It is always inspiring to experience something new. One day very early in the morning, I took a walk to the Vatican. I had a companion but we kept silent. It was a pilgrim walk in darkness to cross over the "Porta Sancta" in Saint Peter's Basilica. It took about one hour and ten minutes.
Celebrating the year of Jubilee, five holy doors (Porta Sancta) are opened at Saint Peter's Basilica, Archbasilica of St John Lateran, Basilica of Saint Mary the Great, Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, and Caritas diocesan hostel (a homeless shelter in Termini as the door of charity) in Rome.Porta Sancta as an entrance portal sealed by mortar and cement is only opened during Jubilee years. Those pilgrims who enter through Porta Sancta can gain plenary indulgences. The door has been opened wide to all people!
In the Seoul archdiocese, four places have been nominated as pilgrimage sites (Myeongdong Cathedral, Yakhyun Church, Saenamteo, and Jeoldusan holy places) and 12 other dioceses in Korea have also opened various holy places so that people can make a pilgrimage and have indulgences.
All Catholics are celebrating the Jubilee year here and there throughout the world. Anybody who crosses over the door is expected to experience the joy of salvation, atonement, reparation, and renewal. It is truly the time for tenderness, forgiveness, celebration, and liberty. How glad and grateful it is to believe that we don't have accounts or debts anymore. "Everyone is to return to their own property." (Leviticus 25,13).
"How could you go to Rome so quickly? All of a sudden, you are in Rome."
Some of my friends asked me the story of going to Rome. Well, in a word, it is totally the gratis gift and abundant grace of God who is "rich in mercy" (Ephesians 2,4), generous and compassionate, "slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (Exodus 34,6).
Most of the time in the Congregation, I devoted myself to the editorial as an editor, and I had to step down after two years of serving as editor-in-chief. Then, other opportunities were given to me to experience media propaganda and missionary life.
Long ago before coming to Rome, I expressed my longing for new experiences many times and prayed over them sincerely. Of course, most attentively, I listened to my inner voice.
And one day, I met a person with a vision and a different perspective, goodness, understanding, compassion, smiles, and composure in her heart and she listened to me.
We think and judge so many things in diverse ways, but it is true that with God nothing is impossible. In my life, many miracles have happened because I passionately longed for and did my best while making constant and faithful efforts. When we do our best, no matter how the situation turns out, we meet various people with goodwill and goodness.
Once we open our eyes, we can see so many guardian angels around us. Then, naturally, miracles do happen through the help of those guardian angels with goodness in their hearts.
We are constantly crossing over to go beyond the vertical limit. That's why thousands and thousands of people are still migrating to other countries in spite of dangerous struggles. Deep down in our unconscious exists a holy longing to go beyond the situation while praying so hard and making constant efforts to move on and on.
In this extraordinary year of Jubilee, Pope Francesco encourages us to transcend every kind of indifference towards God and people. Indifference always causes disunity and confrontation.
As in the symbolic opening of Porta Sancta, the door to compassion, solidarity, interdependence, and interconnectedness has been opened in our hearts. That is what the meaning of the Jubilee year of mercy stands for. Facing the global crisis, each of us is invited to change our hearts and to live with the spirit of compassion and mercy in our concrete daily lives.
Living in "Casa Generalia" where the General Government of the Congregation is stationed, it is so touching and grateful to see that all the General Councilors including General Superior Sister are quick and prompt to serve at the bottom of the community. Living the authority of love and service, they never stay behind when the need to serve and help others arise.
When the compassionate mercy is abundant among us, the brokenhearted and the sick are healed, the wounds and the hurts are bound up, the downtrodden and the humbled are lifted up, and the poor and the marginalized are liberated (cf. Psalm 147,3-6; Luke 4,18-19).
Our life is a constant journey of conversion from one state to the other state. We will cross the open door over and over again until we are fully freed and liberated from selfish ego and ultimately until our perspectives are filled with compassion and mercy.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2016/01/162_195926.html
The Korea Times/ Thoughts of the Times/ Jan 20 (online), 21 (offline), 2016
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