By Beth DeCristofaro
I am the LORD, your God, who grasp your right hand; it is
I who say to you, “Fear not, I will help you.” I will help you, says the LORD;
your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. I will make of you a threshing sledge,
sharp, new, and double-edged, to thresh the mountains and crush them, to make
the hills like chaff. (Isaiah 41:13-15)
Amen, I say to you, among those born of
women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the
kingdom of heaven is greater than he. (Matthew 11:11)
Piety
O God, be merciful to
me, a sinner.
Study
The God of Israel
again and again reminded the Chosen People that they were His and He saves them
from themselves and from enemies. Jesus
germinated the Old Testament images of crushing and threshing into saving
through his love, his helplessness, his “Yes”, his death and ultimately his
resurrection. He told his followers that
to be invited into the Kingdom is to be among the greatest, even greater than
the Baptist.
Pope Francis’s
declaration of the Year of Mercy has roots in the traditions of our fathers in
faith. An Old Testament tradition of jubilee
freed slaves and prisoners took place once every 50 years. "How much wrong we do to God and his
grace when we speak of sins being punished by his judgement before we speak of being
forgiven by his mercy," Pope Francis said.
"We have to put mercy before judgement... Let us set aside all fear
and dread, for these do not befit men and women who are loved."
Even as he invokes
the rich traditions of our ancestors, Pope Francis looks forward. In a break with Catholic tradition, Pope
Francis has declared that during this Jubilee Year of Mercy, every diocese may
designate a “Holy Door,” symbol of Jesus as the door, the gateway, to salvation
which we are all welcome to enter. In
the past only five churches had such holy doors but the Pope wants all to take
advantage of pilgrimage in their own home. In
keeping with the theme of bringing the mercy of Jesus to all the faithful, Pope
Francis is also designating special confessors and also priests will be allowed
to absolve women who have had abortions. At St. Peters in Rome, the Pope prayed
on December 8, "Open the gates of justice." As he pushed open the
Holy Door, a symbol of God's justice, which he said will always be applied in
God’s mercy.
Action
Arlington Bishop Paul Loverde is scheduled to open the Holy Door at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More
Sunday, Dec. 13, during the 11 a.m. Mass.
Consider making a pilgrimage this year and pass through these doors,
reflecting on and renewing your relationship with Jesus.
For more information,
a brief but interesting video can be found here: “What is a Holy Door?” (You
can also watch this via a link in the Catholic Herald online.)
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