The Year of Mercy has begun on the 8th December and last Sunday, 13th December, (the 3rd Sunday of Advent), the doors of the five pilgrimage churches in the Archdiocese of Singapore were blessed and opened.
It was decreed by Pope Francis that in every diocese, either at the Cathedral or another church of special significance, a Door of Mercy will be opened for the duration of the Holy Year.
So in our Archdiocese there are five pilgrimage churches with five Doors of Mercy. In other words, each district has a pilgrimage church and that would make it very accessible for us.
So the invitation to make a pilgrimage to any one of these churches and to fulfill the requirements for a plenary indulgence and to experience the mercy of God is already sent to us.
So what is our response to God's invitation to receive His mercy and to experience forgiveness and mercy?
Would we be like the second son who said "Yes" but then did nothing about it?
That would be like what the 1st reading described of the rebellious who "would never listen to the call, would never learn the lesson, never trusted in the Lord and never drawn near to God.
But the time has come when we have to feel the shame for all the misdeeds we have committed against the Lord and cry out to Him for mercy.
With God's mercy we will receive healing so that we will do no wrong, tell no lies, and the perjured tongue will no longer be found in our mouths.
Yes, this is the time of mercy. Let us show that we need God's mercy with acts of corporal and spiritual works of mercy so that we can be merciful to others just as God has been merciful to us.
 |
| The Holy Door at Church of the Sacred Heart, Pilgrimage Centre, City District |
 |
| Rite of Blessing of the Holy Door |
 |
| Incensing the Holy Door |