Archbishop Cupich opened the Jubilee of Mercy Dec. 8 as he celebrated Mass for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception at 12:10 p.m. at Holy Name Cathedral. In his homily, he noted that it was a “day of significance” in the archdiocese, both because of the beginning of the Jubilee of Mercy and because Mary, under the title of the Immaculate Conception, is the patron of the United States. She is also patron of the Archdiocese of Chicago. The readings for the day, which include the story of the fall in Eden and of the annunciation make it very clear that the serpent’s message to Adam and Eve is false. We need rely on the angel Gabriel’s message, the archbishop said. “The serpent tries to convince our first parents that they can save themselves, that they can do it on their own,” he said. Gabriel, on the other hand, speaks to all when he tells Mary, “The Lord is with you,” the archbishop said. He goes on to say that she, and by extension, people the world over are “full of grace.” “That means God has loved you for a long time,” Archbishop Cupich said. “You are more than your sins.” Finally, the angel told Mary, “Nothing is impossible with God,” he said, meaning that believers should give their worries, their hurts, their resentments that they can’t let go of, to God, because for him, nothing is impossible. The archbishop was to formally open the Holy Door for the Jubilee of Mercy at 5:15 p.m. Dec. 13, the same day Pope Francis was to open the Holy Door at St. John Lateran.