Local Year of Mercy events in the works

Friday, Dec. 04, 2015

Various parishes in the Diocese of Salt Lake City already have begun to plan events for the Year of Mercy.

For example, the Cathedral of the Madeleine has one lecture and a lecture series scheduled.

“Merciful Like the Father,” a presentation on the Jubilee of Mercy by Gregory Glenn, will be Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. in Scanlan Hall.

Also, on Tuesdays during Lent, a Scripture study will focus on the Parables of Mercy. 

On March 5, in conjunction with Pope Francis’ call for dioceses worldwide to offer the Sacrament of Reconciliation that day, St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Salt Lake City will have confessions from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

At St. Martin de Porres Parish in Salt Lake City, parish council members will spend five weeks studying the Papal Bull that announced the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, said Fr. Jan Bednarz, pastor, and a Year of Mercy banner will be hung in the church sanctuary beginning Dec. 8. Also, their Dec. 7 penance service for families will have the theme “Forgiveness for All;” this also will be the theme for their Lenten penance service on Feb. 22. 

At Christ the King Parish in Cedar City, Advent meditation booklets will be available, and for Christmas, “Rediscovering Catholicism” by Matthew Kelly to be given to all parishioners, with follow-up conversation groups planned for January, said Msgr. Bob Bussen, pastor.

The annual Diocesan Marriage Enrichment event, which will be Saturday, Feb. 13, will incorporate themes of mercy in marriage, rediscovery and planning, said Veola Burchett, director of the diocesan Office of Family Life. Presenters will be Steve and Kathy Bierne, nationally known speakers on marriage and family life.

Also, on Monday, Feb. 14, the Biernes will present a free workshop that will build on Pope Francis’ theme of the bond between family and Christian community. “A Crucial Covenant” will look at how a parish can learn from the hospitality and self-sacrifice of the home, and the home can participate in the diversity, the larger mission, and the shared vision of Christianity of the parish church.

The diocesan Lenten Retreat, scheduled for Saturday, March 5, at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, will focus on the Year of Mercy, said Susan Northway, Office of Religious Education director.

The retreat master will be Fr. Ray John Marek, OMI.