jesus, the doorman
"You shut the doors of the kingdom of God in men's faces." —Matthew 23:13
Jesus promised: "I have left an open door before you which no one can close" (Rv 3:8). Paul affirmed: "A door has been opened wide for my work" (1 Cor 16:9), and "the door of opportunity was opened wide for me by the Lord" (2 Cor 2:12). At the end of the first Christian missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas related how God "had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles" (Acts 14:27).
There is a door in the Vatican which is rarely opened. In a few months, this door will be opened by the Pope. This will symbolize the opening of the Great Jubilee and the two-thousandth anniversary of Jesus' Incarnation. The Church has called us for several years to work with Jesus in opening the door of the Great Jubilee. Hopefully, we have responded to the Lord's call to reconciliation and penance in the years 1994-1996. Hopefully, we were "docile to the action of the Holy Spirit" (Toward the Third Millennium (TMA), 18) in 1997, the year of Jesus; 1998, the year of the Holy Spirit; and this year, the year of God the Father. Pope John Paul II has commanded everyone "to do as much as possible" to prepare for the Great Jubilee (TMA, 55).
As we near the opening of the door to the Great Jubilee, persevere in your preparations, repent if you have failed to prepare, and work with Jesus in opening the door.
Prayer: Jesus, I repent of being a lock. Make me a key-person in Your kingdom.
Promise: "Our preaching of the gospel proved not a mere matter of words for you but one of power; it was carried on in the Holy Spirit and out of complete conviction." —1 Thes 1:5
Praise: St. Rose wrote, "If only mortals would learn how great it is to possess divine grace...no one would complain about his cross."
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, February 22, 1999
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 24, 1999