"WE NEED constantly to contemplate the mystery of mercy. It is a wellspring of joy, serenity, and peace. Our salvation depends on it. Mercy: the word reveals the very mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. Mercy: the ultimate and supreme act by which God comes to meet us. Mercy: the fundamental law that dwells in the heart of every person who looks sincerely into the eyes of his brothers and sisters on the path of life. Mercy: the bridge that connects God and man, opening our hearts to the hope of being loved forever despite our sinfulness" (Misericordiae Vultus: Bull of Indiction of the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, no. 2).

This extract is quoted by Fr. Aurelius Pati soge to highlight the opening of the Year of Mercy at St. Arnold Janssen Church, SVD Bible Centre, Batam, on Sunday, December 13, 2015. The Year of Mercy is officially declared open on December 2015, on the Solemnitty of Immaculate Mary at St. Peter Basilica, while the Holy Door is opened at Lateran Basilica, the official throne of Pope Francis as the Bishop of Rome, on the following Sunday, on December 13, 2016. Every diocese around the world does the same thing to mark the beginning of the Jubilee of Mercy. In Pangkalpinang, the opening celebration is officiated by the Bishop of Pangkalpinang, Mgr. Hilarius Moa Nurak, SVD, not at the Cathedral but at the Marian Shrine, near the Bishop's house. A big wooden door has been constructed for that purpose.

Procession of the image of the Divine Mercy

At the Bible Centre, Sukajadi, Batam, the celebration is marked by the procession of the image of the Divine Mercy, at the beginning of the Holy Mass. An Indian couple, Mr. and Mrs. Austin Morera bring the image and enthrone it at the place newly installed at the right hand side of the altar, while the congregation sings the hymn which is taken from the prayer of Divine Mercy, "Eternal Father I offer you, the body and blood, soul and divinity of your dearly beloved son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement of our sins and of the whole world. For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and those of the whole world."

While the Year of Mercy does not focus on the devotion of the Divine Mercy, but the mercy of God as a whole, the image is chosen to represent the Centre's celebration, due to the practice of this particular devotion for International Pastoral Community. Every first Friday, the chaplet of mercy is recited before the mass. Meanwhile, three talks are always conducted before the Divine Mercy Day, Sunday after Easter. As it is well known for many of community members, the procession will always brings some meaning for private and communal spiritual nourishment.

The enthronement of the image of Divine Mercy: we celebrate the mercy of God...

Mr. and Mrs. Morera, Waren Joy, Gracy Dacruz, Joko Lie and Shijo: volunteers of the liturgy of the day...

Pope Francis' prayer for the year of mercy

Lord Jesus Christ, you have taught us to be merciful like the heavenly Father,
and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him.
Show us your face and we will be saved.

Your loving gaze freed Zacchaeus and Matthew from being enslaved by money;
the adulteress and Magdalene from seeking happiness only in created things;
made Peter weep after his betrayal,
and assured Paradise to the repentant thief.
Let us hear as if addressed to each one of us,
the words that you spoke to the Samaritan woman:
“If you knew the gift of God!”

You are the visible face of the invisible Father,
of the God who manifests his power above all by forgiveness and mercy:
let the Church be your visible face in the world, its Lord risen and glorified.
You willed that your ministers would also be clothed in weakness
in order that they may feel compassion for those in ignorance and error:
let everyone who approaches them feel sought after, loved, and forgiven by God.

Send your Spirit and consecrate every one of us with its anointing,
so that the Jubilee of Mercy may be a year of grace from the Lord,
and your Church, with renewed enthusiasm, may bring good news to the poor,
proclaim liberty to captives and the oppressed, and restore sight to the blind.  

We ask this through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Mercy,
you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Some practical guide lines to celebrate the year of mercy

Throughout this year, Catholics are required to do six things, in order to celebrate the Jubilee of Mercy, namely:

1. Pray Pope Francis' prayer for the year of mercy: an easy but great way to participate in the Jubilee year. Full prayer is on the left hand side.
2. Go to confession: we do not give what we do not have, so experience God's mercy firsthand, through sacrament of reconciliation and doing your penance.
3. Forgive someone: we share God's mercy especially with the person whom we have a difficult relationship in our lives.
4. Take a pilgrimage: not necessarily to be far, but just find a shrine or a spiritual site near you and spend extra time in prayer;
5. Pray the Divine Mercy Novena: a typical novena to invoke Jesus' mercy, started on Good Friday;
6. Pick one spiritual and corporal work of mercy, just to focus on sharing mercy in practical way, especially with the needy.