Jubilee Year of Mercy inaugurated by Archbishop Costelloe
The Jubilee Year of Mercy was this week inaugurated in the Archdiocese of Perth on the feast of the Immaculate Conception at a special Mass celebrated at St Mary’s Cathedral by Archbishop Timothy Costelloe. Photos: Jamie O’Brien
By Jamie O’Brien
The Year of Mercy was this week inaugurated in the Archdiocese of Perth on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception at a special Mass celebrated at St Mary’s Cathedral, by Archbishop Timothy Costelloe.
“This Year of Mercy, which we inaugurate in our Archdiocese in this Mass, is the year in which we will be invited, as we were some years ago during the Year of Grace, to fix our eyes firmly on Jesus,” the Archbishop said.
“But, this year, we are being invited to look into the eyes of Jesus and discover there the look of mercy: to see in the eyes of Jesus the compassion, the forgiveness and the love which the Father has for each one of us,” he said.
Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton, Vicar General Fr Peter Whitely, St Mary’s Cathedral Dean Mgr Michael Keating and some 50 priests from across the Archdiocese, joined the Archbishop to concelebrate the occasion.
More than 500 people from across the Archdiocese were present for the 12.10pm Mass.
The two candles decorated with the Year of Mercy logo and Year of Consecrated Life logo. At the conclusion of the Mass, Archbishop Costelloe lit the Year of Mercy candle to commemorate the inauguration of the Jubilee Year, while also extinguishing the Year of Consecrated Life candle to symbolise its conclusion. Photo: Jamie O’Brien
At the conclusion of the Mass, the Archbishop also lit a specially decorated Year of Mercy candle to commemorate the inauguration of the Jubilee Year, while also extinguishing a similar candle to symbolise the end of the Year of Consecrated Life.
The Year of Mercy candle also formed part of the procession at the commencement and conclusion of the Mass.
A statue of the Virgin Mary, which was located on the sanctuary and adorned with flowers and symbolic decorations, was also a special focus for the occasion.
In his homily for the occasion, the Archbishop encouraged the congregation – focusing on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady - to reflect, for just a moment, on the way in which Mary was brought up in the mystery of the Mercy of God.
“Even though we freely rejected God, God was determined to give us a chance to freely accept Him again and, therefore, He chose and called Mary, and He prepared her for the challenge that she would encounter when the angel visited her, as we have just heard in today’s Gospel.
The Year of Mercy was this week inaugurated in the Archdiocese of Perth on the feast of the Immaculate Conception at a special Mass celebrated at St Mary’s Cathedral by Archbishop Timothy Costelloe. A statue of the Virgin Mary, which was located on the sanctuary and adorned with flowers and symbolic decorations, was also a special focus for the occasion. Photo: Jamie O’Brien
“In choosing Mary, and in calling her, God gave her a particular gift: the gift we call the Immaculate Conception.
“Mary, through the power of the grace of God, was protected from the distorting and disabling effects of sin which we all carry with us. And why? Because, when God came to offer the gift of His mercy in his Son - to offer the gift of salvation - we needed someone who could in perfect freedom, say ‘yes’ to the gift that our first parents rejected.
“This is the great mystery of the Immaculate Conception: that Mary had full and perfect freedom, undiminished, untainted and undistorted by any trace of sin, and therefore could speak on our behalf and in full freedom. In that freedom, and in the name of each one of us, Mary accepted the gift of Jesus, the gift of the Father's mercy, the One who brings us our salvation.”
Archbishop Timothy Costelloe will celebrate the commencement of the Jubilee Year of Mercy with the opening of the Holy Door at St Mary’s Cathedral this weekend.
The landmark event will take place on Saturday, 12 December at the 6pm Mass, with all members of the Perth Catholic community invited to come together for the occasion.
The opening of the Holy Door for the Year of Mercy, which starts officially on 8 December on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, is in accordance with the wishes of Pope Francis.
Read the Full Homily of Archbishop Costelloe, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, by Clicking Here.