Each of us must respond to the gift of mercy in our hearts by getting up and putting mercy into action, Pope Francis said Wednesday.

Speaking about a bishop who had in his cathedral one Holy Door of mercy for entering and one for exiting, Pope Francis said: “Let us also do the same with the journey that goes from the heart to the hands.”

“Let us enter the church through the door of mercy, to receive the forgiveness of Jesus, who tells us: ‘Arise! Go, go!’ And with this ‘Go!’ – on foot – let us leave through the exit door,” he continued.

“We are confident that, at the Holy Door, the Lord is near to meet each one of us, to bring and offer his powerful word consoling: ‘Do not cry!’ This is the door of the meeting between the pain of humanity and compassion of God.”

At the Holy Door, each person brings his or her life, with all of its “joys and sufferings, projects and failures, doubts and fears,” Pope Francis reminded pilgrims. “Present it at the mercy of the Lord,” he told them.

Pope Francis explained that Christ heals us of our failures, revives us, and gives us hope. In the Holy Door, each of us can find the “inexhaustible treasure of God’s mercy.”

“Mercy, both in Jesus and in us, is a journey that starts from the heart to get to the hands. What does this mean? Jesus looks at you, heals you with his mercy, tells you: ‘Get up!’, And your heart is new,” Pope Francis concluded.

[Source: Hannah Brockhaus – Catholic News Agency 10 August 2016]