St. Francis de Sales Church in Riverside is offering its parishioners a way to fulfil the Corporal Works of Mercy this Jubilee Year by inviting them to sign up to help feed the homeless at a nearby shelter. So far, the parish has had six parishioners sign up, including a school teacher, a married couple, and three teenagers.
“Some volunteers are driven by a sense of moral or spiritual calling,” said coordinator Anthony Lopez. “Others are moved by a personal experience, knowing someone who has experienced a hard time. Beyond compassion, volunteers recognize the systematic issues that contribute to homelessness, such as job loss, and lack of affordable housing.”
One of the key themes of a jubilee year is charity. According to the Vatican Dicastery For Evangelization, charity has its special place in the life of faith; moreover, in light of the Holy Year, Christian witness must be reaffirmed as a more expressive form of conversion.
“Participating in the Works of Mercy fosters a sense of community as individuals come together to support one another in the mission of mercy,” Lopez said.
By volunteering to help feed the homeless, these parishioners have an opportunity to obtain a Plenary Indulgence, a remission before God of the temporal punishment for sins that have been confessed. Indulgences can always be applied either to oneself or to the souls of the deceased, but they cannot be applied to other persons living on earth.
The faithful have an opportunity to obtain plenary indulgences throughout this Jubilee Year by also celebrating Mass at designated Jubilee parishes in the diocese. To view the local designated Jubilee parish sites and more ways to participate in the 2025 Jubilee Year in the diocese please visit sbdiocese.org/Jubilee2025.