Bishop Natale Paganelli, SX
HOMILY OF BISHOP NATALE PAGANELLI, SX DURING THE OPENING OF THE HOLY DOOR
I start my reflection by quoting a passage of Pope Francis’ homily during the opening of the Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome on 8th December 2015:
This Extraordinary Year is itself a gift of grace. To pass through the Holy Door means to rediscover the infinite mercy of the Father, who welcomes everyone and goes out personally to encounter each one of them. It is he who seeks us! It is he who comes to encounter us! This will be a year in which we grow ever more convinced of God’s mercy. How much wrong we do to God and his grace when we speak of sins being punished by his judgment before we speak of their being forgiven by his mercy (cf. Saint Augustine, De Praedestinatione Sanctorum, 12, 24)! But that is the truth. We have to put mercy before judgment, and in any event God’s judgement will always be in the light of his mercy. In passing through the Holy Door, then, may we feel that we ourselves are part of this mystery of love, of tenderness. Let us set aside all fear and dread, for these do not befit men and women who are loved. Instead, let us experience the joy of encountering that grace which transforms all things.
Pope Francis strongly invites all of us to try to experience of the mercy of God towards us. God is waiting for us, God wants to forgive us and He is ready to support us towards a new journey in our personal life. Nobody can compel us to go to God to ask forgiveness for our sins; it must be a personal and free decision of each of us. I hope that today's celebration will help us to take such an important decision. The holy door symbolizes Jesus Christ; He is the door through whom we can reach God. In view of that, Pope Francis a few days ago invited all Christians to read a passage of the Gospel daily. Only by reading the Gospel we can know Jesus, and indeed love Jesus and follow the example of Jesus in our daily life. The Gospel will help us to understand God’s will on our own life, to realize what is right and what is wrong in our lives. Of course, we have to read the Gospel with readiness to improve our lives, to fight against sin, and most of all to fight against hypocrisy and self-deception. This Jubilee Year can help us to attain an acceptable coherence in our lives, coherence between the faith we profess and the way we live. E.g., I cannot say I am a disciple of Jesus Christ if I am not ready to forgive those who have offended me or to share what I have with the poor; if I am a corrupt man or woman or if I am seeking my own interest only and not the common good. Of course all of us are sinners, hence we have to be ready to change our lives continually. “Conversion” is a very important word for us; it should be an attitude of life.
Allow me at this point to stress the importance of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession). When I go to confess my sins before a priest, I show to God my will to change my life, I recognize my sins, I feel sorry for them and I ask God to forgive me. Through the absolution given to me by the minister of the sacrament (the priest), God forgives me and provide me with the graces I need to change my life. I cannot change my life on my own; I need the help of God, He is our strength. I invite all the priests and religious men and women to help our people to understand the meaning of “Plenary Indulgence”. During the Year of Jubilee we have the opportunity to get the Plenary Indulgence, which is a gift of God and we have the right to get it.
Why it is important to experience the mercy of God? Pope Francis on 8th December said: “May our passing through the Holy Door today commit us to making our own the mercy of the Good Samaritan”. To experience the Mercy of God surely will help us to be more merciful with our brothers and sisters. The Jubilee Year of Mercy is a precious time for changing our hearts of stone with hearts of flesh. The world urgently needs better human beings, every day we hear about wars, terrorism, murders, corruption, violence, etc… It is our responsibility to work for a better world and a better society. We must start with our own lives.
Another important word which deserves our consideration is “generosity”. Jesus said: free of charge you have received; free of charge you have to give. I think that our hearts are too attached to material goods. We spend a lot of time and a lot of energies to look for the things of this earth and we forget the things that can ensure us Eternal Life. Also within our church, many times our concern is more for wordly activities than for spiritual activities. It is true that all of us want a self-reliant Diocese and self-reliant Parishes, but fund-raising cannot be our priority; the pastoral activities for the spiritual growth of the people of God must take first place.
In the sermon on the day of my Episcopal Ordination, last October, I said: “I consider being a bishop neither a prize, because I do not deserve it, nor a title of honour, but a SERVICE. The Bishop is called to SERVE his people as Jesus served his disciples and all the people who were going to him. The Bishop is called to serve not only the people of God entrusted to him in his own diocese, but in communion with the Holy Father and the Episcopal College, to serve everybody without discrimination”.
In view of that, my priority for the next coming months is to organize the Diocesan life. I have already appointed the Vicar General, Rev. Fr. Bob John Hassan Koroma, parish priest at Magburaka, we are going to set up soon the proper diocesan organizations for the priests, for the religious men and women, and for the laity, following the regulations of the Catholic Church and the Statues of our Diocese of Makeni. In the second part of the year, I will start the Pastoral Visit to the parishes of the Diocese, in order to know better the real situation of the parishes, their richness and their needs, and to animate the pastoral activities in every parish.
I inform you now that two of our deacons will be ordained priests on 6th February; more practical information will be sent to each parish very soon.
Let us ask God, through the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima, to give us the courage to strengthen and deepen our faith and to improve our lives during this Jubilee Year of Mercy.
Merciful Father, have Mercy on us.
HOMILY OF BISHOP NATALE PAGANELLI, SX DURING THE OPENING OF THE HOLY DOOR
I start my reflection by quoting a passage of Pope Francis’ homily during the opening of the Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome on 8th December 2015:
This Extraordinary Year is itself a gift of grace. To pass through the Holy Door means to rediscover the infinite mercy of the Father, who welcomes everyone and goes out personally to encounter each one of them. It is he who seeks us! It is he who comes to encounter us! This will be a year in which we grow ever more convinced of God’s mercy. How much wrong we do to God and his grace when we speak of sins being punished by his judgment before we speak of their being forgiven by his mercy (cf. Saint Augustine, De Praedestinatione Sanctorum, 12, 24)! But that is the truth. We have to put mercy before judgment, and in any event God’s judgement will always be in the light of his mercy. In passing through the Holy Door, then, may we feel that we ourselves are part of this mystery of love, of tenderness. Let us set aside all fear and dread, for these do not befit men and women who are loved. Instead, let us experience the joy of encountering that grace which transforms all things.
Pope Francis strongly invites all of us to try to experience of the mercy of God towards us. God is waiting for us, God wants to forgive us and He is ready to support us towards a new journey in our personal life. Nobody can compel us to go to God to ask forgiveness for our sins; it must be a personal and free decision of each of us. I hope that today's celebration will help us to take such an important decision. The holy door symbolizes Jesus Christ; He is the door through whom we can reach God. In view of that, Pope Francis a few days ago invited all Christians to read a passage of the Gospel daily. Only by reading the Gospel we can know Jesus, and indeed love Jesus and follow the example of Jesus in our daily life. The Gospel will help us to understand God’s will on our own life, to realize what is right and what is wrong in our lives. Of course, we have to read the Gospel with readiness to improve our lives, to fight against sin, and most of all to fight against hypocrisy and self-deception. This Jubilee Year can help us to attain an acceptable coherence in our lives, coherence between the faith we profess and the way we live. E.g., I cannot say I am a disciple of Jesus Christ if I am not ready to forgive those who have offended me or to share what I have with the poor; if I am a corrupt man or woman or if I am seeking my own interest only and not the common good. Of course all of us are sinners, hence we have to be ready to change our lives continually. “Conversion” is a very important word for us; it should be an attitude of life.
Allow me at this point to stress the importance of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession). When I go to confess my sins before a priest, I show to God my will to change my life, I recognize my sins, I feel sorry for them and I ask God to forgive me. Through the absolution given to me by the minister of the sacrament (the priest), God forgives me and provide me with the graces I need to change my life. I cannot change my life on my own; I need the help of God, He is our strength. I invite all the priests and religious men and women to help our people to understand the meaning of “Plenary Indulgence”. During the Year of Jubilee we have the opportunity to get the Plenary Indulgence, which is a gift of God and we have the right to get it.
Why it is important to experience the mercy of God? Pope Francis on 8th December said: “May our passing through the Holy Door today commit us to making our own the mercy of the Good Samaritan”. To experience the Mercy of God surely will help us to be more merciful with our brothers and sisters. The Jubilee Year of Mercy is a precious time for changing our hearts of stone with hearts of flesh. The world urgently needs better human beings, every day we hear about wars, terrorism, murders, corruption, violence, etc… It is our responsibility to work for a better world and a better society. We must start with our own lives.
Another important word which deserves our consideration is “generosity”. Jesus said: free of charge you have received; free of charge you have to give. I think that our hearts are too attached to material goods. We spend a lot of time and a lot of energies to look for the things of this earth and we forget the things that can ensure us Eternal Life. Also within our church, many times our concern is more for wordly activities than for spiritual activities. It is true that all of us want a self-reliant Diocese and self-reliant Parishes, but fund-raising cannot be our priority; the pastoral activities for the spiritual growth of the people of God must take first place.
In the sermon on the day of my Episcopal Ordination, last October, I said: “I consider being a bishop neither a prize, because I do not deserve it, nor a title of honour, but a SERVICE. The Bishop is called to SERVE his people as Jesus served his disciples and all the people who were going to him. The Bishop is called to serve not only the people of God entrusted to him in his own diocese, but in communion with the Holy Father and the Episcopal College, to serve everybody without discrimination”.
In view of that, my priority for the next coming months is to organize the Diocesan life. I have already appointed the Vicar General, Rev. Fr. Bob John Hassan Koroma, parish priest at Magburaka, we are going to set up soon the proper diocesan organizations for the priests, for the religious men and women, and for the laity, following the regulations of the Catholic Church and the Statues of our Diocese of Makeni. In the second part of the year, I will start the Pastoral Visit to the parishes of the Diocese, in order to know better the real situation of the parishes, their richness and their needs, and to animate the pastoral activities in every parish.
I inform you now that two of our deacons will be ordained priests on 6th February; more practical information will be sent to each parish very soon.
Let us ask God, through the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima, to give us the courage to strengthen and deepen our faith and to improve our lives during this Jubilee Year of Mercy.
Merciful Father, have Mercy on us.