His Eminence Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, DD, Archbishop of Manila, opened the Holy Door of Mercy at the Manila City Jail Chapel on March 23, Holy Wednesday, with Archbishop Guiseppe Pinto, apostolic nuncio to the Philippines.
The opening of the Holy Door was part of the celebration of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, which runs from December 2015 until November 20 this year. Holy Doors are being opened throughout the world as symbols of God’s mercy to us. By passing through the Holy Door, one may obtain the Jubilee indulgence.
Celebration of the Holy Eucharist proceeded after the opening of the Holy Door. Cardinal Tagle led the Mass concelebrated by yours truly in my capacity as executive director of Caritas Manila; Rev. Fr. Bobby de la Cruz, Restorative Justice minister; Rev. Fr. Jason Laguerta, head, Office of Promotion on the New Evangelization; and other clergy members of the Archdiocese of Manila.
The Manila City Jail Chapel is the first prison to open a Holy Door in the Archdiocese of Manila. In his homily, Cardinal Tagle stressed the importance of this event for the inmates, “Pagpasok sa pintuan ay isaisip natin na lalakad ako at paghakbang ko, pumapasok ako sa puso ni Hesus.” He also encouraged the inmates to never lose hope, “Kahit hindi pa tayo nakakaalis sa lugar na ito, maaaring ang puso at isip ay maging malaya sa kasalanan at sa nakaraan, malaya para makapagpatuloy sa bagong buhay.”
“Let’s not lose hope. All of us, including me, commit mistakes. We are all capable of betrayal but let’s not forget that we’re also capable of loving,” stressed Cardinal Tagle. “Let us not forget that we sinned like Judas and Peter, but let’s not forget that we can still be like Jesus who, even if we’re not worthy, took care of us as his friends.”
In this Year of Mercy, as Christians, we are all the more called to do corporal and spiritual works as concrete acts of mercy. One of the corporal works of mercy is to visit the imprisoned. Those who are incarcerated still need support, and through Caritas Manila’s Restorative Justice Program, pastoral care is extended to our lost brothers in prison.
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To support the Restorative Justice Program and other Caritas Manila’s programs for the poor, visit www.caritasmanila.org.ph. or call our DonorCare lines 563-9311, 564-0205, 0999-7943455, 0905-4285001 and 0929-8343857. Make it a habit to listen to Radio Veritas 846 in the AM band, or through live streaming at www.veritas846.ph. For comments,
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