The beginning of the Year of the Monkey and Lent coincide, two seasons in which people customarily make resolutions.

Although it may be a reflection of people’s consciousness of their short comings, choosing to give something up is as common as its failure rate, although because Lent is much shorter than a year and does not threaten the permanency of deprivation, it has a better chance.

The Year of Consecrated Life was launched on 5 December 2014 and comes to a close on February 2, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. Over the past 15 months, the Hong Kong Diocesan Group on the Year of Consecrated Life planned a series of activities for this celebration. Also, in collaboration with various religious congregations, it organised prayer meetings and open days to promote vocation to the religious life and an understanding of the charisms of various congregations.

In calling the Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis is urging the world to contemplate the face of Christ, to experience the great mystery of God’s mercy, thus setting the proclamation of God’s merciful love in both word and deed as the guiding principle of faith and spirituality.

In simple language he is saying that expressing mercy in action should be taken as being the basic standard for Church life.

During the Jubilee of Mercy, seven churches have been designated in Hong Kong as places of pilgrimage where people can prepare themselves to receive God’s mercy.

In a document declaring the Jubilee, entitled The Face of Mercy, Pope Francis stresses that the Church should care for the welfare of the underprivileged and future generations.

It is 50 years since the closing of the Second Vatican Council and it is fitting to remember the landmark encyclical penned by Pope Paul VI, The Progress of Peoples (Populorum Progressio) two years later. Pope Paul wrote the immortal words, “Development, the new name for peace.”

Around 2,000 years ago a baby was born. He was named Jesus and, since that time, has been hailed by his disciples across the globe as the saviour of the world.

He never held a spear—let alone a gun—he never headed an empire, never became a politician, scientist or a bishop, and did not seek financial dominance or to subdue people or manipulate the earth.

With Christmas in the air, the old topic of frenzied seasonal shopping is back on the script. The time to be jolly has become a retailers’ delight over recent decades, with delusional specials on offer and all sorts of goodies on display especially designed to make it a special time for loved ones—to say nothing of clients and prospective customers.

The Jubilee of Mercy is a symbolic event, which in the current climate of violence in the world has become more relevant than ever.

Officially, the year begins on December 8, when Pope Francis is scheduled to throw open the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

Last weekend, the 1,400th anniversary of the death of St. Columban was celebrated at St. Joseph’s in Central. Columban was Irish and a monk. He set off for Europe with the confidence that he could meaningfully engage with the cultures of a foreign people and use his learning to contribute to their lives.

Columban was highly conscious of his own identity, leaving the earliest surviving literary record of Irish self-description.

THE NOVEMBER 13 terrorist attacks on Paris have made the upcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy all the more relevant.

Mercy is fundamental to resolving violence. Mercy, rather than pity, allows lives to be linked with each other and bridges of peace to be built. In the fight against systematic violence, mercy must be proclaimed through dialogue and collaboration.