News Archives » Oblate Triennium 200 years
Celebrating the Jubilee Year of Mercy December 8th, 2015
Celebrating the Jubilee Year of Mercy,
(2015 – 2016)
Honoring the Mother of Mercy – Immaculate Conception
(December 8)
&
Thanking God for the grace of Oblate Triennium
(1816 – 2016)
In his letter for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, our Superior General notes, “One of [Mary’s] titles special to the heart of St. Eugene was the Mother of Mercy.” This is especially fitting as the solemnity marks the beginning of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, inaugurated by Pope Francis. In a recent interview with the Italian Catholic magazine Credere, Pope Francis was asked why he chose ‘mercy’ as this Jubilee’s theme. In response the Holy Father notes, “It’s obvious that today’s world is in need of mercy, it is in need of compassion. We are used to bad news…On one hand we see the arms trade, the production of arms that kill, the murder of innocents in the most cruel possible way, the exploitation of persons, minors, children…” The Pope goes on to say that “we must cultivate a revolution of tenderness as the fruit of this Year of Mercy: God’s tenderness towards each one of us. Each one of us must say: “I am an unfortunate man, but God loves me thus, so I must also love others in the same way.”
On this great solemnity let us ask Mother Mary to teach us the true meaning of mercy and to give us the grace to love others as God loves us.
