Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life
The Year of Faith has given us the opportunity to contemplate the door of faith as an entryway to faith.
We have had the experience of living our faith in Jesus Christ, through opportunities for learning, sharing, reconciliation, pilgrimage, prayer and worship. The end of the Year of Faith does not mean that we end our faith of course. As we reach the end of this time period which began back on October 11, 2013, now is the time for all to consider carefully the way to be and act going out the door, living and proclaiming our faith in the world.
On November 23rd at the Vigil Mass at 4:30 p.m. at St. John Cathedral, in a sign of unity and in connection with the Universal Church, representative parishioners from each church in the diocese will gather for a celebratory Mass commemorating the final weekend of the Year of Faith on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the date originally chosen by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Each pastor in the diocese has also been asked to celebrate this occasion at their churches so that all in the Diocese of Cleveland in a unified manner can take part. Each church has been given a liturgical banner proclaiming, "Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life" as well as prayer cards for every parishioner with the image of the banner and the prayer for the New Evangelization on the back.
This moment is a time of contemplation from seeing the doors of faith as something we come in, transformed to doors by which we are sent forth. Some of the features of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist may assist us in this reflection. Above the front doors of the Cathedral carved in stone are the words Laudamus Te, Benedicimus Te, Adoramus Te; meaning we praise you, we bless you, and we adore you. The last stained glass windows on the right and left of the exit doors portray Jesus teaching in the temple and Christ announcing the resurrection. Now is the time to contemplate what we have experienced in order to share it with others. As we conclude the Year of Faith, we are all sent forth through the door of faith for the rest of our lives to go in peace glorifying the Lord by our lives.
Visit the "Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist" web site>