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Finding joy in mercy

Fr. John J. Dolan, Osfs

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This Jubilee year invites us to be missionaries of mercy who
flood the world with acts of mercy and love so as to counter
the many other acts that are far from pleasing to God. Mercy
is a call to act in accord with the tender love that Jesus
showed when He was among us and that He continues to show us,
His struggling disciples.

One of the key principles of Salesian Spirituality is to
“Live Jesus.” St. Francis de Sales encourages us to follow
Jesus closely as we go about our daily lives by living in the
present moment and being the face of Christ to all we meet.
St. Francis always looked for the goodness in people and
emphasized that we are created imago Dei (in the image and
likeness of God), with innate goodness and tremendous
potential. Likewise, we are asked to look at each other in a
similar way, seeing His presence in others and looking beyond
any pre-judgment.

This is an exciting time in the church, for it is an
opportunity with endless possibilities to allow people to see
us from the perspective of our baptism call, as witnesses of
the Good News. That good news is that God is merciful and
always ready to share His mercy with us and others. Our duty
is to announce that mercy to the broken but redeemed world in
which we live.

One of the hopes of Pope Francis is that this focus on mercy
will renew our church and each of us individually. It will
open for us a vision for a better future for our church and
the world.

St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal have keen
insights that will help us celebrate this extraordinary time
in ways that renew our spirit and encourage us to bring that
renewal to our world with joyful hearts.

Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde and the area Oblates of St.
Francis de Sales will celebrate the saint’s feast day Jan. 24
at the 11:15 a.m. Mass at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church,
8601 Wolftrap Rd., Vienna.

If you are interested in deepening your understanding of
God’s mercy, the Oblates’ annual Lenten gathering of Live
Jesus! will explore this topic. “Opening the Door to the Joy
of Mercy,” which reflects the Jubilee Year of Mercy announced
by Pope Francis, will be held March 5 at Our Lady of Good
Counsel Church in Vienna from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The
keynote speaker. For more information, visit oblates.org.

Fr. Dolan is parochial vicar of Our Lady of Good Counsel
Church in Vienna.

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