Cardinal Vicar of Rome opens Holy Door of Saint John Lateran Basilica

By Antonella Palermo

Presiding over the Sunday Mass for the Feast of the Holy Family, Cardinal Baldo Reina recalled how pilgrims come here to free themselves from their burdens and those that the world imposes on them. The cardinal is Pope Francis’ Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome who inaugurated the Holy Door of his cathedral, the Papal Basilica of Saint John Lateran, a celebration marking the start of the Jubilee Year in all dioceses.

The Mayor of Rome was also present at the celebration, having inaugurated the square in front of the Basilica and the area facing the Holy Staircase, which shines again thanks to the repaving works with large patches of grass and round fountains with water jets and fog. Groups of religious, mothers and their children, young families, faithful, students and tourists from various parts of the world were present, reflecting the dynamism, joys and concerns for our world and its hopes.

“It’s a great honor to be here,” said a woman accompanying her mother. A young girl spoke the spirit of all those who wanted to be here but couldn’t. “It is crucial to be here, to change our lives, because we are called to holiness,” says a religious from Mexico. “It’s important to us because without God we can’t do anything,” said a New York couple with four children. “May the Lord give us hope and help us to convey his word to the people,” said a woman from northern Italy.

In communion with the Pope in his cathedral

Around three thousand faithful attended the celebration in the basilica, while many others remained outside to follow it live. The prayer pronounced by Cardinal Reina when opening the Holy Door asked that all those who pass through it be accompanied by the grace of God: “like a flock that gathers in a single sheepfold, may they live fruitfully this jubilee year”. Silently, the bronze door of the Holy Door opened with a pause for prayer, then the bells rang out in the “mother of all churches” to the sound of the Jubilee hymn. In communion with Pope Francis, in his Cathedral, the faithful were invited to join in prayer with the assurance of his spiritual support and joy.

Cardinal Reina, Vicar of the Diocese of Rome, during mass in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran

Closeness to those who suffer

In his homily, Cardinal Reina thought especially of “those who feel distant and unworthy” and of those who carry “the weight of deep bitterness” in their hearts. He remembered the sick, the prisoners, those overwhelmed by pain, loneliness, poverty and difficulties. He offered words of encouragement, saying that no one should feel abandoned “because of discouragement or lack of meaning” if they have lost hope or stopped seeking the Father’s embrace. And “in this world torn by wars, discord and inequalities, let us open our embrace to all.”

Prayer for families in difficulty

By “providential coincidence”, he underlined, today is the feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth, “model of all domestic community and mirror of Trinitarian communion”, inviting everyone to recognize themselves as part of of the family of God, called to grow in unity and mutual charity. In his prayers he thought in particular of families in difficulty and suffering. In one of the prayer intentions of the Mass, a specific request recalled families in situations of poverty: “that they be at the center of the attention of civil leaders and receive the necessary support for a more dignified future.”

A moment during the opening of the Holy Door at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran

Welcoming God into our hearts and homes

Cardinal Reina emphasized that “the Holy Door that we passed through evokes the daily gesture that we make when crossing the threshold of our homes. This door, now wide open, has ushered us not only into the house of the Lord but into the depths of His heart. “. And in the prayer for families before the Eucharistic liturgy, there was an invocation to the Spirit to guide the actions of the spouses, so that the human and Christian growth of the children finds support in the family, and that the Love, consecrated by the bond of marriage, can prove stronger than all weakness and crisis. In his homily, he concluded that by crossing the threshold of our own homes, we try “to bring God into our homes. families, in our daily relationships, in our relationships with children, in marital bonds, in the attention and care of the elderly.

The gift of being children of God

Cardinal Reina, in his homily, also drew heavily on the parable of the prodigal son and how it calls us to rediscover what it means to live as children of God and highlights how our human perception of God’s authorship can often be distorted. The relationship that the Lord wants to establish is one in which “being a child is not an earned or merited condition, but a gift.”

The open arms of the Father are the Holy Door

Cardina Reina emphasized that the open arms of the Father, without reservation, full of tenderness, compassion and “unshakeable hope”, are capable of restoring our dignity. Again, in light of the story of the two sons, the Parable of the Prodigal Son, he observed with great consolation: “These open arms are the Holy Door. No matter how far we have strayed, no matter what happens. we made, wasted or ruined. The moment we decide to return to God, we will never find a closed door, but an embrace that welcomes us and blesses us.

He continued: “From these open arms we learn to be Church, to become its sacrament, the family of God which frees our freedom towards good.” This is why he encouraged everyone to cross the Holy Door with confidence, to savor and contemplate the goodness of the Lord, to experience his joy and to become “tireless sowers of hope and builders of fraternity” in our world.