ON Dec. 8, the solemnity of Our Lady's Immaculate Conception, the Catholic Church began the Jubilee Year of Mercy. In his papal bull announcing the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis said, "Mercy... expressed God's way of reaching out to the sinner, offering him a new chance to look at himself, convert, and believe" (Misericordiae Vultus, 21). Mercy is always a gift. It is not something that we can earn or deserve, nor is it something to which we are entitled. It is a gift that freely flows from the abundance of God's love for us.
Our Lady is the greatest example of mercy as gift. Immaculately conceived, she was without sin - Original Sin or personal sin - from the first moment of her conception until the end of her life. Yet, she received this great grace not because she deserved it, since no one could, but because God chose, by the merits of her Son, to preserve her ahead of His death and resurrection from the stain of sin. In an act of overflowing merciful love, God spared her even from Original Sin. As one of the Sisters pointed out as we were discussing the Year of Mercy, Mary is not the one who did not need God's mercy; rather, she is the one who received the most of it!
The abundant gift of God's merciful love is also available for those of us who have no been so preserved from sin. Perhaps the first step we need to take during this Year of Mercy is to recognize again and in a deeper way that we are sinners in desperate need of the mercy of God to heal us and make us whole. A daily examination of conscience can be on way for us to reflect on the areas in which we are in need of God's forgiveness.
But God desires to go even further than forgiveness; He longs to give us all true and lasting repentance and conversion. He desires to help us turn away from our sins and toward His life. This is one of the beautiful gifts of the sacrament of reconciliation; in this great sacrament, we are not only forgiven but also healed. We are given the grace to avoid in the future those sins we have confessed. In every confession we make, we are made new by God. All of this is why it is a good practice to go to confession at least once a month. As the Church opens wide her doors during this Year of Mercy, let us take advantage of the opportunity to be renewed deeply in God's life and merciful love.
St. Mary Martha Becnel is a member of the Ann Arbor-based Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist.
