This is the theme of the three Advent homilies that will be delivered, for the first time, by the new Preacher of the Papal Household, Capuchin Father Roberto Pasolini in the Paul VI Hall, on the Fridays leading up to Christmas: 6th, 13th, and 20th December, at 9:00 am.
The meditations will be offered to the cardinals, archbishops, bishops, prelates, and laity of the papal family, as well as to the employees of the Roman Curia, the Governorate, and the Vicariate of Rome.
Additionally, the homilies will be available to the superior generals or procurators of the religious orders that are part of the Pontifical Chapel.
Doors of wonder, trust, and smallness
"This year, the Advent season not only prepares us for Christmas but also accompanies us towards the upcoming Jubilee," writes Father Pasolini in the invitation from the Prefecture of the Papal Household for the Friday meditations.
He adds that this liturgical period is a time of grace to renew "intense experience of the love of God that awakens in hearts the sure hope of salvation in Christ," as the Pope writes in the proclamation of the 2025 Holy Year, "Spes non confundit."
"The voices of the prophets, so present and insistent in this liturgical season, urge us strongly not to lose our direction on the path towards the Kingdom of God," emphasises the Capuchin Friar, who invites us to listen to these voices in order to "recognise the doors that lead us into the mystery of our humanity with renewed hope."
These doors, explains the Preacher of the Papal Household, are the "door of wonder, to admire the seeds of the Gospel present in the world and in history," the "door of trust, to walk towards others with a respectful and open heart," and finally the "door of smallness, to not be afraid to finally become ourselves."
“The Step of Inner Metamorphosis”
With the Holy Year approaching, the Prefecture of the Papal Household recalls the words spoken by Paul VI at the opening of the 1975 Jubilee: "The celebration of the Jubilee, with its simple yet profound spiritual discipline, and with the symbolic opening of its doors of mercy and forgiveness, intends to signify the step of inner metamorphosis, the courageous step of moral truth (...) the step of conversion of the heart."
These words urge us to reflect on the meaning of the Year of Grace and how to live it.