VATICAN: Pope Francis opens the Holy Door: Mercy must precede Judgement
On 8 December 2015 at 9.30, in the presence of 60 thousand faithful in St. Peter’s Square, the
Holy Father celebrated Holy Mass on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.
The celebration preceded the opening of the Holy Door, the gesture with which
the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy began. In his homily the Pope spoke about
the fullness of grace as revealed in Mary, which is capable of transforming the
heart. He described the Holy Year as a gift of grace that leads us to discover
the depth of the Father’s mercy and, finally, he recalled the other door opened
to the world by the Vatican Council II fifty years ago, allowing the Church to
encounter the men and women of our time.
Holy Father celebrated Holy Mass on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.
The celebration preceded the opening of the Holy Door, the gesture with which
the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy began. In his homily the Pope spoke about
the fullness of grace as revealed in Mary, which is capable of transforming the
heart. He described the Holy Year as a gift of grace that leads us to discover
the depth of the Father’s mercy and, finally, he recalled the other door opened
to the world by the Vatican Council II fifty years ago, allowing the Church to
encounter the men and women of our time.
The following is the full text of the homily:
“In a few
moments I will have the joy of opening the Holy Door of Mercy. We carry out
this act – as I did in Bangui – so simple yet so highly symbolic, in the light
of the word of God which we have just heard. That word highlights the primacy
of grace. Again and again these readings make us think of the words by which
the angel Gabriel told an astonished young girl of the mystery which was about
to enfold her: ‘Hail, full of grace’.
moments I will have the joy of opening the Holy Door of Mercy. We carry out
this act – as I did in Bangui – so simple yet so highly symbolic, in the light
of the word of God which we have just heard. That word highlights the primacy
of grace. Again and again these readings make us think of the words by which
the angel Gabriel told an astonished young girl of the mystery which was about
to enfold her: ‘Hail, full of grace’.
The Virgin
Mary was called to rejoice above all because of what the Lord accomplished in
her. God’s grace enfolded her and made her worthy of becoming the Mother of
Christ. When Gabriel entered her home, even the most profound and impenetrable
of mysteries became for her a cause for joy, a cause for faith, a cause for
abandonment to the message revealed to her. The fullness of grace can transform
the human heart and enable it to do something so great as to change the course
of human history.
Mary was called to rejoice above all because of what the Lord accomplished in
her. God’s grace enfolded her and made her worthy of becoming the Mother of
Christ. When Gabriel entered her home, even the most profound and impenetrable
of mysteries became for her a cause for joy, a cause for faith, a cause for
abandonment to the message revealed to her. The fullness of grace can transform
the human heart and enable it to do something so great as to change the course
of human history.
The feast of
the Immaculate Conception expresses the grandeur of God’s love. Not only does
he forgive sin, but in Mary he even averts the original sin present in every
man and woman who comes into this world. This is the love of God which
precedes, anticipates and saves. The beginning of the history of sin in the
Garden of Eden yields to a plan of saving love. The words of Genesis reflect
our own daily experience: we are constantly tempted to disobedience, a
disobedience expressed in wanting to go about our lives without regard for God’s
will. This is the enmity which keeps striking at people’s lives, setting them
in opposition to God’s plan. Yet the history of sin can only be understood in
the light of God’s love and forgiveness. Sin can only be understood in this
light. Were sin the only thing that mattered, we would be the most desperate of
creatures. But the promised triumph of Christ’s love enfolds everything in the
Father’s mercy. The word of God which we have just heard leaves no doubt about
this. The Immaculate Virgin stands before us as a privileged witness of this
promise and its fulfillment.
the Immaculate Conception expresses the grandeur of God’s love. Not only does
he forgive sin, but in Mary he even averts the original sin present in every
man and woman who comes into this world. This is the love of God which
precedes, anticipates and saves. The beginning of the history of sin in the
Garden of Eden yields to a plan of saving love. The words of Genesis reflect
our own daily experience: we are constantly tempted to disobedience, a
disobedience expressed in wanting to go about our lives without regard for God’s
will. This is the enmity which keeps striking at people’s lives, setting them
in opposition to God’s plan. Yet the history of sin can only be understood in
the light of God’s love and forgiveness. Sin can only be understood in this
light. Were sin the only thing that mattered, we would be the most desperate of
creatures. But the promised triumph of Christ’s love enfolds everything in the
Father’s mercy. The word of God which we have just heard leaves no doubt about
this. The Immaculate Virgin stands before us as a privileged witness of this
promise and its fulfillment.
This
Extraordinary Year is itself a gift of grace. To pass through the Holy Door
means to rediscover the infinite mercy of the Father who welcomes everyone and
goes out personally to encounter each of them. It is he who seeks us! It is he
who comes to encounter us! This will be a year in which we grow ever more
convinced of God’s mercy. How much wrong we do to God and his grace when we
speak of sins being punished by his judgement before we speak of their being
forgiven by his mercy! But that is the truth. We have to put mercy before
judgement, and in any event God’s judgement will always be in the light of his
mercy. In passing through the Holy Door, then, may we feel that we ourselves are
part of this mystery of love, of tenderness. Let us set aside all fear and
dread, for these do not befit men and women who are loved. Instead, let us
experience the joy of encountering that grace which transforms all things.
Extraordinary Year is itself a gift of grace. To pass through the Holy Door
means to rediscover the infinite mercy of the Father who welcomes everyone and
goes out personally to encounter each of them. It is he who seeks us! It is he
who comes to encounter us! This will be a year in which we grow ever more
convinced of God’s mercy. How much wrong we do to God and his grace when we
speak of sins being punished by his judgement before we speak of their being
forgiven by his mercy! But that is the truth. We have to put mercy before
judgement, and in any event God’s judgement will always be in the light of his
mercy. In passing through the Holy Door, then, may we feel that we ourselves are
part of this mystery of love, of tenderness. Let us set aside all fear and
dread, for these do not befit men and women who are loved. Instead, let us
experience the joy of encountering that grace which transforms all things.
Today, here
in Rome and in all the dioceses of the world, as we pass through the Holy Door,
we also want to remember another door, which fifty years ago the Fathers of the
Second Vatican Council opened to the world. This anniversary cannot be
remembered only for the legacy of the Council’s documents, which testify to a
great advance in faith. Before all else, the Council was an encounter. A
genuine encounter between the Church and the men and women of our time. An
encounter marked by the power of the Spirit, who impelled the Church to emerge
from the shoals which for years had kept her self-enclosed so as to set out
once again, with enthusiasm, on her missionary journey. It was the resumption
of a journey of encountering people where they live: in their cities and homes,
in their workplaces. Wherever there are people, the Church is called to reach
out to them and to bring the joy of the Gospel, and the mercy and forgiveness
of God. After these decades, we again take up this missionary drive with the
same power and enthusiasm. The Jubilee challenges us to this openness, and
demands that we not neglect the spirit which emerged from Vatican II, the
spirit of the Samaritan, as Blessed Paul VI expressed it at the conclusion of
the Council. May our passing through the Holy Door today commit us to making
our own the mercy of the Good Samaritan”.
in Rome and in all the dioceses of the world, as we pass through the Holy Door,
we also want to remember another door, which fifty years ago the Fathers of the
Second Vatican Council opened to the world. This anniversary cannot be
remembered only for the legacy of the Council’s documents, which testify to a
great advance in faith. Before all else, the Council was an encounter. A
genuine encounter between the Church and the men and women of our time. An
encounter marked by the power of the Spirit, who impelled the Church to emerge
from the shoals which for years had kept her self-enclosed so as to set out
once again, with enthusiasm, on her missionary journey. It was the resumption
of a journey of encountering people where they live: in their cities and homes,
in their workplaces. Wherever there are people, the Church is called to reach
out to them and to bring the joy of the Gospel, and the mercy and forgiveness
of God. After these decades, we again take up this missionary drive with the
same power and enthusiasm. The Jubilee challenges us to this openness, and
demands that we not neglect the spirit which emerged from Vatican II, the
spirit of the Samaritan, as Blessed Paul VI expressed it at the conclusion of
the Council. May our passing through the Holy Door today commit us to making
our own the mercy of the Good Samaritan”.
Following
the Holy Mass, the Pope, followed by the cardinals, bishops and priests who
participated in the rite, proceeded to the vestibule of the Basilica to open
the Holy Door. First, he greeted and embraced Pope emeritus Benedict XVI, and
then walked alone to the Door where he recited the words of Psalm 118: “Open to
me the gates of justice”.
the Holy Mass, the Pope, followed by the cardinals, bishops and priests who
participated in the rite, proceeded to the vestibule of the Basilica to open
the Holy Door. First, he greeted and embraced Pope emeritus Benedict XVI, and
then walked alone to the Door where he recited the words of Psalm 118: “Open to
me the gates of justice”.
Francis
pushed against the Door with his hands until it opens and then prayed a moment
before entering the Basilica. The Pope emeritus then entered, followed by the
cardinals, bishops, religious and laypeople, including some of Italy’s most
prominent political figures.
pushed against the Door with his hands until it opens and then prayed a moment
before entering the Basilica. The Pope emeritus then entered, followed by the
cardinals, bishops, religious and laypeople, including some of Italy’s most
prominent political figures.
The Jubilee
of Mercy is the first extraordinary Jubilee of the 21st century. In the 20th
century Pius XI proclaimed a Holy Year in 1933 to commemorate the nineteenth
centenary of the death of Christ, and Paul VI inaugurated another in 1966 that
lasted five months, dedicated to the closure shortly beforehand of Vatican
Council II. St. John Paul II convoked a Jubilee with the Bull “Aperite Portas Redemptori”
the Holy Year of Redemption in 1983, for the 1950th anniversary of the
Redemption.
of Mercy is the first extraordinary Jubilee of the 21st century. In the 20th
century Pius XI proclaimed a Holy Year in 1933 to commemorate the nineteenth
centenary of the death of Christ, and Paul VI inaugurated another in 1966 that
lasted five months, dedicated to the closure shortly beforehand of Vatican
Council II. St. John Paul II convoked a Jubilee with the Bull “Aperite Portas Redemptori”
the Holy Year of Redemption in 1983, for the 1950th anniversary of the
Redemption.
Source: Vatican City, 8 December 2015 (VIS) –
