Vatican City, 16 December 2015 (VIS) –
In the general audience today the Holy Father recalled last Sunday's
opening the Holy Door of the Basilica of St. John Lateran and of all
cathedrals throughout the world. “I wanted this sign of the Holy
Door to be present in every particular Church”, he said, “so that
the Jubilee of Mercy may become an experience that everyone can
share. In this way, the Holy Year has given life to the Church as a
whole; it is celebrated in every diocese as in Rome, and Rome is a
visible sign of universal communion. Pope Francis expressed his hope
that this ecclesial communion be “increasingly intense, so that the
Church may be a living sign of the Father's love and mercy”.
However, he commented that “love and
forgiveness must not remain simply beautiful words, but rather should
become the reality of our daily life. Loving and forgiving are the
visible and concrete signs that faith has transformed our hearts and
this enables us to express the very life of God in ourselves. Loving
and forgiving as God loves and forgives. This is a plan for life that
does not admit interruptions or exceptions, but rather drives us
always to go further ahead without tiring, with the certainty of
being supported by God's paternal presence”.
He explained that “this great sign of
Christian life then transforms into many other signs that are typical
of the Jubilee”, and reiterated that salvation cannot be bought as
it is free, urging the faithful not to fall prey to deceptions.
“Crossing the Holy Door is a sign of our trust in the Lord Jesus
Who came not to judge but to save us”, he continued. “It is the
sign of a true conversion of our heart. When we cross this door it is
good to remember that we must also keep open the door of our heart.
The Holy Year cannot be effective if the door of our heart does not
allow Christ to pass, Who drives us to go towards others, leading
them to Him and to His love. Therefore, just as the Holy Door remains
open, as a sign of the welcome God reserves for us, our door too must
always remain open so as to exclude no-one”.
The Pope also remarked that confession
is an important sign of the Jubilee. “Receiving the sacrament with
which we are reconciled with God means directly experiencing His
mercy. … But, how can we ask God to forgive us if we ourselves are
not capable of forgiveness? Certainly, forgiving is not easy, as our
heart is poor and with its own strength alone it cannot manage this.
However, if we open ourselves up to welcome God's mercy for us, in
turn we become capable of forgiving”. The Holy Father concluded by
encouraging all those present to live the Jubilee starting with these
signs that involve the great strength of love”.
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