At the door of mercy- At the threshold of the Jubilee Francis invites everyone to be examples of an open and welcoming Church

“Take heart! Let us enter through this
door!”. As “the threshold of the Jubilee” approaches, Pope Francis invited the
entire Church to come to “the great door of the Mercy of God”. At the General
Audience in St Peter’s Square on Wednesday morning, 18 November, the Pontiff
encouraged everyone, especially families, to welcome and forgive, because, he
said, “an inhospitable Church, like a family closed off within itself,
mortifies the Gospel and withers the world”. The following is a translation of
the Holy Father’s catechesis which was
delivered in Italian.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Good morning!

With this reflection we have arrived at the
threshold of the Jubilee, it’s close. The door is before us, not just the Holy
Door, but the other: the great door of the Mercy of God — and that is a
beautiful door! — which embraces our penance, offering the grace of his
forgiveness. The door is generously open, it takes a little courage on our part
to cross the threshold. Each of us has burdensome things within ourselves. We
are all sinners! Let us take advantage of this coming moment and cross the
threshold of this mercy of God who never tires of forgiving, never tires of
waiting for us! He watches us, he is always beside us. Take heart! Let us enter
through this door!

From
the Synod of Bishops, which we celebrated in the month of October, all families
and the entire Church have received great encouragement to meet at the
threshold of this open door. The Church was encouraged to open her doors, to go
out with the Lord to meet her sons and daughters on the path, at times
uncertain, at times dismayed, in these difficult times. Christian families in
particular were encouraged to open the door to the Lord who is waiting to
enter, bringing his blessing and his friendship. And as the door of God’s mercy
is always open, so too must the doors of our churches, our communities, our
parishes, our institutions, our dioceses, be open, because this is how we can
all go out to bring this mercy of God. The Jubilee signifies the great door of
the mercy of God but also the small doors of our churches, open to allow the
entrance of the Lord — or often the exit of the Lord — who is a prisoner of our
structures, of our selfishness and of so many things.

The
Lord never forces the door: he too asks permission to enter. The Book of
Revelation says: “I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and
opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (3:20).
Let us imagine the Lord knocking at the door of our heart! In the last great
vision of the Book of Revelation, the City of God is prophesied like this: “its
gates shall never be shut by day”, which means for ever, because “there shall
be no night there” (21:25). There are places in the world in which doors are
not locked, there still are. But there are so many where armoured doors have
become the norm. We must not give in to the idea that we must apply this system
to all of our life, to the life of the family, of this city, of society, much
less to the life of the Church. That would be terrible! An inhospitable Church,
like a family closed off within itself, mortifies the Gospel and withers the
world. No armoured doors in the Church, none! Completely open!

The
symbolic management of “doors” — of thresholds, of passages, of borders — has
become crucial. The door must protect, of course, but not reject. The door must
not be forced but on the contrary, one asks permission, because hospitality
shines in the freedom of welcoming, and dims in the arrogance of invasion. The
door is frequently opened, in order to see if there is someone waiting outside,
perhaps without the courage, nor perhaps the strength to knock. How many people
have lost faith, do not have the courage to knock at the door of our Christian
heart, at the doors of our churches…. And they are there, they don’t have the
courage, we have taken away trust: please, may this never happen. A door says
many things about the house, and also about the Church. Tending the door
requires attentive discernment and, at the same time, must inspire great faith.
I would like to pay a word of gratitude to all porters: of our condominiums, of
civil institutions, of the Churches themselves. Often a porter’s acumen and
courtesy can offer an image of humanity and of welcome to the entire house,
right from the entrance. There is something to be learned from these men and
women, who are watchmen at the places of encounter and welcome in the city of
man! To all of you watchmen of so many doors, be they residential doors or
church doors, many thanks! Always with a smile, always demonstrating the
acceptance of that house, of that Church, so people feel happy and welcomed in
that place.

In
truth, we are well aware that we ourselves are watchmen and servants of the
Door of God, and what is the name of the door of God? Jesus! He illuminates us
over all the doors of life, including those of our birth and of our death. He
himself affirmed it: “I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved,
and will go in and out and find pasture” (Jn 10:9). Jesus is the door that lets
us go in and out. Because God’s sheepfold is a refuge, it isn’t a prison! The
house of God is a refuge, it isn’t a prison, and the door is called Jesus! If
the door is closed, we say: “Lord, open the door!”. Jesus is the door and lets
us go in and out. Those who try to avoid the door are thieves: it’s curious,
thieves always try to enter by another way, by the window, by the roof, but
they avoid the door, because they have wicked intentions, and they sneak into
the sheepfold in order to deceive the sheep and take advantage of them. We must
enter through the door and listen to Jesus’ voice: if we hear the tone of his voice, we are certain, we are
saved. We can go in without fear and go out without danger. This beautiful
discourse Jesus also speaks of the gatekeeper, whose task is opening to the
Good Shepherd (cf. Jn 10:2). If the gatekeeper hears the Shepherd’s voice, he
opens it, and lets in all of the sheep that the Shepherd brings, all of them,
including those lost in the wood, whom the Good Shepherd went to get back. The
sheep are not chosen by the gatekeeper, they are not chosen by the parish
secretary or parish administrator; the sheep are all called, they are chosen by
the Good Shepherd. The gatekeeper — he too — obeys the voice of the Shepherd.
Thus, we can well say that we must be like that gatekeeper. The Church is the
gatekeeper of the house of the Lord, she is not the proprietor of the house of
the Lord.

The
Holy Family of Nazareth knows just what an open or closed door means, for those
expecting a child, for those who have no shelter, for those who need to escape
danger. Christian families make the threshold of their homes a great sign of
the Door of the mercy and welcome of God. It is precisely how the Church will
have to be recognized, in every corner of the earth: as the watchmen of a God
who knocks, as the reception of a God who does not close the door in your face,
with the excuse that you are not part of the household. With this spirit let us
approach the Jubilee: there will be the Holy Door, but there is the door of the
great mercy of God. May there also be the door of our heart for all to receive
God’s forgiveness and to give in our turn our forgiveness, welcoming all those
who knock at our door.