Pope Francis: charity, Confession are at heart of jubilee year

December 16, 2015

Pope Francis devoted his December 16 general audience to the extraordinary jubilee year of mercy.

“The Jubilee of Mercy was inaugurated this past week by the opening of the Holy Door, not only here in Rome but in dioceses worldwide, as a visible expression of our communion in the universal Church,” he said to the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square, according to the official English-language synthesis of his remarks.

“Fifty years ago, the Second Vatican Council reminded us that the Church is called to be, in Christ, the visible sign of God’s merciful love for the entire human family,” Pope Francis continued. “Each of us, by practicing charity, mercy and forgiveness, can be a sign of the power of God’s love to transform hearts and to bring reconciliation and peace.”

The Pope added:

By passing through the Door of Mercy during this Holy Year, we show our desire to enter more deeply into the mystery of Christ’s redemptive love. Jesus tells us that he himself is the door to eternal life (cf. Jn 10:9), and he asks us, through genuine conversion, to open the doors of our hearts to a more sincere love of God and neighbor.

A special sign of grace in this Jubilee of Mercy is the Sacrament of Penance, in which Christ invites us to acknowledge our sinfulness, to experience his mercy, and to receive the grace which can make us ever more effective signs of his reconciling love at work in our world.

 

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Further information:

• Pope Francis General Audience 2015.12.16 (YouTube Vatican)
• L’Udienza Generale, 16.12.2015 (Holy See Press Office)