Parish of Llandudno North Wales, Rector's letter

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January 2016

2016 has been designated a ‘Year of Mercy’ (technically an ‘Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy’) by Pope Francis. The Year actually began on December 8th 2015 – the Feast of the Immaculate Conception – and will end on the Feast of Christ the King, November 20th 2016. The Pope inaugurated the Year by opening the Holy Door of St Peter’s in Rome, a door normally only open only during such years of Jubilee.

This Year of Mercy is of course an observance of the Roman Catholic Church and as Anglicans we are under no obligation to pay it any attention at all. However, Christians of all denominations could surely gain a great deal by joining Roman Catholics in keeping this year – or at least reflecting on its theme. The Mercy of God is a major theme in the Bible and in an age in which hatred and brutality seem so prevalent and when unspeakable acts of violence are perpetrated in the name of God it is a theme the world desperately needs to hear.
In the formal papal announcement of the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis reminded Christians that Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy and that in His conversations and actions, recorded in the Gospels, we can see that mercy powerfully displayed. We are encouraged to see this mercy of God at work in our own lives and of course we should extend that mercy to others. Susan Heuver in The Holy Year of Mercy writes: ‘In a world that is so filled with turmoil and suffering, we need to experience God’s mercy to others. Pope Francis reminds us that God never stops or goes halfway in showing mercy to his children, and he calls us to do the same.’

Last year we chose to mark the 150th Anniversary of Holy Trinity Church with a year of celebration rather than just having a series of isolated events. This gave a real shape to the whole of 2015. By joining our RC brothers and sisters in keeping 2016 as a year to reflect upon the mercy of God we can have another ‘special’ year, one which would build upon last year’s anniversary year and one in which, most importantly of all, we might all grow in our understanding of God’s mercy to us in Jesus Christ.

I therefore intend to inaugurate our keeping of the ‘Year of Mercy’ on the Feast of the Baptism of Christ (Sunday 10th January). We won’t necessarily be slavishly following the RC pattern of keeping this year – though I suspect that they will also be following it in a variety of ways – but I hope that this act of solidarity will enable us, together with so many others to experience afresh the mercy and love of God and to be able to extend it better to others.

Fr. John

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January 2015 February 2015 March 2015 April 2015 May 2015 June 2015 July 2015 August 2015 September 2015 October 2015 November 2015 December 2015	January 2014 February 2014 March 2014 April 2014 May 2014 - no letter June 2014 July 2014 August 2014 September 2014 October 2014 November 2014 December 2014
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