Earlier this year, April 11, 2015, on the Feast of Divine Mercy (the first Sunday after Easter), Pope Francis announced a Jubilee Year of Mercy to begin on December 8, 2015, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception… that’s today! For Catholic business leaders at all levels, this is a Jubilee Year to radically embrace, especially given the spread of radical Islamic terrorism and other things that don’t make sense in this world… That’s why the Catholic Business Journal will feature a series of discussions and practical applications to increase our understanding about this Year of Mercy, and to strengthen our resolve to fully embrace it—beginning with this article.
Miseriecordiae Vultus: What is it and What does it mean?
When the Holy Father announced the Extraordinary Year of Mercy last April, he accompanied this announcement with a document—a short but meaty document—entitled Miseriecordiae Vultus. This beautiful title translates to “The Face of Mercy,” which truly embodies the depth of transformation the Holy Father outlines and envisions for this year.
But I’d go even further in the translation…
While in graduate school, I learned from the wise co-founder of a young, thriving religious order (Dominican Missionary Adorers), founded in Quebec, Canada, that “miseriecordiae” literally means “heart moved by another’s misery.” It was an insight that always stayed with me.
Think about that definition of mercy for a moment. “Heart moved by another’s misery.” Jesus Christ—our Saviour, true God and true man, allowed himself to be born into human suffering even from the first moment of his human birth. The King and Creator of the Universe was born in a stinky stable, amid animals and bugs, wrapped in cloth, laid on a bed of uncomfortable hay, in the piercing cold…He grew up in poverty and ultimately he died a cruel and unjust death on a cross… and yet he did it all because he, our God, was “moved” by our human and individual miseries (beginning with original sin, and even that was our fault!). Using human concepts to express Divine truths, we could say that God’s heart was (and is) moved by our misery.
And consider this. When preachers say Christ spread out his hands on the cross (a vehicle of extreme torture) to embrace us all — Is this anything other than the ultimate sign of a heart moved by another’s mercy?! Yet even in unimaginable suffering, Christ brings joy, salvation, healing… and so must we learn to do.
The Unique Power and Importance of this Call to Mercy for Catholic business leaders, young and seasoned professionals and workers at all levels
As Catholic business professionals, we have an especially powerful opportunity to transform ourselves and all those around us—including those who work with us and for us, our vendors, colleagues, teammates, our parish and family communities, and all whom each of these individuals influence. Ripples upon ripples of transformation.
But how can we be “the face of mercy” to those around us? It is is impossible without God’s help. unless we immerse ourselves in an understanding and living what is described this short document… so that we might be exemplary in our leadership by example, in genuinely living and being “the face of mercy” — in our businesses, in our work places, in the board room and seamlessly also in our personal lives, our family lives, in every aspect of who we are.
At the root of this Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis invites us to personal holiness by leaning on, trusting in, and abandoning ourselves fully to our Holy Redeemer and his (and our) holy mother.
This is where we must all start; on our knees…. and as we linger here, consistently, throughout the year, we’ll see perhaps the greatest transformation in our lives—in our inner lives—resulting in the subtle but profound transformation of all the spheres of people, family, business and work communities and decisions that we influence, touch, decide upon, or lead.
Ripples upon ripples of transformation, begin with me, wth you, in Christ, today.
—Be sure to sign up for CBJ NewsBriefs so you don’t miss our series of articles, practical applications and discussions on how to daily live The Face of Mercy…or, put another way… The Face of A Heart that is Moved by Another’s Misery.
Related Links:
- Download Saint John Paul II’s 1980 document—Dives Misericordia (Rich in Mercy) — free online version from the Vatican. (http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_30111980_dives-in-misericordia.html)