This year we celebrate the Jubilee of Hope. During this year we are called to find hope in
God’s grace and in the world and people around us. We are called to be signs of hope for others – bringing God’s peace and light into the world.
Pope Francis ushered in the Jubilee on Christmas Eve at St. Peter’s Basilica by opening its Holy Door. Holy Doors at the other major basilicas of Rome - St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul Outside the Walls - were opened in the following weeks along with a holy door at Rebibbia Prison.
“In crossing the threshold of the Holy Door, the pilgrim is reminded of the passage from chapter 10 of St John’s gospel: ‘I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.’ Passing through the Holy Door expresses the decision to follow and be guided by Jesus, who is the Good Shepherd. The door is a passageway that ushers the pilgrim into the interior of a church. For the Christian community, a church is not only a sacred space... but it is a symbol of the communion that binds every believer to Christ: it is a place of encounter and dialogue, of reconciliation and peace which awaits every pilgrim, the Church is essentially the place of the community of the faithful.”
(Source: www.iubilaem2025.va/en)
The two large doors in our church that lead from the narthex into the baptistry of our church are called Jubilee Doors. (They are also known as Doors of Life and Holy Doors.) They were designed specifically to be opened during Jubilee Years. Although our doors will not serve as a pilgrimage site for the Archdiocese, they will be a reminder to the faithful of OLA that we are Pilgrims of Hope!
At the 5pm Mass on Saturday, January 18th, Fr. Jim opened OLA’s Holy Door in honor of this Jubilee Year.
Decorating the doors are caste bronze relief’s illustrating stories from the Hebrew (OT) and Christian (NT) Scriptures, marking events in salvation history. They are replicas of reliefs created over several centuries in the middle ages for the Basilica di San Zeno Maggiore in Verona, Italy.
The scenes on the side of the doors facing the narthex are: The Expulsion from Eden, The First Works and Death of Abel, Noah’s Dove, Abraham’s Hospitality, The Sacrifice of Isaac, The Bronze Serpent, Jesse’s Generations and Nebuchadnezzar.
Those on the side of the door facing the interior of the church are: The Annunciation, The Nativity with Shepherds and Three Kings, The Flight into Egypt, The Anointing, The Last Supper, The Crucifixion of Christ, The Descent into Limbo and the Glory of God.
We hope that you will take time during this Jubilee to reflect on the images on the doors.
For a pilgrimage to Holy Doors, head over to the Cathedral of Christ the King!
See more photos on our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/olachurch.atlanta
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