What to do when going on a Holy Door Pilgrimage?

The Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy started last December 8, 2015 when Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica.  What does this mean to you in your life in Christ or the spiritual life?

The chance to obtain a plenary indulgence during this Year of Mercy is just an offshoot of a person's desire to encounter the unfathomable mercy of God.  This internal conversion entails a first step: an admission of faults, perhaps from an addiction to drugs, wealth, porn or alcohol; a life of self-centeredness or obnoxious pride; or endemic physical or verbal violence.  After that, the sacrament of reconciliation offers the grace of God in forgiveness and strength to continue on the path to Christ. As a pilgrim, the passage thru the Holy Door of a Pilgrim church symbolizes "an extraordinary path towards salvation."

Together with this encounter, that same individual can dispense that same mercy thru acts of mercy both spiritual or corporal which can be achieved by yourself, with your family or with a group.

Remember that story sometimes told in homilies, imagine yourself as a glass of dirty water and God's love empties the dirty water - the sin you are in - and God fills you with the pure water of pure love, the grace of God.  Since that love is an "ocean of mercy" as described in St. Faustina's diary, that grace overflows from you the glass as you participate in God's love thru prayer, Holy Mass and good works.

According to Fr. Edward McNamara on Zenit.org answering questions on Pope Francis and the Year of Mercy, here are the steps to obtain the indulgence:

• Receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation

• Being in the state of grace

• Being detached from venial and mortal sin

• Attending Holy Mass within 20 days after confession

• Doing a brief pilgrimage to the Holy Door of a Pilgrim church and reflecting on the mercy of God i.e. Jubilee Prayer for the Year of Mercy 

• Praying for the Pope and his intentions i.e. The Lord's Prayer

• Eventual accomplishment of spiritual or corporal works of mercy

The Holy Father also included steps for those who are sick with ailments like cancer and also the home-bound:

• Living out their suffering and sickness as an experience of closeness to the Lord with faith, hope and joy

• Holy Mass and community prayer through the means of communication (e.g. TV, Radio, Internet)

• Spiritual or corporal work of mercy

Furthermore, pilgrims can obtain indulgences for the deceased by remembering and praying for them during Eucharistic celebrations.

To get the prayer for the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, click the link.


Sources:

Divinemercy.org, 7 Ways St. Faustina is Influencing Pope Francis on Mercy
Harris, E., As Jesus' birth nears, sadness is 'not allowed,' Pope says, Catholic News Agency, December 13, 2015
McNamara, E., Holy Doors in the Year of Mercy, Zenit.org, January 19, 2016 
Vatican Radio website, Pope Francis opens Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica, opens Jubilee, December 8, 2015
Vatican Radio website, Pope Francis: Homily for Inauguration of the Jubilee, December 8, 2015