercy and not condemnation (Mt 9:13);
• it provides protection, it provides salvation (Jn 10:7).

Jesus said: �I am the gate� (Jn 10:7). There is only one way that opens wide the entrance into the life of communion with God: this is Jesus, the one and absolute way to salvation. To him alone can the words of the Psalmist be applied in full truth: �This is the Lord�s own gate: where the just may enter� (Ps 117:20).

The Holy Door reminds the faithful of their responsibility when crossing the threshold:

• It is a decision which implies the freedom to choose, and at the same time the courage to abandon something, to leave something behind (cf. Mt 13, 44-46)
• Passing through this door means professing that Jesus Christ is Lord, in strengthening our faith in Him to embrace the new life He has given us. This is what Pope John Paul II had announced to the world on the day of his election: �Open wide the doors to Christ�.

The Church has received the mission of showing all people this loving face of God, manifested in Jesus Christ. Pope Francis has commissioned on Catholics around the world as individuals and as a Church �to be a witness of mercy� by reflecting on and practising the spiritual and corporal works of mercy during the year-long extraordinary Jubilee year of Mercy. By being merciful in acts of love, kindness and generosity, we will discover God and experience His mercy. It is a time for forgiveness and reconciliation. Faced with God's mercy, the challenge is not in the difficulty, but in the fact of freely making an act by which we mark our detachment from sin and our desire to be with God. To each one of us, Our Lord Jesus reveals the over-abundance of God�s love, not only does God love me but he wants to find my lost dignity. God does not condemn me in my wrongdoings nor ostracise me in what I have suffered. It is now time for each of us to be merciful towards others, to help them get up, it�s now their turn to get back on their feet.

Indulgence

To obtain the indulgence, one must be in a state of grace and have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin. One must receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, receive Holy Communion, pray for the intentions of the Holy Father and pass through the Door of Mercy. The prayer for the intentions of the Pope is left to the choice of the faithful, but an �Our Father� or a �Hail Mary� are suggested.

It is recommended, but not necessary, that these rites be completed on the same day: they may also be carried out over several days.

In addition, the faithful must perform one of the following works,

Works of Piety: for instance, a pilgrimage to a sanctuary, or again an act of piety (Way of the Cross, Rosary, Eucharistic adoration, etc.),

Works of Mercy: for instance, visit brothers and sisters who are in need or are in difficulty (the sick, the imprisoned, elderly people living alone, disabled people, etc.), as if making a pilgrimage to Christ present in them, or support, by a significant contribution, works of a religious or social nature (for the benefit of abandoned children, young people in trouble, the elderly in need, foreigners in various countries seeking better living conditions).

Acts of penance: for example, for at least one whole day, abstain from unnecessary consumption (smoking, alcohol, etc.), or fast and donate a proportionate sum of money to the poor.

One can receive an indulgence for oneself or the faithful departed, but not for another living person: it is up to that person to do what is necessary to free himself or herself from sin. Neither God nor anyone else can be a substitute for one�s own free will. To do something to obtain an indulgence is not a calculated act, but ultimately an act of trust in the absolute Mercy of God.

�In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God forgives our sins, which he truly blots out; and yet sin leaves a negative effect on the way we think and act. But the mercy of God is stronger even than this. It becomes indulgence on the part of the Father who, through the Bride of Christ, his Church, reaches the pardoned sinner and frees him from every residue left by the consequences of sin, enabling him to act with charity, to grow in love rather than to fall back into sin�.

Official hymn for the Jubilee of Mercy

Pope Francis' Jubilee explained

Penang Diocese Year of Mercy Message in English

By Rt Rev Bishop Sebastian Francis, Bishop of Penang Diocese

Penang Diocese Year of Mercy Message in Tamil

By Rt Rev Bishop Sebastian Francis, Bishop of Penang Diocese

Penang Diocese Year of Mercy Message in Bahasa Malaysia

By Rt Rev Bishop Sebastian Francis, Bishop of Penang Diocese

Penang Diocese Year of Mercy Message in Mandarin

By Rt Rev Bishop Sebastian Francis, Bishop of Penang Diocese

Official link to Vatican Jubilee of Mercy site

God Of Mercy and Compassion

God of mercy and compassion, look with pity upon me
Father let me call Thee Father 'tis this child returns to Thee

Jesus Lord, I ask for mercy, let me not implore in vain
All my sins I now detest them, never will I sin again.

By my sins I have deserved death, and endless misery
Hell with all its pains and torments, for all eternity.

Jesus Lord, I ask for mercy, let me not implore in vain
All my sins I now detest them, never will I sin again.

By my sins I have abandoned, right and claim to Heaven above
Where the Saints rejoice for ever, in a boundless sea of love.

Jesus Lord, I ask for mercy, let me not implore in vain
All my sins I now detest them, never will I sin again.

See our Savior bleeding, dying, on the cross of Calvary
To that cross my sins have nailed Him, yet He bleeds and dies for me.

Jesus Lord, I ask for mercy, let me not implore in vain
All my sins I now detest them, never will I sin again.

Infant JESUS, I Trust in Thee, have Mercy on a sinner like me and Grant me Thy Miraculous Favour

Dear Sweet Divine Infant Jesus, I pray for a miraculous favour from You that to heal me from my financial woes. I trust and believe that by You miraculous words, I will be healed from my financial adversities soon, I need Your miraculous help urgently. O Jesus, Who has said, "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened," through the intercession of Mary, Your Most Holy Mother, I knock, I seek, I ask that my prayer be granted. Therefore, Infant Jesus, I am not asking to be rich but to be able to attain the amount sufficient to get through these pressing times, to be able to change myself and lead a normal debt free moderate life. 

Infant JESUS, I TRUST in You. AMEN

Dear Sweet Divine Infant Jesus, I pray for a miraculous favour from You that to heal me from my financial woes. I trust and believe that by You miraculous words, I will be healed from my financial adversities soon, I need Your miraculous help urgently. O Jesus, Who has said, "All that you ask of the Father in My Name, He will grant you," through the intercession of Mary Your Most Holy Mother, I humbly and urgently ask your Father in your name that my prayer will be granted. Therefore Infant Jesus, I am not asking to be rich but to be able to attain the amount sufficient to get through these pressing times, to be able to change myself and lead a normal debt free moderate life.

Infant JESUS, I TRUST in You. AMEN

Dear Sweet Divine Infant Jesus, I pray for a miraculous favour from You that to heal me from my financial woes. I trust and believe that by You miraculous words, I will be healed from my financial adversities soon, I need Your miraculous help urgently. O Jesus, Who has said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away but My word shall not pass away," through the intercession of Mary Your Most Holy Mother, I feel confident that my prayer will be granted. Therefore I am not asking to be rich but to be able to attain the amount sufficient to get through these pressing times, to be able to change myself and lead a normal debt free moderate life.

Infant JESUS, I TRUST in You. AMEN

Our Father, Who art in heaven

Hallowed be Thy Name;

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil. 

Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou amongst women,

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour of our death. 

Amen.

Glory be to the Father,

and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning,

is now, and ever shall be,

world without end. 

Amen.

Sweet Divine Infant Jesus, I pray for a miraculous favour, have mercy and grant it to me, today!

Dear Sweet Divine Infant Jesus, I pray for a miraculous favour from You that to heal me from my financial woes. I trust and believe that by You miraculous words, I will be healed from my financial adversities soon as I need help urgently. O Jesus, Who has said, "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened," through the intercession of Mary, Your Most Holy Mother, I knock, I seek, I ask that my prayer be granted. Therefore I am not asking to be rich but to be able the amount sufficient to get through these pressing times, to be able to change myself and lead a normal debt free moderate life. 

Infant JESUS, I TRUST in You. AMEN

Dear Sweet Divine Infant Jesus, I pray for a miraculous favour from You that to heal me from my financial woes. I trust and believe that by You miraculous words, I will be healed from my financial adversities soon as I need help urgently. O Jesus, Who has said, "All that you ask of the Father in My Name, He will grant you," through the intercession of Mary Your Most Holy Mother, I humbly and urgently ask your Father in your name that my prayer will be granted. Therefore I am not asking to be rich but to be able the amount sufficient to get through these pressing times, to be able to change myself and lead a normal debt free moderate life.

Infant JESUS, I TRUST in You. AMEN

Dear Sweet Divine Infant Jesus, I pray for a miraculous favour from You that to heal me from my financial woes. I trust and believe that by You miraculous words, I will be healed from my financial adversities soon as I need help urgently. O Jesus, Who has said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away but My word shall not pass away," through the intercession of Mary Your Most Holy Mother, I feel confident that my prayer will be granted. Therefore I am not asking to be rich but to be able the amount sufficient to get through these pressing times, to be able to change myself and lead a normal debt free moderate life.

Infant JESUS, I TRUST in You. AMEN

Our Father, Who art in heaven

Hallowed be Thy Name;

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil. 

Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou amongst women,

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour of our death. 

Amen.

Glory be to the Father,

and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning,

is now, and ever shall be,

world without end. 

Amen.

JESUS shine Your Mercy towards the young and lost generation

Dear Jesus, I call out to Your Mercy
for the lost generation of young souls. 

For those who do not know You, 

cover them with the Gift of sight. 

For those who do know You, 

but who ignore You, 

draw them back into Your Mercy.

Please give them the proof of Your Existence soon 

and guide them towards those who can help them 

and guide them towards the Truth. 

Fill their minds and souls with the longing for You.

Help them to recognise the emptiness, 

which exists in them because they do not feel Your Presence. 

I beg You, dear Lord, 

not to forsake them 

and in Your Mercy grant them Eternal Life. 

Amen.

Mercy triumphs over judgment

"Mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13)

God of mercy and compassion, how blessed we are to be redeemed by your love. We failed you by our sinfulness and we failed you all the more by refusing to see your mercy that was ever reaching out to receive us. Today O God, we place into your hands, our lives, our failures and our endeavours to be right before you. Cover us in your love. Hold us close to your heart and bind our wounds of unfaithfulness and loneliness. As your love flows into our heart we commit ourselves to live this mercy, to bless those who broke and to bow down before those who trample us. For we know O God then shall your mission of defeating evil and saving this world shall be accomplished. Jesus, we trust in you. Amen.

by Rev. Fr. Augustine Vallooran VC

Divine Retreat Centre

Muringoor