But they are not closing their holy door:

"Here in the Archdiocese our glass Doors of Mercy, will in fact, remain open. These doors will continue to remind all who enter the Cathedral that the Lord desires the doors to God's mercy to be thrown wide open, enabling all peoples to come to God, to return to God, to experience God's healing mercy!"

"Special cards to recall the Year of Mercy are being distributed this coming weekend to all families in the Archdiocese. It is a reminder that "the Doors of Mercy are always open."

At the closing mass held at Holy Family Primary School parishioners were reminded about the importance of looking out for those in need in their communities.

Parishioners traveled from seven parishes in the North, including Taveuni and Bua.

Last Sunday, in the Western Division, Catholics gathered in Lautoka. The celebration began with a Eucharistic procession from Shirley Park to the Church.

Then there was a open-air mass in the grounds of St Thomas Primary School.

Father Veremo Doverua was the presiding celebrant. All the priests in the division concelebrated.

Members of the Lautoka parish provided a meal for those from the visiting parishes. Each each community had been allotted a different task for preparing the food.

The Year of Mercy began when Pope Francis opened the Holy Door at St Peter's Basilica on December 8 last year.

Holy doors where opened in Cathedrals and designated churches throughout the world.

In Fiji, Archbishop Peter Chong opened the doors of mercy of the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Suva on the eve of the third Sunday of Advent.

Three basilicas in Rome - St. Paul Outside the Walls, St. John Lateran and St. Mary Major - were closed during special Masses held Nov. 13.

The Holy Doors at churches and basilicas around the world are also closing the same day.

The year will officially end on Nov. 20, the Solemnity of Christ the King, when Pope Francis will close the Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica. It was opened on Dec. 8, 2015, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

Source

• fijisun.com.fj
• fijitimes.com
• catholicnewsagency.com
• Image: fijisun.com.fj

In the Diocese of Gizo in the Solomon Islands the isolation and remoteness of parishes from the diocesan centre makes it virtually impossible for the people living in the villages to come to the Holy Door at the cathedral.

So the pastoral team of the diocese, led by Bishop Luciano Capelli, thought of a mobile Holy Door.

In two months, the Holy Door has gone to the most remote islands and villages of the diocese. Its pilgrimage ended on May 9th.

In each of the 14 stations visited there was a level of participation in the liturgy never seen before.

The programme was carried out in almost the same way in every village.

The Warriors of the village officially welcomed the Holy Door.

This was followed by a liturgy over a period of three days to present the meaning of the Jubilee.

It included a prayer vigil in preparation for the sacrament of reconciliation, and then a dialogue of reconciliation between people and groups in conflict.

"The priests were surprised by the participation and goodwill experienced in a real climate of mercy," said Capelli.

"It is beautiful when people are able to forgive and start afresh... mistakes and conflicts can become moments of encounter and growth if approached with an open heart, with faith and generosity."

Source

• wantokniuspepa.com
• Image: infoans.org

On the same day Holy Doors were opened throughout cathedrals and churches around the world to mark the start of the Year of Mercy.

Pope Francis celebrated Mass at the basilica in Rome and during his homily he discussed the "simple sign" of opening the Holy Doors.

"It begins a time of the great forgiveness. It is the Jubilee of Mercy. It is time to rediscover the presence of God and his fatherly tenderness," he said.

"God does not love rigidity. He is Father; He is tender; everything done with the tenderness of the Father."

The Pope also warned against being "taken in by weariness" and "sadness in any form" despite "many concerns and the many forms of violence which hurt our humanity".

"In a historical context of great abuse and violence, especially by men of power, God knows that he will reign over his people, who would never leave them at the mercy of the arrogance of their leaders, and will free them from all anxiety," he said.

The Pope noted that "we are asked to be instruments of mercy, knowing that we will be judged on this".

"He who is baptised knows he has a greater commitment. Faith in Christ leads to a journey that lasts for a lifetime: to be merciful, like the Father.

"The joy of crossing through the door of mercy is accompanied by a commitment to welcome and witness to a love that goes beyond justice, a love that knows no boundaries.

"It is from this infinite love that we are responsible, in spite of our contradictions."

Sources

• Catholic Herald
• Catholic World News
• The Telegraph
• Image: Vatican Radio

In a Mass at St Peter's Square on December 8, Francis said the holy year is a gift of grace.

"How much wrong we do to God and his grace when we affirm that sins are punished by his judgment before putting first that they are forgiven by his mercy!" the Pope exhorted.

"It is truly so," he said.

"We have to put mercy before judgment, and in every case God's judgment will always be in the light of his mercy.

"Let us abandon all fear and dread, for these do not befit men and women who are loved," said Francis.

Saying that Christ is the door "through which we come to [God]", the Pope pushed through the Holy Door at St Peter's Basilica.

Retired Pope Benedict XVI was the second person to follow Francis through the door.

Francis has asked that dioceses throughout the world open their own holy door at a cathedral or other church in the holy year.

By making a pilgrimage to a holy door in a jubilee year, an indulgence can be gained, as long as other conditions are fulfilled.

An indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment due to sin, whose guilt has already been forgiven.

At the St Peter's celebration on December 8, tribute was also paid to the Second Vatican Council, which officially closed its work on December 8, 1965.

The eucharistic celebration on Tuesday was opened with readings of excerpts from the Council's four constitutions and its documents on ecumenism and religious liberty.

In his homily, Francis noted the council was "a true encounter between the Church and the men and women of our time".

"An encounter marked by the force of the Spirit, who pushed the Church to emerge from the shoals which for many years had kept her closed in herself, to set out once again, with enthusiasm, on her missionary journey," he continued.

"It was the resumption of a journey of going to meet every person where they live: in their cities, in their homes, in their workplaces," he said.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• Full text of Pope Francis's homily at the inauguration of the Holy Year
• Vatican City
• Catechism of the Catholic Church
• Image: Irish Times

The retired pontiff accepted the invitation of Francis to attend the opening.

Benedict will not take part in the whole official inauguration of the Jubilee of Mercy.

But he will be present in the basilica atrium for the rite of opening, following the Eucharistic celebration.

The opening of the Holy Door is intended to symbolically illustrate the idea that the Church's faithful are offered an "extraordinary path" toward salvation during the time of jubilee.

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The bishops have welcomed Pope Francis's initiatives for the Jubilee Year of Mercy which starts on December 8.

Among these is installing a holy door at each cathedral and shrine.

Holy doors, or porta santa, are normally sealed shut from the inside.

They are only opened during Jubilee years, during which pilgrims pass through the doors to gain a plenary indulgence.

The England and Wales bishops said that the Jubilee Year should also find expression by encouraging Confession as "the Sacrament of the New Evangelisation" over the weekend of May 4 to 5 in 2016.

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The Pope did this in an official Bull of Indiction convoking the extraordinary jubilee Year of Mercy, which will run from December 8, 2015, to November 20, 2016.

The 9500 word document, "Misericordiae Vultus" ("The Face of Mercy"), was released on Saturday.

It opens with the declaration, "Jesus is the face of the Father's mercy. These words might well sum up the mystery of the Christian faith".

The document develops three main themes.

First, Pope Francis dwelt on the theological understanding of God's mercy.

Secondly, the Pope offered practical ways to live well the Holy Year.

Thirdly, he issued particular calls for justice and conversion.

"Mercy is the very foundation of the Church's life," Francis wrote.

"The Church's very credibility is seen in how she shows merciful and compassionate love."

The motto of the Holy Year is "Merciful like the Father," a phrase taken from Luke's Gospel.

The pontiff identified mercy as the central function of the Church and the key aspect of Jesus' ministry and work.

He added that our own exercise of pardon will determine how we will eventually be judged.

Francis wrote that mercy and justice are not contradictory, but are "two dimensions of a single reality that unfolds progressively until it culminates in the fullness of love".

God envelopes justice "and surpasses it with an even greater event (mercy) in which we experience love as the foundation of true justice".

"The temptation . . . to focus exclusively on justice made us forget that this is only the first, albeit necessary and indispensable step," the Pope explained.

"The time has come for the Church to take up the joyful call to mercy once more," he stated.

The Pope has requested that every diocese in the world open a "Door of Mercy" similar to the one he will open on December 8 at St Peter's Basilica.

And, during Lent of the Holy Year, the Pope will send out priests to whom he will grant "the authority to pardon even those sins reserved to the Holy See".

Sources

• Vatican Radio
• National Catholic Reporter
• Catholic Herald
• Image: The Church in Malta