‘Open the doors of your heart’ to see Jesus among the poor, unloved
GREENSBORO — The Diocese of Charlotte’s third Door of Mercy was swung wide open at St. Pius X Church Jan. 2 by Bishop Emeritus William Curlin, who encouraged people to similarly open their hearts to Jesus during this Jubilee Year of Mercy.
The rite to bless and open the Door of Mercy was celebrated at the start of Mass on the eve of the Epiphany. The celebration included Monsignor Anthony Marcaccio, pastor of St. Pius X Church, and Monsignor Joseph Showfety, the diocese’s first chancellor.
St. Pius X Church is one of three pilgrimage sites in the diocese for the Jubilee Year of Mercy, which continues until Nov. 20, 2016. The other two holy doors are at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte and St. Lawrence Basilica in Asheville.
St. Pius X’s holy door is commemorated with the Latin inscription “Iubilaeum Extraordinarium Misericordiae Anno MMXVI” on the transom.
In his homily, Bishop Curlin asked the faithful to look beyond the ceremony and consider the meaning of the holy door itself.
“This holy year is more than just opening a door,” he said. “We have to get heart involved. Otherwise, it’s just words. It’s just moving around."Bishop Curlin encouraged people to open their hearts to the most vulnerable among us: the poor, the unwanted, the hungry, the homeless, the sick and the dying. Those who are most easily forgotten or discarded, he said, are the ones he has worked to serve throughout his life, inspired by the ministry of his “very dear friend” Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
Bishop Curlin recounted several memories of working alongside Mother Teresa, who is to be canonized later this year by Pope Francis.
During one of his visits to India, he recalled, Mother Teresa took him to a leper hospital. A man there was dying, and she asked Bishop Curlin to bless him. Then she asked him to help her bathe the man.
“I had never bathed a leper, so I didn’t know what to do,” he said. “Suddenly she looked at me and she smiled and she said, ‘Father, don’t fear. Open the gates of your heart and see God there, as Jesus.’”
He continued, “Well, this is a holy year, and God is saying to us, ‘Open the gates of your heart and then see Jesus all around you.’”
“If you just look with your eyes, you’re blind. If you look with your heart, if you open the doors of your heart as we open the holy door, everything changes. You see Jesus in that person that nobody wants.”
He emphasized, “My heart expands when I go through that door and suddenly I see Jesus all around me. I see Him in the poor, I see Him in others who are lonely.”
Bishop Curlin specifically urged people to honor their parents and to reconcile with estranged family and friends, and he asked them to give up pride, vanity and materialism in order to grow closer to Jesus. The Year of Mercy is more than just accepting God’s mercy for us, he said – it is about extending that same mercy towards everyone else.
“When you walk through that door, then, you’re making a pledge. You’re making a pledge not just to walk through the doors and pray, but to walk through the doors to the heart of Christ,” he said.
He then asked, are we visible examples of Christ? Can others tell that we are Catholic, by the kindness in our hearts?
“The way you speak to one another, the way you sacrifice for your loved ones, the way you reach out to people who are hungry or people who are lonely and depressed. It’s Jesus in you, it’s Him acting through your heart,” he said.
When we act with love, “it’s Jesus acting through your heart,” he said. Use your hands, your hearts, your eyes, your words and your actions to act as Jesus would.
He said Mother Teresa once asked him, “People talk about being possessed by the devil. Why aren’t we being possessed by Jesus?’ Those are harsh, strong words, aren’t they? What a challenge!”
“This holy year is more than just opening a door. Walking through that door is a symbol of ‘God, walk through the door of my heart, and use me and my voice and my eyes and my lips, my hands, my feet. Jesus, walk through the doors of my heart.’”
As we commemorate the Epiphany, Bishop Curlin pointed out, we must do as the Magi did: bring Jesus “the greatest gift we have – the love in our hearts.
“And once you give that to Him, the doors open up and He’s everywhere.”
— Patricia L. Guilfoyle, editor
ROME — Continuing his monthly Year of Mercy visits to people in particularly vulnerable situations, Pope Francis spent an afternoon Oct. 14 at Rome's SOS Children's Village.
The village, which includes five houses, attempts to provide a home-like atmosphere for children under the age of 12 whose parents cannot care for them.
A maximum of six children and a house mother live in each of the houses at the village.
According to the Vatican press office, "The boys and girls, accompanied by staff from the center, showed the pope the village's green space, which has a mini-soccer field and a small playground. The children showed the Holy Father their rooms and their toys, and he listened to their stories and stayed for a snack with them."
When Pope Francis announced the Year of Mercy, he said that he would try each month in private to fulfill one of the works of mercy. Since December, his Mercy Friday visits have included spending time with migrants, the aged, at a recovery community for former drug addicts and at a shelter for women rescued from human trafficking and prostitution. In September, he visited the neonatal unit of a Rome hospital, then went to a hospice, spending time with people who are dying and with their loved ones.
— Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service