Release – A Senryū —ThursdayDoors

Posted bySuzette BenjaminPosted inPoetryTags:
Basilica Santa Maria di Collemaggio in L’Aquila, Italy. Licensed image credit: © imagoDens | Dreamstime

forgiveness’ release

a pilgrimage of the heart;

the soul’s hidden door

*

*Featured Door: The Celestinian Holy Door at the Basilica, Santa Maria di Collemaggio in L’Aquila, Italy (the basilica: circa 1288). The Holy Door is situated out of sight on the far left side wall of the basilica.

Trivia #1

Every year in August, from the evening of August 28 to the evening of August 29, a special grace is granted in perpetuity to all who enter through the Celestinian Holy Door, Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio in L’Aquila, Italy. This special grace is called The Celestinian Forgiveness.

In 1294, the hermit who unwillingly left his contemplative life behind and rode into L’Aquila on a donkey to be crowned Pope—Celestine V—granted a special grace to all who confessed, repented of their sins, and entered this basilica through its side wall door between the evening hours of August 28 through to the evening of August 29, of any year.

The Celestinian Forgiveness is a grace granted by Pope Celestine V’s Papul bull meant to nullify any negative temporal effects a person’s sins (confessed and repented) may have manifested in the person’s everyday life.

*The significance of the dates—the evening of August 28 to the evening of August 29—commemorates the martyrdom of John the Baptist.

Trivia #2:

The Celestinian Holy Door is the first designated ‘Holy Door’ in the history of the Catholic Church (1294 AD), predating the Holy Doors of St. John Lateran Basilica (1423).

The Celestinian Holy Door‘s bronze valves were installed in 2000 to replace the previous centuries-old wooden doors which had weathered markedly over time.

The bronze door’s design replicates the previous wooden door in pattern, color and style. The door’s only marking is the mark of its Holy Door status engraved at the top “Porta Sancta.” An image is below.

Celestinian Holy Door, Santa Maria di Collemaggio in L’Aquila, Italy. Licensed image credit:  © Sergio Feola | Dreamstime

The fresco painting above the door (in the lunette) by unknown artist(s) depicts Mary with baby Jesus. On her left, a depiction of John the Baptist and to her right, Pope Celestine V presenting the scroll – The Papal Bull Of Forgiveness.

Additional Facts:

Pope Celestine V resigned his position as Pope, Bishop of Rome five months after he was crowned and returned to his life as a hermit.

Known as “red gold,” the highly prized hand-grown and harvested saffron from the L’Aquila region under the brand name Zafferano dell’Aquila is the most expensive saffron in Italy fetching a reported $120 US per gram.

Wider angle Basilica Santa Maria di Collemaggio, L’Aquila, Italy. Licensed image credit: © Sergio Feola | Dreamstime
Closer look at the locally sourced famous pink and white marble of the facade, Basilica Santa Maria di Collemaggio. Licensed image credit:  © Sergio Feola | Dreamstime

And for more #ThursdayDoors visit Dan Antion at No Facilities

Ritva Photogrpahy

Published by Suzette Benjamin

Positive thinker, inspirational, writer, faith

47 thoughts on “Release – A Senryū —ThursdayDoors”

  8. Yours is a beautiful poem to introduce these magnificent and historical doors, Suzette. It’s interesting that after becoming Pope, he resigned five months later and to return to the life of a hermit. That’s quite a story.

    Thanks again for offering the history and interesting facts surrounding the wonderful doors you bring us. Although, the tidbit about the price of saffron might have me avoiding recipes that call for that ingredient.

    I hope you have a great weekend.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I do not know for sure, but I read one account of the great pomp and procession of tens of thousands that accompanied the day of Pope Celestine V’s coronation. I suspect, just my guess, if the report was true, that that much popularity might have been a bit too much notoriety for a person who lived an austere life out of the limelight as a Benedictine hermit.

      Glad you like the share, Dan. Thank you for your support of the community of all-things-doors enthusiasts. Much appreciated.

      Liked by 1 person

  11. I love this ritual for the faithful who pass through the door to receive a plenary indulgence—an entry into the presence of God, a remission of temporal punishment for sins. It stands as a powerful symbol of Jubilee, a core part of the Celestinian Pardon.

    How wonderful that people undertake these journeys for retreat and spiritual renewal. I never experienced such practices in the religious system I was raised in, so it feels almost like vocation joined with spiritual vacation. What a blessing, a congregation that creates such marvelous pilgrimages and traditions—filled with awe, though often left behind on the altar of reformism in other systems of worship.

    I find it fascinating that the Pope who instituted this rite eventually renounced it all and returned to the solitude of a hermit’s life. Some souls are simply destined for prayer beyond monastery walls.

    And then, woven into this same landscape, red gold—saffron—is harvested. A spice I’ve always associated with the East, yet here it blooms in Spain, beside churches adorned with pink and white marble, their markings echoing Eastern design.

    From August 28 into the evening of August 29, this special grace is granted in perpetuity. Doors predating even the Holy Doors of St. John Lateran now set in bronze—what a marvelous continuity of thought and devotion.

    A heartwarming Thursday offering. Release feels the perfect title for a senryū here—forgiveness itself is a mystical act, beautifully represented in this sacred tradition.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Your insights and meditations are always profound and heartfelt.

      Thank you for your beautiful comment, which to me felt like I was ushered into an afternoon vespers on considering the ways of grace and forgiveness. So beautiful.

      I agree with the sense of community that this observance is, which indeed was and still is a predicated upon a pilgrimage to this place.
      I love your reflection on the mystical act of forgiveness…one day something happens in the heart, that one hardly notices…yet looking back, a moment of forgiveness blossoms, seemingly sudden but its foundation built on firm ground immovable, unshakeable from the heart.
      Blessings to you this day and joy in the little things/moments.

      “…in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.” – Khalil Gibran

      Liked by 1 person

  12. I love this quote—how it mirrors the quiet mystery of forgiveness. In the dew of little things, the heart softens; then one day, without fanfare, forgiveness takes root, and from that hidden seed, a new movement of grace begins.

    May the joy of vespers linger with you, and blessings flow gently through your days.

    I love the study into your Thursday Doors.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Pingback: Release – A Senryū —ThursdayDoors – QuietMomentsWithGod

  17. I’m so glad you included the close-up because I couldn’t imagine what this design could be. What an interesting story about the “porta sancta,” and I like your wording about “release.” No matter our response to the Celestine story, there is, I think, truth in how forgiveness, a tricky concept, can lead to release. As for Celestine, one can hardly blame him for rushing back to a hermit’s life!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I am glad you enjoyed the share and the closeup of the facade’s superb stone work, Maureen.
      I thought this was a timely post to share. Thank you for your gracious and always thoughtful response and support..Cheers.

      Liked by 1 person

  18. You find the best churches and cathedrals, Suzette. This is beautiful and the brickwork is so unique. The timing for this post is perfect. I thought, this weekend is the perfect time to visit and enter through that side door! 😊

    Liked by 1 person

    1. You are most kind Deborah. Thank you. And yes you are right, I think, it would be a great time for a visit to this Basilica. Albeit, I will settle for a virtual tour this time via this post. Peace to you.

      Liked by 1 person

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