Every morning Helen Kowalska-Schaaf, the Best Golden Retriever in the Universe, and I begin our day in the same way.

We Pray…

“O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you, and watch.” Psalm 5:3

We watch…

“I will stand on my guard post And station myself on the rampart; And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, And how I may reply when I am reproved.”  Habakkuk 2:1

And we wait...

(sometimes with a few more friends who Helen invites to join us!)

“For the grace of God has appeared, saving all
and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age,
as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ”  Titus 2:13

And what are we praying, watching, & waiting for?

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

Exactly what Jesus instructed St. Faustina to remind us:

God’s Mercy!

“Tell souls not to place within their own hearts obstacles to My mercy, which so greatly wants to act within them.  My mercy works in all those hearts which open their doors to it.  Both the sinner and the righteous person have need of My mercy.  Conversion, as well as perseverance, is a grace of My mercy.” (1577)

And so it was with great anticipation that both Helen & I eagerly awaited the beginning of our Church New Year as Papa (Pope Francis) opened the Holy Doors of St. Peter’s Basilica on Tuesday, December 8, 2015 performing a ritual that has been part of the Catholic Church since the 1500s!  Holy Doors are only opened during a special year designated by a pope called a Jubilee Year.  The last Jubilee Year was in 2000.

This iteration will be a Jubilee of Mercy ! 

“Salvation is offered to every human, to every people, without exception, to each of us,”Pope Francis said during the ceremony. “None of us can say, ‘I am holy, I am perfect, I am already saved.'”

~ Pope Francis

Traditionally, there are holy doors only in the four basilicas of Rome: St. Peter’s, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls.

But Pope Francis has rewritten the rules and said that every Catholic cathedral in the world may designate a holy door to be opened for a year, so that even those who can’t come to Rome can participate in the church’s Jubilee Year of Mercy by walking through the doors!

Helen has already invited her friends to come along, as we make plans to participate in the Church’s Jubilee Year of Mercy, by walking through the designated doors!

hugs n’ merciful blessings to all those who pray, and watch, and wait!