Bethany Hang Out

On Christmas Eve the Holy Father knocked on a normally sealed (with bricks) door in St. Peter’s Basilica and gave it a push. Symbolically and ceremonially the holy door was opened wide, ushering in the Jubilee Year of Hope for the whole world so in need of it now. 

The holy door represents Christ, who said, “I am the gate,” and “I am the Way.” He is our door, his heart open wide in welcome, beckoning for us to step in to him, to open the doors of our hearts as well, to him, and to others. 

This door and this holy year are not merely a symbol and a theme, not only a call from the Pope to renew and intensify our faith, to remember hope and to give hope, though they are those things too. Something very real is happening here, a release, a flood of grace from the treasury entrusted to the Church by Jesus, and to Peter who can unlock and lock, release and forgive. 

Veteran Vatican journalist Gerard O’Connell described on the podcast “Inside the Vatican,” being present for the opening of the holy door for the jubilee year 2000 by Pope St. John Paul II. He said we often talk about “ being in the now” but this felt “beyond the now.” I think he was talking about a transcendent present. “Like being in another dimension” he said. I think that sense he had points to the truth of what is actually happening as the Church opens these holy doors all over the world.

Pope Francis urges us to remember that we are a people of hope, a people on a journey, and we have confident assurance that we are on the road with and to Christ. We know where we are going though we cannot see it with our eyes. 

He also asks that we turn and give  hope to others who need food, shelter, freedom, human dignity, people under relentless attack in war,  the refugee and the migrant, the prisoner, the poor. 

He is speaking not just to individuals but to nations, urging them to work for peace and to protect human life and dignity. He calls for rich nations to forgive the crippling and impossible debts of the poor ones. He asks for the richer nations to be mindful also of ecological justice for poorer countries as well.  

He wants to see restorative justice for prisoners emphasized more  than the punitive emphasis we tend to favor. Francis went so far as to open a holy door in a prison (that leads to their prison chapel) and asks that society help these people have hope for their lives beyond prison. 

We are called to works and an approach of mercy for all of these brothers and sisters in need of hope

We can also take advantage of the mercy and grace of this holy year by making a pilgrimage. Most of us can’t get to Rome but each diocese will announce pilgrimage sites closer we can journey to. 

Here are the ones for the Diocese of Austin. For pilgrimage sites near you check your Diocesan website.

• St. Mary Cathedral, Austin
• Holy Cross Parish, Austin
• Holy Vietnamese Martyrs Parish, Austin
• Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, Temple
• Our Lady of Wisdom University Parish @ Texas State University, San Marcos
• Santa Cruz Parish, Buda
• St. Joseph Parish, Bryan
• St. Mary Church of the Assumption Parish, Waco
• St. Mary Catholic Center @ Texas A&M University, College Station
• St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish, Lampasas
• University Catholic Center @ University of Texas, Austin

In order to receive an indulgence:

• Visit and Pray at a Pilgrimage Site
• Perform a work of mercy or penance
• Recitation of specific prayers (If you are homebound and cannot participate in pilgrimage)

We can apply this grace and mercy of the Jubilee Year to our beloved dead to help them in their journey through eternity, for their purification. This is commonly called a  “plenary indulgence.” We share spiritual goods with the dead and with the living in the Communion of Saints. So we can access the special graces of the Holy Year for ourselves as well as others.

Another thing a plenary indulgence does is release us from temporal punishment for sins that have already been forgiven. In current parlance you could think of this as the antidote to “what goes around comes around.”  

This is also a year for repentance and penance. We can take advantage of the grace of this holy year by returning to confession, making amends to anyone we have hurt, amending our lives, beginning again. 

It’s a year of reconciliation and forgiveness. Any forgiveness we are holding back, this year we should  let go. Forgive everyone, everyone. Don’t let anything anyone detain you on your way to Christ. 

We are Pilgrims of Hope. There is a renewal of Christian Joy afoot! Grab your pilgrim’s staff,  put on your pilgrim’s shoes. Let’s go!