The Holy Door is the emblematic symbol of each Jubilee. Normally closed for a quarter of a century, it is finally opened on Christmas Eve to inaugurate the Year of Mercy. Like any sign, that of the door is full of meaning. Its roots go back to the Old Testament. Many important events took place […]
Pope Francis inrguated the Holy Year saying, “The time has come for a new Jubilee, when once more the Holy Door will be flung open to invite everyone to an intense experience of the love of God that awakens in hearts the sure hope of salvation in Christ.” (Spes non confundit, n. 6). Now […]
The wise men who went to Bethlehem to adore the Lord were the first “Pilgrims of Hope” in the New Testament! Let us follow their journey to Bethlehem to see how they can inspire us to live this Jubilee year with their sense of love and hope in the Lord. The Gospel of Matthew tells […]
In the transition between one year and the next, Mary, the Mother of God, helps us not to dwell on time that passes, but rather, on time that brings us towards an encounter with God. He who is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb 13:8). On the first day of the new year 2025, […]
The Adoration of the Shepherds, a work completed in 1571 by Francesco Mancini, is in the apse of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. This work helps us to contemplate the wonders of that first Christmas night. We can imagine entering the Grotto of Bethlehem, just like the shepherd standing on the left and the […]
St Francis’ idea to reproduce the scenes of Bethlehem in a crib is a marvellous way of contemplating the mystery of Christmas. One look at the crib stirs our hearts and fills them with the warm glow of hope as we try to imagine the greatness of the mystery of God made man in this […]
Cum ortus fuerit sol de cœlo Videbitis Regem regum procedentem a Patre tamquam sponsum de thalamo suo. The time is fulfilled, the true Sun, Jesus Christ, illuminates our entire existence. He is the true King, the King of Kings, that proceeds fourth at the head of the court of souls who have been saved and […]
O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster, expectatio gentium, et Salvator earum: veni ad salvandum nos, Domine, Deus noster. The O Antiphon today exhorts us to invoke the Messiah as Emmanuel, God is with us. This helps us to remember the beautiful and amazing truth of Christmas. God reveals himself with the face of Christ who […]
During this week’s General Audience, Pope Francis started his catechesis for the Jubilee which will take the theme, Jesus Christ our hope. Dear brothers and sisters, good morning! Today we will begin the cycle of catechesis that will continue throughout the Jubilee Year. The theme is “Jesus Christ our Hope”: for He is the aim […]
O King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of man, come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust. Today’s antiphon invites us to invoke the Messiah as “King of the nations” and as the cornerstone of the Church. In this way, we […]