Rite for the opening of the Holy Door during the Great Jubilee 2000

SOLEMNITY

OF THE

NATIVITY OF THE LORD

OPENING OF THE HOLY DOOR

AND HOLY MASS

CELEBRATED BY THE HOLY FATHER

JOHN PAUL II

IN THE VATICAN BASILICA

HOLY YEAR

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INTRODUCTORY NOTE

The euchological and biblical texts of the Holy Mass correspond to the propers of the Midnight Mass on the Solemnity of the Nativity. The Eucharistic prayer is the II with the preface III of the Nativity in the Roman Missal is used.

Some significant texts are reported here: the Rite of the Opening of the Holy Door; the proclamation of the Great Jubilee (replacing the Kalenda for the occasion); a monition for the Profession of Faith; and the Prayers of the Faithful with the intentions dedicated to the Continents of the world and the City of Rome.

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RITE OF OPENING OF THE HOLY DOOR

While the Holy Father, the Concelebrants and the ministers go to the atrium of the Vatican Basilica for the "statio", the choir and the assembly sing:

R. In Domum Domini lætantes ibimus.

PSALM 21

Trinitarian invocation and greeting

The Holy Father:

In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti.

R. Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Benedictus Deus, 

Pater Domini nostri Iesu Christi, 

qui ante mundi constitutionem nos elegit, 

ut in dilecto Filio suo 

et nos filii essemus.

R. Benedictus Deus in sæcula.
Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has chosen us before the creation of the world to be his children through his beloved Son.
Blessed be the Lord forever.

Benedictus Iesus Christus, 

Filius Dei unigenitus, ex Maria Virgine natus, 

factus pro nobis misericordia et pax, 

qui aæternum dilectioniis mysterium nobis revelavit
R. Benedictus Deus in sæcula.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, our mercy and our peace, who has revealed to us the eternal mystery of his love.
Blessed be God forever.

Benedictus Spiritus Sanctus, 

fons gratiæ et consolationis, 

hominum genus totamque creationem vivificans, 

qui nos ducit ad plenitudinem veritates.
R. Benedictus Deus in sæcula.
Blessed be the Holy Spirit, source of grace and of consolation, who with its breath gives life to creation and to all humanity and who will lead us to the fullness of truth.
Blessed be God forever.

Misericordia Dei Patris, 

caritas Domini nostri Iesu Christi 

et communicatio Sancti Spiritus 

sit cum omnibus vobis.

R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
May the mercy of God our Father, the love of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

And with your Spirit.

Monition

Brothers and sisters, 

the Church is in pilgrimage through time to eternity, 

waiting to celebrate the manifestation of the grace of God, 

who brings salvation for all creatures, 

and we are grateful for the wonder of this holy night.

Our memory, which recognizes the two-thousandth anniversary 

of the birth of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, 

rejoices with the sacramental celebration 

of the mystery of Christ, who is the same 

yesterday, today, and forever. 

In him, born of a woman, 
the ancient prophecy of Good News to the poor 
and of liberty and life for all 
has become a reality, a perennial gift, 

as we proclaim 

at this dawn of the Great Jubilee. 

With him, hope returns to flower; 

swords are forged into ploughshares; lances into sickles; 

weak hands are made strong, 

and shaking knees are made firm. 

A new people, whom he had saved and redeemed.

Through him, the only Holy Door, the only access to the Father, 

of whom the door we open is but the image 

we advance toward the new millennium, 

anchored to his saving word, 

relight the lamps of the faith 

with songs of joy in your hearts and on your lips.

Everyone prays for some time in silence.

Prayer

The Holy Father:

Pater sancte, Deus Patrum nostrorum, 

Deus Abraham, Isaac et Iacob, 

dives in misericordia, magnus in dilectione; 

tu, ad consilium adimplendum salutis, 

Filium tuum Iesum Christum 

sanctificasti et in mundum misisti ut ostium fieret ovium: 

porta miseritionis et gratiæ peccatoribus semper patens; 

porta ingredientibus salutem præbens, 

egredientibus uberima offerens pascua.

Respice nos, Domine, 

qui hac fulgida nocte Portam Sanctam 

sollemniter aperimus et lætantes inchoamus 

Annum Magni Iubilæi, 

annum tibi acceptum, 

annum gratiæ et veræ libertatis, 

reconciliationis et pacis.

Concede, quæsumus, ut omnes qui, 

conversionis et renovatæ fidei propositum confitentes, 

huius sacræ ædis limen intrabunt, 

salutem consequantur, 

quæ a te procedit et ad te perducit.

Per Christum Dominum nostrum.

R. Amen.

Father most Holy, God of our Fathers, God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, rich in mercy and great in love; for completing your work of salvation, you have consecrated and sent into the world your Son Jesus Christ that he might be the sheepgate: the door of mercy and of grace, always open to sinners; the door which offers salvation to those who enter through it, and abundant pastures to those who have come forth purified.

Lord, look kindly on us who on this night resplendent with light solemnly open the Holy Door and joyfully begin the Year of the Great Jubilee, a year pleasing to you, a year of grace and of true freedom, of reconciliation, and of peace.

Grant, we beseech you, that all who, with renewed commitment and firm faith, cross this threshold may obtain salvation, which proceeds from you and leads to you.

Through Christ our Lord.

Acclamation of the Gospel

As the Deacon solemnly brings the book of the Gospels to the ambo, the assembly acclaims Christ present in his word.

The Schola:

Al-le- lu-ia,    al-le-lu-ia,    al-le-lu-ia.

The assembly repeats: Alleluia

The Schola: cf. Lk 4, 18-19

Spiritus Domini super me; prædicare annum Domini acceptum misit me.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has sent me to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

The assembly repeats: Alleluia.

Gospel

The Spirit of the Lord 

has sent me to preach a year of grace

Lectio sancti Evangelii secundum Lucam 4, 14-21

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke

Opening of the Holy Door

The Holy Father heads towards the Holy Door and, arriving in front of it, says:

Hæc porta Domini.

R. Iusti intrabunt in eam.

This is the door of the Lord.

The just will enter through it.

Introibo, in domum tuam, Domine.

R. Adorabo ad templum sanctum tuum.

I will go into your house, O Lord.

I will adore you in your holy temple.

Aperite mihi portas iustitiæ.

R. Ingressus in eas, confitebor Domino.

Open to me the gates of justice.

Having entered, I will proclaim the Lord.

The Holy Father silently climbs the steps, opens the Holy Door, kneels on the threshold and pauses there in prayer.

When the Holy Father stands up, the choir sings the acclamation:

Christus heri et hodie, Finis et Principium; Christus Alpha et Omega. Ipsi gloria in sæcula.

Christ yesterday and today; the beginning and the end; the Alpha and the Omega. To him be glory forever.

The assembly repeats: Christus heri et hodie, Finis et Principium; Christus Alpha et Omega. Ipsi gloria in sæcula.

The Holy Father returns to the Chair.

While a piece of oriental music is played, some faithful from Asia, Australia, and Oceania decorate the door with flowers and spread perfumes.

The Holy Father goes to the threshold of the Holy Door and shows the faithful the Book of the Gospels and then enters the Vatican Basilica.

In the meantime, some faithful from Africa sound the horn to express the joy of the beginning of the Great Jubilee.

From the atrium of the Vatican Basilica the procession sets out through the Holy Door, while singing:

INNO A CRISTO, SIGNORE DEI MILLENNI

When the Holy Father, the Concelebrants and the ministers arrive before the Confession, the choir and the assembly perform the

Entrance Antiphon

The Schola: 

Dominus dixit ad me: Filius meus es tu, ego hodie genui te.

The Lord said to me: You are my Son. It is I who have begotten you this day.

The assembly repeats: Dominus dixit ad me: Filius meus es tu, ego hodie genui te.

PSALM 2

Enthronement of the Book of the Gospels

The Deacon places the Book of the Gospels on the special throne in front of the Confession. Some faithful from America and Europe place flowers and candles around it. Then the Holy Father incenses the Book of the Gospels.

Proclamation of the Great Jubilee

The Deacon:

I. Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum: 

nativitas est hodie 

Domini nostri Iesu Christi secundum carnem. 

Annuntiate et vos in universa terra: 

floruit Virga de radice Iesse, 

natus est Princeps pacis, 

cuius regni non erit finis.

I announce to you a great joy:

today is born, flesh of our flesh,

our Lord Jesus Christ.

We also must announce it to the whole world:

A stem has blossomed from the root of Jesse;

the Prince of Peace is born,

whose reign shall be without end.

The Schola: 

Iubilate Domini, omnis terra, 

servite Domino in lætitia: 

introite in conspectu eius in exsultatione.

Rejoice in the Lord, all you on earth;

serve the Lord in gladness;

and go before him in exultation.

The Deacon:

II. Hæc est nativitas Salvatoris nostri, 

ante omnia sæcula ab Altissimo disposita, a Spiritu præparata.

Hæc est æternæ Lucis nativitas temporalis, 

a Patribus præsignata, a Prophetis promissa, 

ab electo populo exspectata, 

a cunctis creaturis desiderata.

This is the day of the birth of our Savior,

as ordained by the most high God from before the creation of the world,

as prepared by the Spirit with wise love.

This is the day of the birth in time of the eternal Light,

as prefigured by the Patriarchs, promised by the Prophets,

awaited by Israel, the chosen people,

and ardently desired by the entire universe.

The Schola: 

Scitote quoniam Dominus ipse est Deus: 

ipse fecit nos, et ipsius sumus, 

populus eius et oves pascuæ eius.

See how the Lord is God,

he has made us, and we belong to him,

we are his people and the sheep of his flock.

The Deacon:

III. Hodie de Virgine Matre natus est in tempore Christus Iesus, 

ut nos perducat ad Patris æternitatem: 

Deus factus est homo, ut homo fieret Deus. 

Hodie illuxit dies redemptionis novæ, 

præparationis antiquæ, 

felicitas æternæ.

Today Christ Jesus is born in time from the Virgin Mother,

to lead us to the eternal splendor of the Father:

God has made man, so that man may become God.

Today has dawned, the bright day of the new redemption,

the day awaited from ancient times,

the day of eternal happiness.

The Schola: 

Introite portas eius confessione, 

atria eius in hymnis, 

confitemini illi, benedicite nomini eius.

Go within his gates giving thanks, 

enter his courts with songs of praise, 

give praise to him, and bless his name.

The Deacon:

IV. Hodie in cælo gaudent angeli, 

in inferis Hostis trepidat humani generis, 

in terris resurgent homines lapsi, 

lætantes spe salutis.

Exsultet itaque sanctus, quia propinquat ad palmam. 

Gaudeat peccator, quia invitatur ad veniam. 

Animetur gentilis, quia vocatur ad vitam.

Today the angels rejoice in heaven,

while in hell the enemy of the human race is trembling,

on earth, fallen man has lifting himself up,

happy in the hope of salvation.

the holy men rejoices, because he is near to victory.

the sinner rejoices, because he is called to pardon.

the soul without faith is revived, because of his call to life.

The Schola: 

Quoniam suavis est Dominus; 

in æternum misericordia eius, 

et usque in generationem, et generationem veritas eius.

How good therefore is the Lord,

his mercy is eternal, 

his faithfulness from generation to generation.

The Deacon:

V. Illius beati ortus bis millesimus dies 

anniversarius feliciter recurrit; 

unde Ecclesia sponsa Christi sponsi natalem recolere 

cupiens annum iubilare celebrat: 

annum placabilem Domini, 

annum miserationies et gratiæ, 

annum reconciliationis et veniæ, salutis et pacis. 

Celebremus ergo nostræ redemptionis adventum, 

celebremus et initium Magni Iubilæi. 

Gaudeamus omnes et choris angelicis 

sociati exsultantes hymnum canamus.

Twenty centuries have passed

since that blessed day;

the Church, the spouse of Christ, is therefore mindful and grateful,

and celebrates the two millennia of his birth,

with a jubilee year:

a year pleasing to the Lord,

a year of mercy and grace,

a year of reconciliation and pardon, of salvation and of peace.

Let us then celebrate the coming of our redemption 

the coming of our salvation.

The beginning of the Great Jubilee.

Let us all rejoice and, united to the heavenly choirs,

sing in exultation the hymn of the Angels:

Gloria

(De Angelis)

The Holy Father intones the Gloria in excelsis: the choir and the assembly sing it, acclaiming God and Christ the Lord.

***

LITURGY OF THE WORD

After the singing of the Gospel in Latin and Greek, the Holy Father kisses the book of the Gospels as a sign of veneration and blesses the assembly with it while the choir sings:

Benedictus Deus in sæcula.

Ad multos annos, Holy Father.

The Holy Father gives the homily.

Admonition to the Profession of Faith

The Holy Father:

In hac aula Apostolorum Principi 

dicata per cunctos Anni iubilaris dies 

beati Petri resonet de Iesu confessio, 

quam Pater eum docuit: 

"Tu es Christus, Filius Dei vivi". 

Hæc est fides nostra. 

Hæc fides omnium ad Petri sedem peregrinantium, 

quam portæ inferi non tenebunt, 

neque mortis vincula ligabunt, 

ad cælestia provehens omnes 

qui eam sincero animo profitentur.

Every day of the Jubilee Year in this Basilica dedicated to the Prince of the Apostles, there will resound the profession of faith of Saint Peter on the identity of Jesus, which God the Father himself revealed to him: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." This is our faith. This is the faith of pilgrims to the tomb of Peter; this is the faith to which the gates of hell cannot prevail and which cannot hold constrain by the bonds of faith. This faith rises to heaven as often as we profess it with a sincere heart.

Credo

(III)

Prayers of the faithful

The Holy Father:

Brothers and sisters, 

the announcement of the great joy 

of the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, 

two thousand years ago in Bethlehem 

and in this most holy night for us in mystery, 

becomes a confident prayer 

to God glorified by the Angels,

an echo of the churches which live in the great continents 

which in this Sanctuary of faith 

have proclaimed Christ, yesterday, today, and forever.

The cantor: Dominum oremus. R. Kyrie eleison.

The assembly repeats: Kyrie eleison.

1. in Swahili

__________

"Let the desert and the earth rejoice; let the steppe rejoice and flourish" (Is 33, 1).

For the Church in Africa and for the peoples of this vast continent.

May all the baptized in the Lord of this new land of Christ renew the Christian sense of witness and of the evangelizing mission so that the wounded sons and daughters of Africa might find all the resources of their own humanity.

2. in Quechua

__________

"The Spirit of the Lord has sent me to announce the good news to the poor" (Lk 4, 18).

For the Church in America and for the nations of the great American continent.

In the faithful of the various particular churches, extending from North to South, let the birth of the Lord reawaken the desire and will to encounter the living Jesus Christ, to serve him in our brothers and sisters of every race and cultural expression with works of conversion, of communion, and of solidarity.

3. in Tagalog

__________

"Let the people praise you, O God. Our earth has given its fruit (cf. Ps 66).

For the Church in Asia and for the people throughout that varied continent.

Let faithful Christians rejoice for the two-thousandth anniversary of the birth of the Savior in their land of Asia, be generous in a new commitment to the mission so as to confront the consequences of suffering, of violence, of discrimination, and of poverty, so that all the inhabitants of the continent "may have life and have it more abundantly."

4. in Samoan

__________

"Sing to the Lord a new song; let the earth rejoice and all that is in it, the islands with their inhabitants." (Is 42, 10).

For the Church in Oceania and for the peoples spread throughout that vast region.

Let the people of God, who in the Word made flesh, take part in the divine nature, receive and proclaim the Gospel of truth and of life with courage and ardor, working toward the solution of problems of justice in the perspective of the Kingdom.

5. in Russian

__________

"Rise up, clothe yourselves with light because your light comes the glory of the Lord shines over you" (Is 60, 1).

For the Church in Europe and for all European citizens.

Let believing brothers and sisters, reinvigorated in their faith of God-with-us, nourish the only true hope which does not disappoint, so that no one may give way to discouragement and the sterile resignation and so that all might cooperate to bring to maturity the dreams and works of peace, of justice, and of beauty.

6. in French

__________

"My soul magnifies the Lord... his mercy extends from generation to generation" (Lk 1, 46-50).

For the Church, which lives in Rome, for our Jubilee assembly and for those who are in communion with us through radio and television.

Let the mercy, which is given in this night illuminated by the birth of the Word of God, be for all a viaticum in the pilgrimage of the days, a precious gift to be communicated to the new generations.

The Holy Father:

Father of the Prince of Peace, 

confirm the joy of your people 

in celebration for the pleasing memory of the birth of your Word in the Flesh. 

We are in communion with Holy Mary, 

the Mother of your Only Begotten Son, 

with Saint Joseph, her spouse, a just man, 

for the faith which they had in your plan of salvation. 

Hear our universal prayer 

so that our joy may find in you its fullness.

Through Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

***

LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

While some children from various continents bring the offerings for the sacrifice to the Holy Father, the following is performed:

Offertory hymn

MAGNUM NOMEN DOMINI

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Texts taken from "Magnum Iubilæum. Trinitati Canticum"

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