Put mercy before judgement , says Archbishop Msusa: It’s time to rediscover God’s mercy, Malawi Catholics urged  

Archbishop Thomas Msusa  has officially commenced the Jubilee of Mercy, a Catholic  holy year, calling those who pass through the newly-opened Holy Door to rediscover God’s mercy and experience the mystery of his love.

On a cloudy and showering Saturday in Blantyre, Archbishop  Msusa voice echoed in the atrium of Limbe Cathedral: “Open the gates of justice.”  With five strong thrusts, His Grace pushed open the Holy Door, a symbol of God’s justice, which he said will always be exercised “in the light of his mercy ”

The rite of the opening of the Holy Door was preceded by a Mass with  Christians from various parishes of Blantyre Archdiocese packed in the cathedral, the feast of the Immaculate Conception and the beginning of the extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy.

the opening of the door is meant to symbolically illustrate the idea that the Church’s faithful are offered an “extraordinary path” toward salvation during the time of jubilee.

During his homily, Archbishop Msusa emphasized the “simple, yet highly symbolic” act of opening the Holy Door, which “highlights the primacy of grace;” the same grace that made Mary, worthy of becoming the mother of Christ.”

“The fullness of grace can transform the human heart and enable it to do something so great as to change the course of human history,” he said.

The feast of the Immaculate Conception, he continued, serves as a reminder of the grandeur of God’s love in allowing Mary to “avert the original sin present in every man and woman who comes into this world.”

“This is the love of God which precedes, anticipates and saves,” he said. “Were sin the only thing that mattered, we would be the most desperate of creatures. But the promised triumph of Christ’s love enfolds everything in the Father’s mercy.”

The Year of Mercy, His Grace  stressed, is a gift of grace that allows Christians to experience the joy of encountering the transforming power of grace and rediscovering God’s infinite mercy toward sinners.

“How much wrong we do to God and his grace when we speak of sins being punished by his judgment before we speak of their being forgiven by his mercy,” he said.

“We have to put mercy before judgment, and in any event God’s judgment will always be in the light of his mercy. In passing through the Holy Door, then, may we feel that we ourselves are part of this mystery of love.”

The feast of the Immaculate Conception has a special connection to the start of the Year of Mercy, he said, because “it reminds us that everything in our lives is a gift, everything is mercy.”

Like Mary, the  Archbishop continued, Christians are called to “become bearers of Christ” and to “let ourselves be embraced by the mercy of God who waits for us and forgives everything. Nothing is sweeter than his mercy. Let us allow ourselves to be caressed by God. The Lord is so good and he forgives everything.”

The Archbishop also said the Year of Mercy is an opportunity for all the “imprisoned” to sort out their cases.

Head of the Catholic church, His Holiness Pope Francis opened his Jubilee of Mercy on Tuesday in St. Peter’s Basilica., saying that this year will be one in which Catholics are called to grow ever more convinced of God’s mercy, which should always come before judgment.

“How much wrong we do to God and his grace when we speak of sins being punished by his judgment before we speak of their being forgiven by his mercy,” he said as he celebrated a Mass in St. Peter’s Square that marked the opening of the jubilee.

“We have to put mercy before judgment,” he added.

The Jubilee of Mercy begins on the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and will close on Nov. 20, the Solemnity of Christ the King.

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