From the Rector: A Holy Door

A HOLY DOOR AT SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL, pt. 2
A Holy Door
Our Holy Door here at Sacred Heart Cathedral, currently under construction on the North side of the building, will be opened by Bishop Wall at 10:30am next Sunday, December 13th.

In anticipation of the “unsealing” of the Holy Door for the upcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy, we can reflect on these words of Pope Francis, from his General Audience on November 18th.

“Dear Brothers and Sisters:  As the extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy approaches, today we consider the great open door of God’s mercy, symbolized by the Holy Doors which will open in Churches throughout the world.  The recent Synod of Bishops on the Family encouraged families in a particular way to enter this door of mercy and to open the doors of their hearts to others.  Jesus tells us that he stands knocking at our door, asking that we open it to him (Rev 3:20).  How important it is for us to be good doorkeepers, capable of opening our doors and making our homes places of encounter and welcome, especially to our brothers and sisters in need!  Jesus also tells us that he himself is the door (Jn 10:9) which leads to salvation; if we pass through him, we will find lasting security and freedom.  As guardians of that door, we in the Church are called to be welcoming to all who seek to enter the fold of the Good Shepherd.  May the doors of our Christian homes be signs and symbols of the door of God’s mercy, a door ever open to all who knock and desire to meet Jesus.”

Just last week, Pope Francis travelled to several countries in Africa. While in the Central African Republic, he visited Notre-Dame Cathedral in the Archdiocese of Bangui. Before Mass, the Pope himself opened the cathedral’s Holy Door, praying for the outpouring of God’s healing mercy on our broken world:

Join us next Sunday for the unsealing of our new Holy Door! As Pope Francis told us in the Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Year of Mercy (Misericordiae Vultus), “On that day, the Holy Door will become a Door of Mercy through which anyone who enters will experience the love of God who consoles, pardons, and instils hope.”