Pope opens `holy door,' celebrates Mass in visit to homeless shelter

Rome - Pope Francis performed the ritual of the opening of the holy door and celebrated Mass for the homeless Friday in a visit to a newly-refurbished Catholic shelter near Termini, Rome's biggest train station.

It was part of papal activities for the Jubilee of Mercy, a Catholic festival running until November 20, 2016, during which so-called holy doors are opened to offer the faithful a symbolic path towards redemption.

In a change from the past, Francis has allowed the ritual to be performed in cathedrals and places of worship all around the world, rather than just in Rome, and also decided to repeat it in a place for the poor, after a December 8 opening ceremony in St Peter’s.

"If you want to find God, look for him among humility, look for him among poverty, look for him where he is hiding: among the needy, the neediest, the sick, the hungry and the imprisoned," the pope said in a homily.

Some 200 guests of Roman shelters run by Catholic charity Caritas were invited to attend the papal Mass, the Vatican said in a statement.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Pope-opens-%60holy-door-celebrates-Mass-in-visit-to--30275271.html

-- The Nation 2015-12-19

....It was part of papal activities for the Jubilee of Mercy, a Catholic festival running until November 20, 2016, during which so-called holy doors are opened to offer the faithful a symbolic path towards redemption....

It's possible the attendees might also appreciate some less 'symbolic' and more 'tangible' help on the path towards redemption.

There were only 200 people there; a little temporal assistance certainly wouldn't break the Vatican's earthly bank.

Edited December 19, 201510 yr by Hayduke

".....I once was lost, but now am found..."

How money of these homeless are there because they were born into poor families that were forbidden to use contraceptives.

What In The Name Of Satan is a service for the Homeless going to do for their welfare,,,,Instead of a useless service give them food and shelter the Vatican got enough money for a Thousand Homeless people for a Very Happy Xmas,,,,Shame on the Vatican,,,,

Afterwards the pope mixed informally with the crowds when his balcony collapsed in St.Peters square.

".....I once was lost, but now am found..."

GPS is a modern wonder.

I'm a recovering Catholic who really only had the bare minimum of indoctrination and have long since rejected the entire "god" myth, and I've been seeing this "holy door" "jubilee" crap for a couple of weeks now..

What I can't fathom is if this is such a holy door and this jubilee thing is so awesome to show the power of gods love, why the <deleted> do they keep it closed most of the time?

Religion is such a sham...

There is a reason they use the Shepherd and Flock analogy so much. People who believe this shit are sheep.