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Photo of Jubilee Door at the National
Shrine of
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Emmitsburg, Maryland
As we begin the Jubilee Year and enter a new millennium of
our redemption, it is good to stop and give thanks for all the doors God
opens for us. As we celebrate the Millennium of our salvation, we reflect
on Christ, the door to the Father, who knocks at the doors of our hearts,
our homes and our churches.
On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1999, Pope John Paul II
opened the great Holy Year door in St. Peter's Basilica that will remain
open during the Jubilee year. In the Basilica of the Shrine of St.
Elizabeth Ann Seton, a Jubilee Door was designated and after the blessing
the whole congregation at the Christmas Eve Mass walked through this door.
Families are also encouraged to designate a door as their Jubilee Door. |
Each day as we pass this place we pray that God will draw
us more deeply into His presence and the wonders of His love for us.
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The first Jubilee door I am called to prepare is the
door to my heart. I am called to open my heart to Christ, like Mary.
Christ gives us the grace to open our hearts to conversion, unity and
justice.
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A second challenge is to find a way to open the doors
of our homes to our families, our friends, and to all who need us.
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The third door of our lives is the door to the Church.
It is the silent witness to all the great moments of our lives from our
baptism to the funeral liturgy. The Church door is the door to salvation,
the portal of the Kingdom of God. We give thanks as we enter these gates.
--Abstract from the document prepared by the Secretariat
for the Liturgy of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.
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"going Outside." One former resident speaks of an
unwritten rule of life during the cold months, that of not ever
passing up a stalled or parked car without checking for a driver or
passengers who might need assistance especially from freezing to death.
The sisters already speak of the kindness and warmth of spirit with
which they have been welcomed to Anchorage, and doubtless are
contributing to that kindness by their works and their love for the
people there. We trust that they will continue the tradition of St.
Vincent, St. Louise, and St. Elizabeth Ann, where works of charity
are already in progress and even find new avenues of care and love.
Sister Ellen Van Zandt
Los Altos, California Province
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Pictured above are the recessional of clergy,
and the processional of the Ceremonial Guard from Washington , D.C.,
and the Naval Academy Catholic Midshipmen Choir from Annapolis (in
the choir loft) at the "Pilgrimage for the Sea Services" on Sunday,
October 3, 1999. There were approximately 750 attendees at this
impressive Liturgy in honor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
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