“Mercy opens doors to hope” | DIOCESE OF GOMA (RdC)
In this column, over the course of the year, the journey of the Jubilee as told by spazio + spadoni from different parts of the world
Rodrigue Bidubula followed the opening of the Jubilee Year in the diocese of Goma (east of the Democratic Republic of Congo) where the humanitarian crisis has been going on for three decades now and has displaced more than 1.7 million people in North Kivu province alone.
In a war zone and under siege, where the refugee emergency is increasingly severe, how can one experience the Jubilee? Monsignor Henri Ciza urged the faithful to “be pilgrims of mercy.”
The opening of the Jubilee Year
On Sunday, December 29, the Diocese of Goma experienced an exceptional day of faith and communion by celebrating the Feast of the Holy Family. The celebration marked an important milestone in the opening of the Jubilee Year and the “Jubilee Place.”
This event, which brought together faithful from different parishes in the diocese, was an opportunity for some couples from different parishes to renew their marriage commitments while deepening their faith and community commitment.
Preparations for this Jubilee were marked by spiritual depth and a spirit of solidarity.
Prior to the celebrations, activities such as spiritual retreats, confessions at the Buhimba Major Seminary, and works of mercy for the displaced, sick, and out-of-school children were organized. These initiatives enabled the faithful to open themselves fully to divine grace and embrace the meaning of mercy.
After a procession that began in the park of the Lycée Sainte Ursule, the solemn Mass was celebrated in the Paroisse Bienheureuse Anuarite by Monsignor Henri Ciza, Vicar General of the Diocese of Goma, representing the Bishop.
In his homily, he developed some essential themes centered on love, unity, prayer in the family, mercy, and the symbolic significance of the Holy Door and the Jubilee that the universal Church will experience during the year 2025.
Speaking about the Holy Family as a model of love and unity, Monsignor Henri Ciza’s homily highlighted the example of the Holy Family as a model of Christian life.
If we look at the Holy Family, we see exemplary unity. When they went together to Jerusalem, they acted in perfect harmony. This unity is based on love, which is the foundation of every Christian family.
As the Vicar General pointed out, love in the family must be lived according to God’s will. This love invites each member to recognize themselves in the image of God and to act with mercy toward each other.
Another aspect of love that he emphasized is listening to each other. Joseph and Mary, in their daily lives, demonstrate the importance of listening to each other. This quality strengthens family ties and fosters harmonious cooperation.
Each family member must pay attention to others, not only to understand their needs, but also to share their joys and sorrows.
Prayer at the center of family life
The Holy Family also teaches us to put prayer at the center of our lives. By praying together, families find strength to face life’s challenges. He cited the example of Elkana and Anna, who prayed for a son and named their son Samuel in gratitude to God.
This story reminds us that every family blessing is the fruit of prayer.
In a family, each member is called to grow not only in age but also in wisdom, virtue and state of life. The Holy Family is an example of integral growth, where each person develops fully in a spirit of fellowship, patience and mutual support.
Mercy: a call to unity and reconciliation![]()
The Vicar General stressed the importance of mercy in transforming human relationships and building a more just and fraternal society.
1. The Holy Door, a symbol of mercy
Going through the Holy Door is a highly symbolic act. It represents the heart of God, always open to welcome his children. By going through this door, the faithful are invited to enter into a renewed relationship with God and to live in communion with one another. The Holy Door is also an invitation to let God rebuild our lives, to heal the wounds caused by divisions and to restore broken bonds in our families and communities.
Let us enter God’s mercy, let us not stand on the threshold, let us not stop, let us allow God to rebuild our lives, He who makes all things new (Isaiah 43:19).
God’s heart awaits us all indiscriminately, priests, sisters, lay people, the poor, refugees…Let us turn to God and love others more.
2. Mercy, cement of society
God’s mercy is a powerful lever to restore balance in our social relations.
It frees hearts from the hatred, conflicts and separations that weaken our communities. By living mercy, families and communities can overcome divisions, slander and lies to build new bonds based on truth and love.
3. A call for forgiveness and reconciliation
In a region like Goma, marked by violence of all kinds, wars that have lasted for decades, crime, tearing apart the social fabric, etc., he reminded that mercy encourages people to forgive and start again.He called on families and communities to forget the wounds of the past and move forward together in a process of reconciliation.Mutual forgiveness is essential for growing in faith and strengthening social ties.
A program for a new human society.
The Jubilee of Hope and the crossing of the Holy Door are not only about individuals, but about society as a whole.
This Jubilee is also an opportunity to practice fraternity and promote a society in which everyone, without distinction, finds his or her place. It is about restoring the dignity of every person and rejecting all forms of discrimination or marginalization.
Jubilee year: commitment to the most vulnerable and reactivation of works of mercy
This celebration was preceded by, among other things, a series of works of mercy in which the faithful showed their ongoing commitment to the most disadvantaged. In his homily, the Vicar General expressed his gratitude to the faithful for their daily commitment to act concretely on behalf of the poor, the sick, out-of-school children, and refugees, while inviting them to intensify their actions on behalf of works of mercy.
These works of mercy, which embody God’s love and bear witness to our faith, will once again be highlighted during this jubilee year.
He did not fail to issue a call for dialogue and unity.
In a region torn by tensions, wars and divisions, the Jubilee offers a framework for renewing dialogue, strengthening unity and healing the wounds of separation.
And it does so through an act of trust in God’s mercy, which rebalances human relationships and frees us from the internal and external wars that undermine our families and communities.
This is how the Christian journey should lead us every day to pass through the Holy Door as pilgrims of mercy. Bishop Henri Ciza’s homily urged all the faithful to consider themselves ambassadors of God’s mercy. Going through the Holy Door is a spiritual journey that commits us to live the values of the Jubilee.
May this Jubilee Year be a time of renewal, grace and transformation for the Diocese of Goma. By responding to God’s call, families, communities and society as a whole can become places of peace, fraternity and mercy. The Lord is waiting for us at the Holy Door, ready to welcome each of us with love and renew our lives in his infinite mercy.
Finally, in the coming days the Diocese will publish the calendar for obtaining indulgences. Each group, community, movement, parish, etc. will thus have the appointed day to prepare the faithful.
Source and Images
- spazio + spadoni
- Rodrigue Bidubula