Archbishop
McCarrick to Unseal Holy Year Door of Cathedral Basilica on Christmas
Eve Shortly before midnight on Friday, Dec. 24, and immediately before the celebration of midnight Mass, Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick of Newark will unseal the Holy Year Door of the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark. In doing so, he will signal the start of the Great Jubilee Year 2000, a year-long celebration commemorating the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ. The Archbishop will rap with a hammer three times on the north tower door of the Cathedral Ð which was sealed with a large red Cross on May 22, 1998 Ð and cry out "Open to me the gates of Justice." He will then lead a procession through the door to begin the midnight Mass. The ArchbishopÕs actions will echo the opening of the Holy Year Door of St. PeterÕs Basilica in Rome by Pope John Paul II at midnight local time, and similar ceremonies at cathedrals and major churches throughout the world, as Catholics prepare to take part in a year of grace for the Church, and a year of favor for the faithful. According to Catholic tradition, the Holy Year Door symbolizes Jesus Christ, the mediator of salvation for humanity. Catholic tradition further explains that the door symbolism began when the Jews entered Jerusalem and the Temple of God through gates during an Israelite pilgrimage. Over time, it has come to mean the pinnacle of a long-awaited desire. The Holy Year Door marks an entrance into the Third Millennium, not an exit from the Second Millennium. It represents the hope and the fullness of faith that the future will offer. A journey through the Holy Year door Ð a pilgrimage Ð is a metaphor, as other pilgrimages have long been metaphors, for the Christian life and for the desire for communion with God, humanity and all creation.
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