The Jubilee Year of Mercy
Before this Jubilee Year of Mercy passes, and in the light of Pope Francis’ beautiful exhortation on marriage and family entitled “The Joy of Love”, I would like to reflect with you on the extravagant love of God, especially as revealed in the person and the parables of Jesus Christ, whose passion and death are his clearest witness to this extravagant love and a mirror of the love his father has for each of us.
Jesus healed the leper, opened the eyes of the blind, and forgave the sins of the woman who wept at his feet. In these acts of mercy, he asked little in return. This love is further illuminated in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, one of three stories recorded in Luke’s Gospel, Chapter 15, all three of which were presented to the Scribes and Pharisees, who complained that Jesus spoke and ate with tax collectors and sinners.
The first is that of a shepherd who leaves 99 sheep in the desert, to go in search for the one lost. Although, a highly improbable story, it was intended by Jesus to reveal the extravagant love of God for the sinner. No shepherd in his right mind would risk losing 99 sheep to look for the one lost. But God does, and he not only rejoices, but calls his friends to rejoice and to show them how, and to what extent, he was willing to risk the entire flock, just to find one.
The second is similar, about a woman who had 10 coins and having lost one, swept her entire house just to find it. When she did, she invited her friends to come and celebrate.
The third parable is much more extravagant, called the “Story of the Prodigal Son”, but it is more the story of an extravagant father and his love for two sons who “just don’t get it”! The “Prodigal” returns home only because he is hungry and out of money. He did not understand his father’s great love for him.
The older son cannot rejoice that his brother is back alive. He does not know his father’s love. He calls his brother “your son” and he cannot understand how his father could love both sons. The father pleads “you are with me always, and all that I have is yours”, but this does not convince him. Although he is obedient to the commands of the father, it is not out of love, but out of servitude.
Jesus told these three parables to describe God, the extravagant and merciful Father, able to embrace the sinner (the Prodigal) and the righteous man (Scribes and Pharisees). Like the Scribes and Pharisees, the righteous son was doing everything to please his father, but did not understand his father’s love. Although the Prodigal demanded his share of the estate even before the father died, a clear insult to the father, the father still gives, and hopes for his return.
Jesus is trying to tell us something. God suffers the bad behavior of people, the Prodigal and the Self Righteous alike. He pleads with the Self-Righteous to come to the feast, and at the same time he hopes the Prodigal will make a full repentance.
In the parable Jesus never lets us know if the Self-Righteous son ever came to the banquet, nor does he tell us if the Prodigal ever completely repented so as to love the father for more than just what he could get out of him. Nonetheless, we do know this, Jesus described God as having an extravagant love for sinner and righteous alike, even when neither truly deserve it!
“The Joy of Love”
This brings us to the wonderful work of Pope Francis on marriage and family. Jesus healed, taught, and forgave sins as a witness to God’s great love, and it is this love that impels Pope Francis’ “The Joy of Love” (Amoris Laetitia).
After two Synods, in which he listened to Church Fathers, experts, and married couples from throughout the world, Pope Francis, in the person of Saint Peter, who was asked by Christ to “confirm his brothers”, wrote a 256 page exhortation calling us all to a greater fidelity to Church teaching on marriage and family. At the same time he urged us to better our witness to the extravagant and merciful love the father has for each of us, whether or not we have been faithful to all that the Gospel demands of us.
The Holy Father begins his exhortation by reflecting on the glorious attributes of love as found in Saint Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 13:4-7), read often at marriage ceremonies, which provides an eloquent invitation to find joy in the daily lives of married people.
“The Joy of Love” is meant for those who have, with God’s grace, lived an upright and chaste life, honoring marriage and family, and it is a profound invitation to safeguard and nurture this love. It is also written to those who have not been so fortunate! In fact, the exhortation is written as Jesus himself would have written, with one eye on those who are doing well, to encourage them to deepen their love for their spouse and family and to accompany, without self-righteousness, all those in need, and the other eye on those who struggle and have not yet fully realized the joy of love in marriage and family. It is thus an invitation to all of us to find greater joy in marriage and family.
Pope Francis urges us to:
Assist our engaged and newly married couples to enhance their transition from single to married life through a strong, effective and relevant marriage preparation program.
Encourage those couples and families who are living in God’s grace, and are cornerstones of our Church, to share their experience with newly married couples.
Support and nurture newly married couples and families in establishing spirituality in their home lives while assisting them in developing strong and responsible parenting skills.
Be mindful of the role of the Church in preparing young families to receive the Mysteries through strong and effective Religious Education programs.
Support families through life crises, including illness, loss of a child, spouse, parent or sibling, financial loss, addictions, mental health challenges, or domestic violence.
Discern the best course of assistance and counseling to assist individuals and families to resolve serious issues.
Foster an environment of forgiveness and mercy where spouses and families can feel the loving embrace, warmth and support of their Church, to rekindle their love for God and each other, and fully participate in the Mysteries.
The exhortation is also meant for those who have been “wounded” by “imperfect love” as Pope Francis describes, so that they may regain their strength, turn to God and the Church, and be welcomed back with love and mercy.
Although the Holy Father does not ask the Church to change or compromise her teaching or sacramental practice with regards to the sacred nature of marriage, he does ask us to assist others in any way we can. He urges us to reach out to those who are in irregular unions, for example, those who may be living together without marriage, or are divorced and re-married and who want to seek the Church’s help. Pope Francis clearly reminds us that “they remain part of the ecclesial community” (The Joy of Love n 243).
Again Pope Francis gives us some practical advice:
Help those who are in need of healing after divorce to come to Church; and if possible to seek an annulment.
Invite them to attend and receive a blessing at communion time until their marital situation can be regularized.
Encourage all who feel estranged from God to return to Church, without being judged.
Accompany others as Pope Francis urges: “What we are speaking of is a process of accompaniment and discernment, which guides the faithful to an awareness of their situation before God” (The Joy of Love n 300).
There are other ways that we in our parishes can assist:
Make marriage better, stronger and happier by fostering retreats for couples and individuals that help deepen marriage and family commitments.
Work with youth and young adults to mature in charity and grace, as well as in chastity in preparation for marriage.
Appreciate single people who are often generous with their time and love. The parish needs them. They serve as catechists, helpers with youth and young adults, and in a variety of other ways. We ought to appreciate the way they live their single life, with love and generosity; their way of life and their experience of friendship, especially overcoming loneliness, as well as their personal devotion to God and others, are gifts to the Church.
Accompany those in our parishes who feel same-sex attraction, and welcome them with love. What is said above for the single person can also be said for many of them who sincerely want to be engaged in the life of Church and have gifts to offer. We can encourage them to live as best as they can the Gospel’s invitation, to which all people are called, that is, to the joy of loving and chaste relationships that enrich their lives and give them much holiness, spirituality and peace.
Appreciate the life and gifts of consecrated men and women, who pour their lives into the life of the Church, and who witness to the evangelical virtues of chastity, poverty and obedience. The Church needs their witness and finds joy in their service.
Never forget our elders. Their wise and patient guidance are a blessing and have so much to offer all of us.
Life-Giving Repentance
What then does our Holy Father asks of us? He asks most that we work on ourselves, not to be the half-repentant son, who loves the father only for what he will do for us, nor the self-righteous son, who though obedient to all the father’s commands, does not truly know or appreciate that the Father can love both saint and sinner alike, and even rejoice at the repentance of a sinner, even if half-hearted. He asks for us to willingly and eagerly embrace a “life-giving repentance” (Acts 11:18).
Our world is troubled. We are still reeling from the sexual revolution of the 1960’s, which has left a wasteland of wounded hearts and much confusion. Abortion, pornography, human trafficking, various addictions, broken families, depression, and the inability to commit ourselves to another person are just some of the illnesses we face today. This reminds us of the prophetic warning of Pope Paul VI in 1968, when he wrote of his real concern about the rising and promotion of artificial contraception. It may sound “old fashioned” today, but there is much truth here. He wrote:
“Responsible men can become more deeply convinced of the truth of the doctrine laid down by the Church on this issue if they reflect on the consequences of methods and plans for artificial birth control. Let them first consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards. Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings—and especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation—need incentives to keep the moral law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law. Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection” Humanae Vitae.
Thus, with a great challenge before us to heal, forgive and restore, and particularly during this Jubilee Year of Mercy let us heed the call of our Holy Father to practice more and safeguard more the joy of love in marriage and family. What helps us do this? We can begin in the confessional, to participate in the Mystery of Penance, examine our conscience, acknowledge our shortcomings, accept the spiritual guidance of our confessor, and resolve to do better through the grace of forgiveness and absolution. This is truly life-giving repentance. Let us remember that Christ is as present to us in the Mystery of Penance as he is in the Eucharist, and is ever ready to restore us to the state of grace, if we are ready to accept his forgiveness and love.
Brothers and sisters, just as our Lord’s passion and death bear witness to the extent he would go for us, so does his parable of the “Prodigal Son”. He stands waiting and hopeful for our return home, as a kind and loving Father, and continually urges us to come home to his banquet, even though we may be only partially-repentant. Perhaps we are more like the Self-Righteous Son, condemning others for their sins and faults and not attentive to our own. In this case we must ask for forgiveness and accept the extravagant love that makes us more open to God’s mercy and love for ourselves and others.
“The Joy of Love” calls us to embody this love in our family, our marriage, our friendships, and our parish, and, in fact, in every aspect of our lifestyle. With God’s grace we can recognize, foster and enhance the joy of this love and know that God loves us, and even runs to forgive us. The Father urges us to come home, even half-repentant or self-righteous.
Marriage and family are precious gifts, and as the Pope says, the ordinary means for us to reach God. They are also realities close to the heart of God, and are, in fact, of the divine origin, as he reminds us.
Nonetheless, there is no perfect marriage, no perfect spouse, no perfect family and no perfect person. We are, nonetheless, called by Pope Francis, and by Jesus himself, to a life-giving repentance, so that we may take our assigned place of duty in the “Field Hospital”, as Pope Francis describes in the Church.
Let us then redouble our efforts to strengthen marriage, and to honor the joy of love in families. Let us, as a community, reach out to those who are either self-righteous or partially repentant and invite them all to come home. Let us each repent, as best as we can, from our own personal failures, as well as our failure to love others as extravagantly as God has first loved us! This is the Jubilee Year. This is the appointed time. This is the time for mercy.
Mary, Mother of Mercy, pray for us.
+ Gregory