In his papal bull, Spes non Confundit, Pope Francis decreed a special year of grace. The theme for this Jubilee year is “Pilgrims of Hope.” Pope Francis writes, “Hope is born of love and based on the love springing from the pierced heart of Jesus upon the cross.” The pope began the Jubilee year celebration by opening the doors of St. Peter’s Basilica to invite the world in to meet Jesus, the source of our Jubilee. The celebration of the Jubilee Year is rooted in the Old Testament and has been continued by the Church until the present day. The last Jubilee was in the year 2015.
After the exodus from Egypt, God commanded the Israelites to commemorate their freedom from slavery by regularly celebrating a Jubilee year in which they were to forgive debts, rest from labor, and release slaves (Leviticus 25). In the following centuries, through sin and idolatry, the Israelites would once again be oppressed by foreign captors. In their suffering and exile, God sent the prophet Isaiah, “to bring good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the LORD” (Is 61:1-2). Again, God gave hope to His people with the promise of a new Jubilee.
Seven hundred years later Jesus would read Isaiah’s words before the synagogue in Nazareth and announce their perfect fulfillment (Luke 4:16-21). Here Jesus reveals that He is the Jubilee. He is the freedom from captivity and imprisonment to sin and darkness. He releases us from our debt and grants us God’s favor through grace. Jesus is the Lord’s anointed one (the Christ) who opens to us the final rest of heaven and through the Eucharist gives us the strength to persevere.
This Jubilee Year challenges us to examine our lives. Where are we held captive and who do we hold captive? As with the Israelites, our sins can make us prisoners. Unaddressed, they become a terrible burden robbing us of freedom in this life and the next. By going more frequently to confession this year, we can find complete forgiveness and healing for our transgressions. In turn, we should ask ourselves, who do I need to forgive? Who are the people in my life that I hold captive or in debt that need to be released? As God forgives us, giving us mercy we do not deserve, so too we must forgive others even if they do not deserve it.
The forgiveness of sins and freedom from debt is so significant in the Jubilee year that throughout the year we can obtain multiple plenary indulgences for ourselves or souls in purgatory by participating in spiritual acts. An plenary indulgence is a total “remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1471). Opportunities for indulgences include making a pilgrimage to Rome or one of the seven parishes that Bishop Malloy has designated as a Jubilee site (see https://www.rockforddiocese.org/article/?id=880). One can also perform acts of penance such as fasting or abstaining from things like social media or television.
Another hallmark of the Jubilee is to bring hope to those that have none. Pope Francis makes special mention of the need to extend ourselves to the poor, the elderly, our grandparents and the lonely. In the words of Isaiah, we are called to be “a light to the nations” (Is 49:6). A plenary indulgence can also be gained for corporal works of mercy such as visiting the imprisoned or elderly, aiding the sick, donating to the poor, or in defense of life.
Our life as a Christian is one of pilgrimage — away from sin and toward the promise of the beatific vision. This year of jubilee is one of the many graces that God has given to strengthen and encourages us as we journey towards Him. For more details about the Jubilee Year or how to obtain the Jubilee indulgence, go to https://www.iubilaeum2025.va.
