Denver Catholic

2 NOVEMBER 26-DECEMBER 9, 2016 | DENVER CATHOLIC Archbishop's Page Archbishop's Column Most Rev. Samuel J. Aquila PHOTO OF THE WEEK ARCHBISHOP'S SCHEDULE NOV. 29: Candidacy Mass, Redemptoris Mater Seminary chapel, John Paul II Center (5:30 p.m.) DEC. 4: Mass for Installation of Pastor, St. Joan of Arc, Arvada (11:30 a.m.) DEC. 8: Mass, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Denver (12:10 p.m.) DEC. 10: Rededication of Samaritan House Homeless Shelter, Denver (10 a.m.) @ArchbishopDen Nov. 12 Our Message to #immigrant community post-election: "we want to express our solidarity and a ection for you" http://bit.ly/2fnleHl +sja Published by the Archdiocese of Denver, 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 Denver Catholic (USPS 557-020) is published bi-weekly, except monthly in January. Denver Catholic is printed by Prairie Mountain Publishing, LLC in Boulder. Periodical postage paid in Denver, CO. SUBSCRIPTIONS: $35 a year in Colorado; $42 per year out of state. Foreign countries: $42 surface, all countries, 6-8 weeks for delivery; $135 air, all other countries (average). Mexico, $48 air; Canada, $55 air. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Denver Catholic, Circulation Dept., 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 or email circulation@archden.org. EDITORIAL: 303-715-3230 or denvercatholic@archden.org. ADVERTISING: 303-715-3253 or denvercatholicads@archden.org. CIRCULATION CUSTOMER SERVICE: 303-715-3230 or circulation@archden.org. General Manager KARNA SWANSON Director ANDREW WRIGHT Business Manager MICHAEL O'NEILL Mercy at Thanksgiving I n a few short days, many families will gather to give thanks and spend time together. But this Thanksgiving is di‹ erent than others for two reasons: it comes just after the close of the Year of Mercy and it follows a presidential election with results and subsequent reactions that have laid bare tensions in our society. Some of you might be wondering how you'll handle talking to a certain relative if they bring up the election, the protests that have followed, or maybe the passage of Proposition 106, which will soon legalize physician-as- sisted suicide in Colorado. The 2016 election revealed things that were veiled from view for many people: the tensions experienced by working class families that haven't recovered from the changes to the economy, the families who endure racist comments because of their skin color or their perceived immigration status, or the children who fear they might come home from school to fi nd their parents have been deported. These are realities in our country that must be addressed. The incom- ing Trump administration needs to take steps to respond to these situa- tions in a manner that is both just and merciful, and as citizens we should hold our elected o– cials accountable to make sure that they truly pursue the common good of our nation. Political solutions, however, are not enough. This past Sunday, Cardinal Agos- tino Vallini closed the holy door at St. John Lateran Cathedral in Rome, and in his homily he said something I believe speaks to the lasting solution to our situation. The Holy Door, he said, was a visible sign of the Jubilee of Mercy, a year in which we learned "once again" that the fate of the world is not in our hands, "but in the mercy of God." Thankfully God's mercy, which was so prominently on display this past year, does not end with the close of the Holy Doors. If our country is to address the deep-seated issues this election has raised, then we must fi rst acknowledge the faults that led us to this point and then open our- selves to God's mercy. The Catechism describes it this way: "The human heart is heavy and hardened. God must give man a new heart" (CCC, 1432). When you are at Thanksgiving dinner this week and the conversa- tion turns to one of these issues, I urge you to see it fi rst as a problem that must be solved through conver- sion and an encounter with God's mercy. At their root, each of the injustices people have been upset about involves a failure to person- ally receive the love of the God and to then extend that love to others. If each of us opens ourselves to God's love, then we are able to see the image and likeness of God in every human being and have the strength we need to accompany people through dif- fi culty with material and spiritual support. Nowhere is this clearer than with assisted suicide. In Oregon, over 95 percent of those who decided to take the life-ending prescription in 2015 did so because they had a decreased ability to "participate in activities that made life enjoyable." Colorado is about to embark on this same path, opening a new front in the attacks on life and the dignity of the human person. Our response to this tragedy must be to repent of those ways in which we may have failed to support persons who are approaching the end of life, ask for God's mercy, and redou- ble our e‹ orts not only to assist fam- ilies and those facing these trials, but help people to open their hearts to the merciful God who has loved them fi rst. We must give them the vision of the human person that provides life, dignity, and meaning. As we approach Thanksgiving may we open our hearts to the God who is merciful love and to that love revealed in Jesus Christ. May the Creator who is rich in mercy help our country turn to him and receive his infi nite mercy, laying the foundation for societal renewal, the return to virtue, and to civil dialogue. As the Holy Doors for the Jubi- lee Year of Mercy close, we must remember that the door to the mercy of God always remains open. PHOTO BY DANIEL IBANEZ/CNA Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila stands on the court of the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center with the Sisters of Life, Gold Crown Foundation CEO Bill Hanzlik (far right), and other religious and seminarians during half-time at the third annual Catholic Families Night on Nov. 20. PHOTO BY ANDREW WRIGHT

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