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Doors of Mercy opened across the diocese Dec. 8 and 13 to mark the beginning of the extraordinary year dedicated to compassion and forgiveness.
On Dec. 13 Bishop Anthony B. Taylor was the first to enter through the diocese’s Door of Mercy at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Little Rock. The specially crafted door includes six replicas of famous paintings associated with mercy, including the image of Divine Mercy, and is now the entrance to the parish’s perpetual adoration chapel.
About 250 people, representing various races and ethnicities, including white, black, African, Filipino, Indian and Hispanic, attended the opening rite, procession from the gym to the church and Mass.
As part of the Year of Mercy, churches are asked to open their parishes for longer hours, and dioceses must provide a door of mercy for pilgrims who seek mercy and spiritual guidance.
All those who enter through a holy door in Rome and around the world will be able to receive a plenary indulgence. For the first time, Catholics do not have to go to one of the four basilicas in Rome to receive the indulgence.
In his papal bull “Misericordiae Vultus” (The Face of Mercy), Pope Francis decreed that the holy door will be a “door of mercy through which anyone who enters will experience the love of God who consoles, pardons and instills hope.” Throughout the Church, the invitation was extended to local churches to be “directly involved in living out this holy year as an extraordinary moment of grace and spiritual renewal.”
Those who want to receive a plenary indulgence should enter through a door of mercy, attend Mass and receive Communion, receive the sacrament of reconciliation and pray for the pope’s intentions. In his homily Bishop Taylor said he understands why there is some confusion about indulgences.
“In the briefest of terms, an indulgence is a way to reduce the amount of the temporal punishment one still has to undergo for sins, the guilt of which has already been forgiven sacramentally,” he said. “It works like this: when we sin we not only offend God, we also harm ourselves and others. In confession the guilt of sin is forgiven immediately — the wound is cleaned — but the process of healing only just begins, both the specific harm done and the lingering attachment to sin, the tendency to fall back into sin — habits of sin to which we still remain vulnerable and with which we still have to struggle. These lingering unhealthy attachments must be purified and this brokenness healed, either here on earth or after death in purgatory.”
Pilgrimage days have been set up at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church on the first Saturdays in February through November. Mass, confessions and tours of the House of Formation next door will be available. Pilgrims are asked to call the parish at (501) 666-5073 to make a reservation. The Door of Mercy is also open for private prayer from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday, weekdays during office hours and between Sunday Masses.
“No matter what you have ever done, Jesus’ arms are open wide to embrace you with healing love,” the bishop said.
Before the opening Year of Mercy Mass Dec. 8 at the Cathedral of St. Andrew, Bishop Taylor blessed the outside doors to the Cathedral, which will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. for people to pray and visit.
“He is the good shepherd; he is the door through which those who follow him enter and are safe,” Bishop Taylor said of Jesus.
Brian and Rose Mary Thomas, members of the Cathedral, attended the Dec. 8 Mass with their two younger children, John Paul, 7, and Maria, 13, who both attend St. Theresa School.
“I think it’s good for them to have something to see,” a Mass to understand the Year of Mercy, Rose Mary Thomas said of her children.
Maria said her eighth-grade class has already started learning about mercy and she’s looking forward to retreat days during the school year that focus on the jubilee year.
“My teacher says how we’re going to show mercy to others and not be selfish,” she said.
For Brian Thomas, the word “mercy” and being at the Mass meant more than he ever could have anticipated. A week earlier he was in the intensive care unit, suffering from a heart attack. Father Jack Vu, rector of the Cathedral, came to give him the anointing of the sick.
“It’s wonderful after coming close to not being here at all,” Brian Thomas said of being at the Mass with his family. “It’s a huge blessing the result of many, many prayers being answered.”
In other parishes, such at St. Joseph Church in Conway and St. Vincent de Paul Church in Rogers, pastors have dedicated certain parish doors as their doors of mercy.
In Rogers, the parish is using this jubilee year to welcome Catholics, non-practicing Catholics and non-Catholics to the church. The parish will host “An evening of Grace, Mercy and Reconciliation” from 7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 19 through 7 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 20.
On Dec. 13 parishioners were given business cards to take home and to begin inviting local residents to the February event.
“We printed over 10,000 business cards to be distributed to parishioners in the coming weeks,” said Judene Kuszak, director of religious education. “The event is unprecedented in its scope and the preparation that is planned for the 12-hour Night of Mercy event.”
Training will be held in January and February for parishioners to learn how to help at the February evening as greeters, listeners, counselors, prayer team members and hosts for those walking through the doors for the first time in a long time.
The evening will include Mass, adoration, music, rosaries and hospitality.
“Deanery priests will also be available to hear confessions throughout the night for people returning to the faith,” Kuszak said.
The event also will be advertised through the bulletin, parish website and local newspapers and radio stations in English and Spanish.
“There is a renewal of the Church taking place as a whole,” said associate pastor Father John Miranda. “But this year is also a renewal of the individual Catholic. As responsible Catholics, we must go out and touch individuals and tell them to come back.”
Interested parishioners from other local churches came to see the doors blessed and opened Dec. 8.
“We decided not to let this opportunity pass us by,” said associate pastor Father Alejandro Puello, of the parish’s commitment to the evening of mercy. “There are so many events happening in our church worldwide that can reconnect people with their faith. We cannot let spiritual inertia keep us from stepping out of our comfort zone and inviting others to take a risk, seek forgiveness and come back to the Catholic Church.”
Malea Hargett, Aprille Hanson and Alesia Schaefer contributed to this article.
