Those who walked through were eligible to receive a plenary indulgence
The B.C. Catholic
As holy doors closed in cathedrals around the world, the shepherd of the Vancouver archdiocese asked for mercy to remain in action.
“We can never close the door of mercy in our hearts,” Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, said. “When receiving an offering of mercy, it can never be over and done with.”
The archbishop closed the holy door at Holy Rosary Cathedral Nov. 13, after Mass. Those who walked through holy doors were eligible to receive a plenary indulgence.
“Mercy is a journey that goes from our forgiving hearts to our hands of action to create works of mercy,” said Archbishop Miller in his homily. “Jesus, Who lives forever, wants us to continue to live this mercy so we can gift it to others.”
The Jubilee year officially ended Nov. 20, the Solemnity of Christ the King, when Pope Francis closed the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica. The Door had opened on Dec. 8, 2015, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.
“Mercy is the very foundation of the Church’s life,” wrote Pope Francis in his document for the Year of Mercy. “All of her pastoral activity should be caught up in the tenderness she makes present to believers; nothing in her preaching and in her witness to the world can be lacking in mercy.”
“Although the Jubilee Year is coming to an end, this does not mean our focus on mercy should end,” Archbishop Miller said. “We are called to be people of mercy at all times by living out the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy in our daily lives.”
“People think we no longer give or receive as much mercy with the closing of the doors,” said Deacon Greg Barcelon after Mass, but “It means we have had inspiration and grace from the Church, and now are told to go out and continue the process of mercy.”
Mercy is something we need to consider with every action, he went on. “We have our whole lifetime to mirror God’s mercy intentionally after this year’s celebration. We exist on God’s mercy, while awaiting the coming of Christ, for Whom we look as our final union with Mercy Itself.”
“The door’s closing is a reminder that despite man’s brokenness, the doors are spiritually opened again through Christ’s sacrifice.”
