Misericordia et Miseria
For the close of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis has released an Apostolic Letter Misericordia et Miseria, “Mercy and Misery”.
MISERICORDIA ET MISERA is a phrase used by Saint Augustine in recounting the story of Jesus’ meeting with the woman taken in adultery (cf. Jn 8:1-11). It would be difficult to imagine a more beautiful or apt way of expressing the mystery of God’s love when it touches the sinner: “the two of them alone remained: mercy with misery”. What great mercy and divine justice shine forth in this narrative! Its teaching serves not only to throw light on the conclusion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, but also to point out the path that we are called to follow in the future.
1. This page of the Gospel could easily serve as an icon of what we have celebrated during the Holy Year, a time rich in mercy, which must continue to be celebrated and lived out in our communities. Mercy cannot become a mere parenthesis in the life of the Church; it constitutes her very existence, through which the profound truths of the Gospel are made manifest and tangible. Everything is revealed in mercy; everything is resolved in the merciful love of the Father.
It is quite elegant throughout. Go read it!
Crux has a breakdown of the letter, which is also well worth your time.
Pope Francis says, “We are called to celebrate mercy,” and follows with four ways to do this.
First, “From the beginning to the end of the Eucharistic celebration, mercy constantly appears in the dialogue between the assembly at prayer and the heart of the Father.” (5)
Second, “Hearing the word of God” celebrates mercy because, “In the biblical readings, we retrace the history of our salvation through the proclamation of God’s tireless work of mercy.” (6)
Third, “The Bible is the great story of the marvels of God’s mercy.” (7) In this context he suggests a “Bible Sunday” every year without further details.
Fourth, “The celebration of mercy takes place in a very particular way in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.” Here, “God shows us the way to turn back to him and invites us to experience his closeness anew.” (8)
A couple of additional things stood out to me.
In paragraph 12, the pope speaks to maintaining two “expansions” if you will to the Sacrament of Confession. The Pope grants “to all priests, in virtue of their ministry, the faculty to absolve those who have committed the sin of procured abortion”. While this faculty has been previously extended by some Bishops to their priests (and by the Pope to all priests during the year of Mercy), the Pope now extends this indefinitely.
Later in that same section, the Pope grants worldwide faculties for Confession to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, adding “For the pastoral benefit of these faithful, and trusting in the good will of their priests to strive with God’s help for the recovery of full communion in the Catholic Church, … until further provisions are made (my emphasis). Very interesting indeed. Is Pope Francis hinting at full reconciliation with the SSPX? Stay tuned!
And finally, the Pope proposes that “the entire Church might celebrate, on the Thirty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, the World Day of the Poor. This would be the worthiest way to prepare for the celebration of the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, who identified with the little ones and the poor and who will judge us on our works of mercy (cf. Mt 25:31-46).”
