Cathal BarryBishop Donal McKeown has warned parishioners not to “sub-contract” acts of compassion to charities during the Year of Mercy.
Noting that the holy year was “a call to all followers of Christ to be well known for their unobtrusive generosity and compassion”, the Bishop of Derry said there was a need “to reflect whether clergy, consecrated brothers and sisters, and parishioners are actively concerned for the homeless, the sick, the refugee and the young person at risk”.
“Our actions are the best measure of how seriously we take the mercy mission in Jesus’ name. The parish community cannot sub-contract mercy to the St Vincent De Paul Society or to Trócaire,” Bishop McKeown said.
Writing in his pastoral letter, which was launched this week to mark the opening of the extraordinary jubilee, Dr McKeown insisted that the year was a “communal opportunity” for Catholics to understand better the mercy of God.
“This is not just an opportunity to do a few holy things – and go back to where we were.
“This is not a soft message that ‘anything goes’. It is a clear assertion that we are capable of great things – and that the Father is always waiting for us to return to the dignity that we thought we had lost, or believed that we never had.
“It is a communal opportunity for all of us to understand better the mercy of God – and to become a more merciful Church in the service of Christ. The outcome is not that we can feel holier or better – but that Jesus, the face of the Father’s mercy, will be better known and loved,” he said.
Meanwhile, Archbishop Eamon Martin has urged every priest and parish pastoral council in the Archdiocese of Armagh to “consider practical ways of drawing as many people as possible” to the Church during of the Year of Mercy.
Archbishop Eamon told The Irish Catholic that families can make the holy year “more meaningful” by participating in liturgies, pilgrimages and Church-run events.