Last week, the Catholic Church began the celebration of another Jubilee Year. Jubilee Years have their origin in the Scriptures, specifically in the Old Testament. In the Book of Leviticus, God tells Moses that the People of Israel are to celebrate a Jubilee every 50 years. During that year, gratitude to God is to be expressed by the gathering of families, respect for the land, abstaining from the work of the harvest, care for the poor and the release of debts (cf. Lv 25).
The Church’s faith, over the course of time, took up this sacred practice. Starting in 1300, under Pope Boniface VIII, a Jubilee Year was first proclaimed. In our modern era, the Church celebrates a Jubilee Year, in ordinary practice, every 25 years. For this reason, 2025 has been proclaimed by Pope Francis as the Jubilee Year of Hope.
A central element of such Jubilee Years is the offering of a special Plenary Indulgence. It is worth reminding ourselves what such an indulgence is and how to obtain it.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that when we sin, there are two consequences. First, we lose our communion and friendship with God because we offend His love and infinite greatness. Secondly, when we sin, we also wound and disfigure ourselves. These consequences are not the result of some arbitrary anger on the part of God. Rather, they flow from the nature of sin and our personal rebellion against God.
Just as there are two consequences of sin, so there are two necessary remedies. First, we need the forgiveness of God to renew again our communion with Him. But even after that forgiveness, which is typically associated with our reception of the sacrament of confession, we still need to strive to heal the damage that remains in us, personally and spiritually. That is the role of purgatory, preparing us for full union with God after our death.
A good example of these two elements of sin can be found in the parable of the Prodigal Son. That son has horribly offended the dignity of his father. When he returns, penniless and humiliated, his father immediately forgives the son. But we sense in that parable, by the son’s own confession to his father, that the son still has work to do. He must learn again to live in the grace of his father, healing the wounds he has created with his brother and all the faithful servants.
Indulgences are the application to us of the Church’s power to bind and forgive sins. Based in the merit of Christ’s death and the prayers of the saints, the Church, in such an exceptional year, grants the possibility of a full healing of our woundedness resulting from sin.
In this Jubilee Year, Plenary Indulgences can be obtained even daily. They can be applied to ourselves or by our intention to someone who has already preceded us in death.
In order to obtain this grace of a Plenary Indulgence, the faithful must fulfill five conditions. They must be truly repentant and free from affection for all sins, they must receive the sacrament of reconciliation a few days before or after seeking the Plenary Indulgence, they must receive holy Communion, preferably on the day of seeking the indulgence, and they must fulfill one of the specified acts of charity or penance such as visiting the sick or offering a fast for sins. Finally, as an act of solidarity with the whole Church, the faithful must offer prayers for the Holy Father.
In the Diocese of Rockford, St. Peter Cathedral Parish is designated as a pilgrimage site for the Jubilee Year. Additionally, St. Mary Parish in Sterling, St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Freeport, St. Mary Parish in Huntley, Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Aurora, St. Thomas More Parish in Elgin and St. Mary Parish in DeKalb have been designated as pilgrimage parishes for the coming Jubilee Year. A pilgrimage to any of these sites, accompanied by the fulfillment of the other conditions is a means of obtaining the Plenary Indulgence.
I warmly encourage taking advantage of this great opportunity to deepen your faith and to prepare your souls for the moment when we meet our Lord in the hope of joining Him in heaven for eternity.
