DOORS TO MERCY Bishop Serratelli was main celebrant and homilist during a Mass Nov. 12 at St. Margaret of Scotland Church, Morristown, with assistance from altar server Angel Garcia. The Mass was followed by the closing of the church’s Holy Door that was opened for the Jubilee Year of Mercy, which concludes Nov. 20. Another Holy Door that the Bishop designated for the Diocese, at Holy Rosary Church/the Diocesan Shrine of St. John Paul II in Passaic, closed Nov. 13.
MORRISTOWN The two Holy Doors that Bishop Serratelli designated for the Diocese — one at St. Margaret of Scotland Church here and the other at Holy Rosary Church/the Diocesan Shrine of St. John Paul II in Passaic — closed this past weekend — a week ahead of the conclusion of the universal Church’s observance of the Jubilee Year of Mercy on Sunday, Nov. 20, the Feast of Christ the King.
During the Holy Year, countless individual pilgrims and groups from parishes in the Diocese and beyond visited either St. Margaret’s or Holy Rosary to walk through their Holy Doors, which symbolized that Jesus serves as our only door to forgiveness and salvation. The pastors of both parishes called hosting Holy Doors in the Diocese a “blessing” that highlighted the need for God’s mercy. The priests also assured people that the doors of their respective parishes will remain open and welcoming, even after the Jubilee Year of Mercy ends.
The Holy Door closed at St. Margaret’s, home of a large Hispanic population, on Nov. 12 after 5 p.m. Mass with Bishop Serratelli, as main celebrant and homilist. Concelebrating were priests, including Father Hernan Arias, pastor. At Holy Rosary, home to a large Polish community, the Holy Door closed during a ceremony with its pastor, Father Stefan Las, presiding at the 10:30 a.m. Mass on Nov. 13.
“Brothers and sisters, we have reached the end of the Jubilee Year — an extraordinary time of grace and mercy. With this liturgy, we give thanks for the gifts bestowed upon us,” said Bishop Serratelli at the Mass in St. Margaret’s, while thanking the parish for hosting a Holy Door and its priests for their dedication to its Holy Year activities. “This is a precious time of peace an conversion. We ask him [God] to pour his mercy unceasingly upon the entire world,” the bishop said.
With great joy, Bishop Serratelli proclaimed, “This is the Lord’s gate; let us enter through it and obtain mercy and forgiveness” on Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015, as he opened the Holy Doors during Masses at St. Margaret’s and Holy Rosary. These ceremonies launched the Diocese’s observances of the universal Church’s Jubilee Year of Mercy, which began that Dec. 8 on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
During the Holy Year, Pope Francis granted a plenary indulgence — which removes all temporal punishment due for sins — to Catholics, who made a pilgrimage and passed through a Holy Door, whether in Rome or in their own dioceses. They also had to make a “worthy sacramental Confession, receive Holy Communion, recite the Creed and pray the Our Father for the intentions of the Holy Father,” the bishop wrote in his pastoral letter, “The Jubilee of Mercy and the Promise of Christ.”
“This year has been a great blessing for our parish, the Diocese and the Church,” Father Arias told Bishop Serratelli at the Nov. 12 Mass. “Thank you, Bishop, for the opportunity to host a Holy Door. So many people came to the parish and came for reconciliation — mercy that they received and can give to others,” he said.
Many pilgrims from the Diocese and beyond, including from the Newark Archdiocese, visited St. Margaret’s to walk through the Holy Door — a clearly marked glass door with a gold frame and bars on the windows, topped with spires, that led from the vestibule to the main worship area, Father Arias said.
For the Holy Year, the parish held Mercy Tuesdays from 3:30 to 7 p.m., which included Mass in Spanish, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and opportunities for Reconciliation. Often, Father Arias and Father Jesus Peralta, St. Margaret’s parochial vicar, who also concelebrated the Nov. 12 Mass, would hear confessions until 9 p.m. Many people came to St. Margaret’s thanks to Mercy Tuesdays, which the parish may continue in the future, the pastor said.
Also during the Holy Year, the existing Divine Mercy group at St. Margaret’s continued reciting the Chaplet of Divine Mercy on Fridays and also has been reading about the faith journey of St. Faustina Kowalska, the Polish nun, who promoted devotion to Divine Mercy. The parish’s rosary-making group distributed rosaries at Masses, which included distribution of prayer cards for the Jubilee Year of Mercy afterward. Also, the church displayed a banner for Divine Mercy over the altar and a banner for the Jubilee Year of Mercy over the main doors.
“The Jubilee Year of Mercy has been so effective in bringing people to St. Margaret’s,” Father Arias said. “St. Margaret’s doors, which were open during the Holy Year, will still be open to people.”
At Holy Rosary, about 20 busloads of pilgrims for parishes and many individual faithful visited the church, during the Holy Year.
“The Jubilee Year of Mercy and the Holy Door [at Holy Rosary] were good experiences for people. Many hearts are healing from different wounds. Pope Francis had a very good idea [for the Holy Year],” Father Las said.
Before opening the two Holy Doors in the Diocese, Bishop Serratelli declared, “Open the gates of justice; we shall enter and give thanks to the Lord.”
“Brothers and sisters, let us go forth in the name of Christ. He is the way that leads us in the year of grace and mercy,” said the Bishop at the ceremonies, before leading the procession of faithful through the Holy Doors.
After the Nov. 12 Mass at St. Margaret’s, Rita Guerra, a parishioner and member of the Divine Mercy group, reflected on the joy that she felt passing through the church’s Holy Door, during the Holy Year.
“It felt good to experience God’s mercy,” said Guerra in Spanish, which another Divine Mercy group member translated into English. “It has been a blessing.”