Monition

We publish the text of the “Monition” read by the Holy Father in the atrium of the Vatican Basilica during the opening rite of the Holy Door

“Brothers and sisters, pilgrim Church in the time towards the eternal, in waiting to celebrate the manifestation of the grace of God, bearer of salvation for all creatures, we stand grateful in the stupor of the Holy Night. The grateful memory for the two thousandth anniversary of the birth of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, merges in joy with the sacramental celebration of the mystery of Christ, which is the same, yesterday, today and always! In him, born from woman, the ancient prophesy of the happy announcement to the poor and the freedom of life for everyone became reality, an everlasting gift, as we proclaim in this aurora of the Great Jubilee. With him, hope blossoms again: the swords are shaped in ploughshares, the spears in sickles; weak hands are strengthened and vacillating knees made stable; renewed is the people that he has saved and redeemed. For him, only holy door, only access to the Father, of which the door that we open wide is the image, we advance towards the new millennium, anchored to his Word that saves, revived the lights of faith, with chants of joy in the heart and on the lips.”