The Jubilee and the Opening of the Holy Door. An Invitation to Pray
The doors of the papal basilicas and those of all the cathedrals of the world will be opened during the Jubilee Year 2025 as a “special occasion to meditate on the great gift of divine mercy that always awaits us and on the importance of interior conversion, which is necessary to be able to live the spiritual gifts given to pilgrims.”1 Pope Francis invites us to prepare for this time by intensifying prayer as a personal dialogue with God; an invitation that should lead us to reflect on our faith and our commitment in today’s world, in the various areas in which we are called to live. During this year, we can become authentic “pilgrims of hope,” walking toward the Lord who awaits us all with arms of mercy and forgiveness.
During his pontificate, Francis has been teaching us that to pray is to live in the present immersed in the mercy of God. This is what Jesus, misericordiae vultus (the face of mercy), came to teach us with His life. His mercy is an ocean that floods us in an incomprehensible abyss that touches the depths of our souls. After a time of prayer, the conversation flows as when we talk to a friend whom we admire, thank, ask for forgiveness, share our material needs, and ask for advice. Then the sweet balm of His love pours into us, provoking intense moments of consolation. Here in our condition as creatures before our Creator is a marvelous moment of balance between contemplation and action. The wounded hand of Jesus touches our hearts in its physical dimension. There is no mercy without contact, no contemplation that does not lead to action. The Father waits for us, invites us to an encounter, and with His embrace, the proper dimension of mercy is given in time and space. We must pray to prepare ourselves to receive the mercy of the Father in this Holy Year, to feel in our hearts the wounded hands of the Son who sends us to heal the wounds of humanity.
During the rest of 2024, the Pope wants us to prepare ourselves to receive the mercy of God, our Father, who always waits for us and forgives us in a special way during the Jubilee. The Pope wants all of us to deeply live this event of grace and to experience the strength of God’s hope. In March, he said that “prayer transforms us: it soothes anger, sustains love, multiplies joy, and gives us the strength to forgive.”2 When we enter through the Holy Door, we are transformed to live a new life touched by God’s mercy. The Pope hopes that in the months leading up to the Jubilee Year, after having spent more time in the presence of God, listening to Him and adoring Him, we will offer Him a great symphony of prayer. Therefore, he said, the goal for this year is to foster a relationship with God by filling our hearts with faith, hope and charity.
The document “Teach Us to Pray” for Living the Year of Prayer in preparation for the Jubilee 2025, says that prayer should be for the Christian “the breath of life” capable of never being interrupted “even when we sleep.” Prayer is the place where we recognize ourselves as part of the “one family of God” because we call God Our Father. Everything in the Church is born in prayer, and everything grows thanks to prayer. It is prayer that opens the door to the Holy Spirit, who inspires us to go forward.
May Mary, Our Lady of the Way and of Hope, open the doors of our hearts to mercy and forgiveness, fruits of the Jubilee Holy Year.
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1 Pope Francis, “2024 – Year of Prayer,” Dicastery for Evangelization, Jubilee 2025, January 2024, https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en/giubileo-2025/verso-il-giubileo/2024-anno-della-preghiera.html
2 Pope Francis, “2024 – Year of Prayer,” Dicastery for Evangelization, Jubilee 2025, January 2024, https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en/giubileo-2025/verso-il-giubileo/2024-anno-della-preghiera.html
Paula Gómez Victorica was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was a contemplative nun of the Order of St. Benedict for 20 years. She has lived in Massachusetts since 2001. Paula is a Certified Spiritual Director. She is now studying for a Post-Master’s Certificate in Ignatian Spirituality at the Clough School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College. She currently teaches Biblical Spirituality in asynchronous online courses at the same School. She serves as Director of the Faith Formation Program at St. Ignatius Parish, Chestnut Hill, MA, and also coordinates the Hispanic Community.
