Pope Francis has just inaugurated his Year of Mercy by opening a ‘holy door’ in St Peter’s basilica in Rome.
A ‘holy door’? What’s that?
A piece of wood isn’t holy.
It’s just a piece of wood,
Ultimately made by God,
But not holy!
And yet,
By association,
And by sheer span of time,
It might absorb
The faith of myriad souls?
A button isn’t evil,
But as the igniter of a suicide vest,
It may well cause slaughter and mayhem.
A door might not be holy,
But as a portal,
It may signify a deeper reality:
The journey of souls
From death to life,
From hate to love,
From condemnation to mercy.
Is then
To open a ‘holy door’,
The sacramental act
Of making mercy real?