As you well know on the 11th of October 2011 our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI announced there would be a Year of Faith from the 11th of October 2012 until the weekend of November 23 and 24, 2013--the Feast of Christ the King.
Pope Benedict very enthusiastically called all Catholics to deepen their faith by living their relationship with Jesus Christ in a deeper manner thus enabling them to experience their faith in their daily lives. This gift has been a gift to the whole Church as people individually and in groups have engaged in activities which have enriched their lives.
For example, in our diocese in February all the parishes celebrated the Sacrament of Penance on a Wednesday night from 5:00 to 8:00. The experience across the diocese was large numbers of people took advantage of the opportunity, including many, many people who had been away from Penance and even from the Church for many years. In conversation with many of these people they said they came to this special event because they had been invited. They were invited by Sunday homilies leading up to the chosen date, invited by family members and friends, invited by television spot announcements, and so on. The power of welcoming certainly had a great impact.
Also, in the diocese many people took advantage of having their own pilgrimage. Arrangements were made with the pastors of five parishes including the Cathedral to welcome people across the diocese to their parish churches where they prayed and spent time viewing the churches. These visits were well planned for by each parish as their people were present to greet ?the pilgrims? and to talk about their church to help the visitors appreciate the beauty of these houses of worship. This opportunity of being a pilgrim resulted in well over a thousand people visiting all of the five churches and many more visiting a number of churches.
The response was overwhelmingly positive to the point that a large number voiced their hope that ?a pilgrimage? would be planned for next year with different churches. Again, like the night for the celebration of Penance, a large number of people spoke in an affirmative way as to the great welcome and hospitality they received from the parishioners of all five parishes. We witnessed in our diocese the virtue of hospitality and welcome over this past year in an extraordinary manner.
When Pope Benedict announced the Year of Faith he did so in a document entitled PORTA FIDEI, ?The Door of Faith.? In that work it was stressed that the ?door of faith? is always open to us as God wishes us to be one with Him. Throughout these many months people across our diocese have been entering into this reality. This year has been a Year of Grace for us as believers and as faith communities.
With this in mind, I have begun to raise the topic of what happens after November 24th. Time after time people shared with me a response that indicates--we cannot stop what we have been doing. Many people were very enthusiastic about continuing our efforts, others appreciated the foundations they have built and would like to go forward, and still others state they want to share what they have received with other people. These responses did not surprise me as I realized that they have been living over these months their relationship with Jesus Christ. They do not want to slide back; no, they want to go forward.
Having spoken with more people and then with senior staff people, I realized that many of our fellow Catholics have indeed taken to heart Pope Benedict?s invitation to enter through the
?door of faith,? and have done so very well.
Thus, in light of this past year, I invite all of us to move from having entered through the door to move going out the door living and practicing our faith in the world.
Living our Relationship with Jesus Christ was the goal for this year; Go in Peace Glorifying the Lord by Your Life, Living Your Faith is our goal for the coming year.
(The above column by the Most Reverend Richard Lennon, Bishop of Cleveland originally appeared in the Friday, October 11, 2013 issue of the Catholic Universe Bulletin, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Cleveland.)