Vatican City, 18 November 2015 (VIS) –
As we approach the Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis dedicated the
catechesis of today's Wednesday general audience to the meaning of
the “Holy Door”, which he will open on 8 December in St. Peter's
Basilica. This great door is that of God's mercy, which welcomes our
repentance and offers us the grace of forgiveness; a door which is
opened generously but whose threshold must be crossed with courage.
Francis referred to the recent Synod of
Bishops, “which gave all families and all the Church as strong
impetus to meet at the threshold of this open door. The Church was
encouraged to open her doors, to go forth with the Lord towards His
sons and daughters who walk together, at times uncertain, at times
lost, in these difficult times. Christian families, in particular,
have been encouraged to open the door to the Lord Who waits to enter,
bringing His blessing. But the Lord never forces the door; He asks
permission to enter through ours, although His doors are always
open”.
“There are still places in the world
where doors are not locked, but there are also many where reinforced
doors have become normal. We must not accept the idea of having to
apply this system to our whole life, to life within the family, in
the city, in society, and far less so in the life of the Church. …
An inhospitable Church, like a family closed in on itself, mortifies
the Gospel and makes the world arid. No more reinforced doors in the
Church!” he exclaimed.
“The symbolic management of doors –
thresholds, passages, frontiers – has become crucial. The door must
protect, certainly, but not repudiate. The door must not be forced:
on the contrary, it is necessary to ask permission to enter, as
hospitality shines in the freedom of welcome, and darkens in the
arrogance of invasion. The door is opened frequently, to see if there
is anyone waiting outside, who perhaps does not have the courage or
even the strength to knock. How many people no longer trust … to
knock on the door of our Christian heart, at the doors of our
Churches. … We have lost their trust; please, we must not let this
happen. The door says many things about the house, and also the
Church”.
“We ourselves are the guardians and
servants of the Door of God, Who is Jesus”, affirmed Francis.
“Jesus is the door that lets us enter and leave. Because God's
flock is a refuge, not a prison. … We must pass by the door and
listen to Jesus' voice; if we hear His tone of voice, we are safe and
sound. … If the guardian hears the voice of the Shepherd, then he
opens, and he lets in all the sheep that the Shepherd brings, all of
them, including those lost in the woods, that the Good Shepherd has
gone to find. The sheep are not chosen by the guardian, but rather by
the Good Shepherd. The guardian too obeys the voice of the Shepherd.
The Church is the door to the house of the Lord but she is not the
proprietor of the house of the Lord”.
The Pope concluded his catechesis by
reiterating that the Holy Family of Nazareth knew well what was meant
by an open or closed door for someone awaiting the birth of a child,
for those who do not have shelter, and for those who must flee
danger. May Christian families make the threshold of their home a
little sign of the great Door of God's mercy and welcome. It is
precisely in this way that the Church must be recognised, in every
corner of the earth, “as the guardian of a God Who knocks to enter,
with the welcome of a God Who does not close the door in your face
with the excuse that you do not belong to the household”.
“With this spirit”, he concluded,
“we approach the Jubilee: there will be the Holy Door, but it is
the door of God's great mercy. There will also be the door of our
heart, to receive all God's forgiveness and to give ours in turn,
welcoming all those who knock on our door”.
No comments:
Post a Comment