The season of Lent during this Jubilee Year should also be lived more intensely as a privileged moment to celebrate and experience God’s mercy. How many pages of Sacred Scripture are appropriate for meditation during the weeks of Lent to help us rediscover the merciful face of the Father!Misericordiae Vultus, para. 17
Celebrate the Jubilee Year of Mercy by Living Lent More Intensely
The Church is celebrating an extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy—a tenet of our faith that Pope Francis sees as one of the cornersto
nes of the Church.
The Pope asks us, as a faith community to focus on God’s unconditional love, inviting each of us to celebrate the Jubilee by praying, making pilgrimages to the Holy Doors in our diocese and serving the poor so that we can be conduits of God’s mercy in everything we do and say.
The Opening of the Holy Door in Rome
On December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception and the 50th anniversary of the close of the second Vatican Council, Pope Francis opened a Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica that remains sealed except for jubilee years. When he crossed the threshold, that door became a “Door of Mercy”. In the weeks that followed, Holy Doors were opened by cardinals and bishops in basilicas, cathedrals and shrines all over the world.
Pilgrimage with Us to the Holy Doors in Seattle
Holy Doors were opened all over the world including St. James Cathed
ral in Seattle, Wa. Pope Francis encourages everyone to make a pilgrimage to a Holy Door in Rome or in your own diocese, where one can receive special graces during the jubilee year. Saint Patrick Catholic Church will pilgrimage to St. James Cathedral to walk through the Holy Doors together as a faith community on March 6, 2016. Stay tuned for more details.
All Are Welcome
At Saint Patrick Catholic Church it is our mission to be a witness to mercy to all people. In the words of the Pope, “No one can be excluded from God’s mercy.”
If you have been away from the Church or the parish for any reason, we want to make this year a time of return. Saint Patrick Catholic Church symbolically opens the doors. If you have friends or family who have drifted away from their faith or know of someone seeking a faith community, invite them home to the heart of God’s mercy at Saint Patrick Catholic Church, to experience first hand our community of faith, hope and love.
Come Home. Come to Mass!
Let’s pray together at Saturday Vigil at 5:30 P.M, Sunday at 8:30 A.M and 10:30 A.M every weekend. Let’s gather together often during Lenten as we prepare our hearts for the season of Easter starting with Ash Wednesday at 9 A.M. or 6:30 PM, then every Friday for Stations of the Cross.
Download Your Guide to Lent in the Year of Mercy Infographic for the many ways you can prepare your heart for Easter and grow into a deeper relationship with Christ.
All parishioners are invited to pick up a postcard in the vestibule of the church to share with a friend or family member— invite them to Mass with you and your family, if you have not already done so. What better time to come home then during the season of Lent and joyous time of Easter.
Questions?
If you would like a member of our parish staff to contact you with additional information about Saint Patrick Catholic Church, email the parish or download, print and complete the postcard and give it to an usher or place it in the collection basket during Mass.
