Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra opened and blessed the Door of Faith at the San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod City Saturday night to usher in the Advent celebration yesterday.

Navarra also blessed the advent wreath that symbolizes the passage of the four weeks of Advent in the liturgical calendar.

In his homily, Fr. Deogracias Camon, said the Year of Faith is a new beginning and it is the people’s journey to Jesus Christ.

The opening of the door symbolizes a welcoming atmosphere, new beginnings, and a kind of pilgrimage of the people, he said.

“Passing through the door of faith, we are experience a very joyful and powerful expression of unending and boundless love of God, and Jesus, His Son is the sacrament of His love for us,” Camon said.

Camonalso said this is the concrete manifestation of God’s love for the people and it is the expression of Jesus that says “I am the gate.” Jesus is the way to God, he added.

He reminded the people that when they enter that door, they must remember that they pass through Jesus and invite Him to come into their lives.

People must also spread the love and happiness they feel with Jesus and give it to people who need consolation and to those who are in despair, he added.

The Diocese of Bacolod opened the celebration of the Year of Faith on Oct. 11 and it will end Nov. 24, 2013. *LTG

back to top