VATICAN CORNER

continued … Actually the first Holy Door opened by Pope Francis was the simple wooden one to the cathedral in Bangui in the war-ravaged Central African Republic where he was visi ng last November 2015, just before the start of the Year of Mercy. A list of Holy Door loca ons throughout the world has been published by the Council for the Promo on of the New Evangeliza on. Pope Francis has entrusted the Council with the organiza on of the Jubilee of Mercy and the Jubilee’s website is at www.im.va. The Council has promoted the idea throughout the world to open churches for an extended period of  me for the purpose of invi ng people to the celebra on of the Sacrament of Reconcilia  on. Pope Francis has said the Jubilee of Mercy will be a “good opportunity for increasing the collabora on between pastors and the laity in the mission of affec onately and tenderly caring for the sick and dying.” He also said the Jubilee of Mercy urges people to be close to those who are suffering “so they can feel the warmth of our presence, our friendship and our fraternity.” Pope Francis has composed a special prayer for the Jubilee Year of Mercy and it is as follows: Lord Jesus Christ, you have taught us to be merciful like the heavenly Father, and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him. Show us your face and we will be saved. Your loving gaze freed Zacchaeus and Ma$hew from being enslaved by money; the adulteress and Magdalene from seeking happiness only in created things; made Peter weep a%er his betrayal, and assured Paradise to the repentant thief. Let us hear, as if addressed to each one of us, the words that you spoke to the Samaritan woman: “If you knew the gi% of God!” You are the visible face of the invisible Father, of the God who manifests his power above all by forgiveness and mercy: let the Church be your visible face in the world, its Lord risen and glorified. You willed that your ministers would also be clothed in weakness in order that they may feel compassion for those in ignorance and error: let everyone who approaches them feel sought a%er, loved, and forgiven by God. Send your Spirit and consecrate every one of us with its anoin ng, so that the Jubilee of Mercy may be a year of grace from the Lord, and your Church, with renewed enthusiasm, may bring good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to cap ves and the oppressed, and restore sight to the blind. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Mercy, you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen. To be con nued …

Sources: CNN.com, telegraph.co.uk, va can radio Catholicnewsagency.com, cnsblog.wordpress.com, religionnews.com