The beginning of the Jubilee Year of Mercy has joyfully sunk into my average Catholic mind. Pope Francis declared the Jubilee Year of Mercy to start Dec. 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, and it will extend until Nov. 20, 2016, Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday of the liturgical year.
Watching Pope Francis opening the Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, to kick off this grace-filled moment in Church history, made me realize how blessed we Catholics are. To be able to receive the richness of the Father's mercy through Holy Mother Church this Jubilee Year is truly a very special grace.
However, in the next few lines, I want to talk about our other Mother: the Mother of Jesus, the Mother of the Church and the Mother of Mercy.
After he concluded Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and the opening of the Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica Dec. 8, Pope Francis made his way through the heart of the Eternal City to venerate a statue of the Immaculate Conception at the famous Piazza di Spagna.
"Gazing toward you, our Immaculate Mother, we recognize the victory of divine mercy over sin and over all its consequences," the pope said at the feet of Our Lady's statue. "May it reignite in us the hope of a better life, free from slavery, resentments and fear."
Intellectually, I quickly grasped the symbolism behind choosing the Immaculate Conception of Mary as the beginning of the Year of Mercy. Mary, by her Immaculate Conception, was the first person redeemed by Christ's Passion, death, Resurrection and Ascension into heaven. In anticipation of Christ's victory over sin and death, Mary from the very beginning was kept from any stain of original sin.
But mercy is a matter of the heart, I believe. Mary is not only the Mother of Mercy, she is the door that leads to the Heart of her Son Jesus, the Fountain of Infinite Mercy. Part of the pope's Jubilee Year of Mercy prayer reads, "(Lord Jesus Christ) You are the visible face of the invisible Father." Because of the intimate union of the two Hearts, Mary's Immaculate Heart is the perfect mirror of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the visible Heart of the invisible God Himself.
We know that Mary was 'full of grace' from the moment of her conception. Jesus says in the Gospels, "Much will be required of the person entrusted with much," (Lk. 12:48). For that reason, her Heart also shared to capacity the sufferings that Jesus endured during His life, especially during His Passion, when Our Lord preached His greatest sermon from the Cross. We read in the Gospels that Mary stood by the foot of the Cross while her Son was dying, a suffering that had been foretold by Simeon during the presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple, "(And you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed," (Lk 2:35).
We know in our hearts the need to receive God's mercy. And His mercy needs to be experienced in our hearts before we can extend it to "those who trespass against us."
Our Mother of Mercy is the quickest and safest way to get to the Heart of Jesus.
Let us pray that we will take advantage of this great Jubilee Year of Mercy and receive abundant mercy from the Father of Mercies in the coming months. At the same time, let's be missionaries of mercy to those around us. Let's take refuge in the Immaculate Heart of Mary this year, and ask Mary to lead us to her Son, and obtain for us His mercy and love.
Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope...
Rico De Silva is the Hispanic Communications Reporter for the Catholic News Herald.