The Year of Mercy and holy doors
Monday, January 25, 2016
Antonio Fernandez
It’s been nearly two months since the beginning of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, when Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica, and I wonder: Have we already crossed through the Holy Door?
And yet, I wonder how many of my readers will understand the depth of my question? Above all, what holy door am I talking about? I do not necessarily mean the Holy Door of any of the great Roman basilicas or any of the thousands of holy doors across the globe designated by the various ordinaries of each particular church.
I mean the holy door of our hearts. The one that, as a door after all, has two purposes: one is to enter and another to exit. Unlike a window that opens to allow us to look at the world passing by in front of our house, the door allows for leaving and entering.
Our hearts have to be the doors that open to God's mercy so it can enter inside us. And then they must open, so that same mercy goes out from our hearts to those around us, especially the neediest and abandoned, the distant, the sinners, those who are not as "good" as we think we are.
There is much talk these days of obtaining the Jubilee indulgences, of pilgrimages, novenas and prayers, but besides all that, the Year of Mercy mainly calls us to be really and practically merciful every day in dealing with others, in practicing daily and diligently the works of mercy.
Let’s blow the dust off our old catechisms and remember:
Corporal Works of Mercy
- Feed the hungry
- Give drink to the thirsty
- Shelter the homeless
- Clothe the naked
- Visit the sick
- Visit the imprisoned
- Bury the dead
Spiritual Works of Mercy
- Instruct the ignorant
- Counsel the doubtful
- Admonish sinners
- Forgive offenses
- Comfort the afflicted
- Bear wrongs patiently
- Pray for the living and the dead
Did you know that in his Bull for the Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis speaks of obtaining indulgences while practicing these works of mercy? And this can be done without spending on airfares and hotels.
I think that we have to do the works of mercy first and then make the pilgrimages. Why? Because it is more pleasant for me to make a trip to Rome than to spend an afternoon at a hospital visiting a patient. And generally what I would like to do is not necessarily the best thing that God wants me to do.
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