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Every day I leave the busy and built up streets of Hackney and I walk through the bright and welcoming entrance of St Joseph’s Hospice. As some of the older East End people say ‘I have crossed the threshold’.

When I walk through the door I always notice the friendly reception staff seated in the bright and airy foyer and the smart café with the delicious smell of coffee and cakes. Even in the midst of a dark winter evening the entrance is comfortable and bright. It has been designed to alleviate fear and to offer the precious gift of welcome. Walking through the door of St Joseph’s hospice is like a step through a door of mercy.

Mercy is all about love. As the Holy Father reminds us ‘in short, the mercy of God is not an abstract idea, but a concrete reality with which he reveals his love as that of a father or mother, moved to the very depth out of love for their child’ (Misericordiae Vultus, 6).

St Joseph’s Hospice is an institution of love. Obviously the staff would like to know the sort of suffering a patient endures, but once discovered, they will work round the clock to alleviate that pain. They remind me of God working to remove the suffering of our guilt, so that once we have admitted our faults we can really acknowledge that we are loved and treasured, and admired. This Year of Mercy is about stepping into God’s love.

The beautiful thing about St Joseph’s hospice is that the entrance doors are automatic: they open for everyone. God’s mercy is the same; all we have to do is have the confidence to step forward and cross the threshold.

Please add to your prayers the patients staff and volunteers of St Joseph’s Hospice.

Written by Fr Peter-Michael Scott, this piece first appeared in the February edition of the Westminster Record