Dear brothers and sisters,
we are glad to see your presence in the temple and we believe that you have gathered the necessary physical and spiritual strength during the summer. Many of you experience the opening of school gates with your children again, which can also symbolically remind us of the jubilee year associated with passing through the holy doors of the papal basilicas. When we remember
the words of Jesus “I am the door...” (John 10:9), we perceive more deeply Jesus' personal care for each one of us, so that we may find certainty and security in Him. In God's love, we also find the strength and invitation to live love among ourselves.
Unfortunately, we often observe negative relationships around us, characterized by “slamming doors” or even “closing doors.” We witness the overall vulgarization of interpersonal relationships and communication, whether in physical or online reality.
We value and thank you, dear parents, grandparents, teachers, and educators, for leading those entrusted to you to respectful and kind communication through your example, which reflects a personal relationship with God and with others.
We invite you to reflect together on how to best use the remaining months of the holy year
to improve relationships. Let us ask ourselves why we are so often rude, disrespectful, and inattentive to one another? Why can’t we maintain peace and respect for our dialogue partner when exchanging views, even very fundamental ones? Why do discussions about specific issues often get blocked by personal attacks that hinder further conversation? How can we ensure that doors do not remain shut, gates barricaded, and bridges burned?
The answer lies in the very truth about man. Man is created in the image of God. And the Triune God is relational because He is a community of love among three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is in human nature that we experience the deepest joy when we step out of ourselves in love to meet and listen to God, as well as to another person, and accept them in their differences as a gift.
However, our civilization increasingly suffers from a troubling absence of building natural relationships, an increasing lack of experiencing real relationships with others. Modern digital technologies are a significant aid to humanity, but their unrestricted use harms us. It is striking, even sad, for example, to see family or friends who may sit together around a table in a restaurant, but instead of conversing, each focuses only on their smartphone. How much more beautiful it would be to meet and show interest in our neighbors without the distracting signals of social networks!
The Holy Father, in his recent address, invited us to create “networks of relationships, love, networks of selfless mutual exchange, where friendship is authentic and deep. Networks where it would be possible to mend what has been torn, where one could heal from loneliness, regardless of the number of followers, and to experience at every meeting the infinite greatness of God's love. Networks that give more space to others than to oneself, where no ‘bubble’ can obscure the voices of the weakest. Networks that liberate, networks that save. Networks that help us rediscover the beauty of looking into each other's eyes.” (Cf. Address by the Pope to the participants of the Jubilee for Digital Missionaries and Influencers, Vatican, July 29, 2025)
Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer, is the indispensable foundation of our beautiful interpersonal relationships. He offers us His unconditional love. He offers it to us as a source and inner reinforcement of every loving relationship among people. The risen Jesus is indeed the true “open door” to good relationships.
One way to strengthen relationships with God, the risen Christ, and amongst ourselves is also through the celebration of Sunday. Sunday means more than just the end of the “weekend.” The day of Jesus' resurrection is the first and the eighth day of the week (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium 106); it is the beginning and the end of everything. Sunday, as a day of rest, creates a space for us to stay with God and meet with our neighbors, thus preparing and encouraging us to bear witness during the following days of the week. For believers, Sunday is an opportunity to engage in acts of mercy, love, and apostolate. Sunday is the opportunity for a closer encounter with Jesus, who strengthens us to update His example in the minutiae of everyday activities. With the crucified and risen Jesus, we, too, become a gift for one another, which we share with a sense of gratitude during conversations or at any meeting.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us always return to the most fulfilling experience of Sunday as the “Lord’s Day.” After all, we would hardly be able to live our faith in full communion with brothers and sisters without regular participation in the Sunday Eucharistic assembly. In the midst of it flows a spring of grace that renews people, life, and history, and is an impulse of life energy and a reason for hope. Time dedicated to the risen Lord of history is the seed of a good and quality future.
Let us open the doors of our hearts! May the gospel itself invite us to rejoice at the opportunity to enter into renewed relationships, into the lives of others, to extend and receive a helping hand – for we all need each other very much, without exception.
From the depths of our hearts, the Catholic Bishops of Slovakia bless you for the coming days of the holy year.
