Sermon & Messages

Jubilee in the Catholic Church

Dear Rev. Fathers, Sisters, Brothers and Lay Faithful,

Greetings in the precious name of Jesus!

In the Catholic Church, the concept of Jubilee or ‘Holy Year’ was used to declare special years for forgiveness and reconciliation. The first Jubilee was declared by Pope Boniface VIII on 22 February 1300 (Feast of the Chair of St. Peter) to mark the beginning of that century. He later recommended it occurring every 100 years. Various other Popes changed the length of the interval between the observances. Pope Clement VI in 1343 began to celebrate it every 50 years. However, Pope Paul II set the present 25-year interval in the 1470. So, Holy Years are “ordinary” when they occur at regular intervals (25 years in these modern times) and “extraordinary” when they are proclaimed for an exceptional reason.

Etymologically, the word ‘jubilee’ comes from the Hebrew word ‘yobel’ (ram’s horn), which was used as a trumpet to announce the beginning of the 50th year, i.e., the completion of 49 years (7 times 7 years). According to Lev. 25: 8-13, the celebration of the jubilee year entails the release of slaves, forgiveness of debts, and repatriation of property.

In other words, Jubilee is understood as four R’s:

  • Rest (the land is given rest);
  • Review (an inventory of life, livestock, personnel, and land is taken);
  • Restore (setting the societal clock back to zero); and
  • Reconcile (aligning our relationships with God and one another).

The 2025 Jubilee, which has the theme of “Pilgrims of Hope”, will be a year of hope and trust for a world suffering the impacts of war, the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased threats to the climate. Our Holy Father, Pope Francis underscores the importance of hope in Christian life amidst uncertainties and hardships created by the pandemic and wars. i) Learn, ii) Pray, and iii) Walk are the three words that we need to remember as we journey together preparing for the Jubilee 2025.

i) In the preparatory year (2023-2024), we shall promote the study of the Four Constitutions of the Second Vatican Council: Sacrosanctum Concilium, Dei Verbum, Lumen Gentium and Gaudium et Spes in order to understand the general themes of the Council, and to explore Jesus, the Church, and our lives in the world today. ii) In the year of prayer (this year), we are called to pray with the Universal Church in the Local Churches for the entire humanity. We shall reflect on prayer in Christian life, sacraments, sacramentals, pious practices, and popular devotions as well.

iii) We are also invited to enter the doors for hope, lighting a ray of hope in prisons, homes for the elderly, the dying and the destitute, the hospitals, the migrants, the marginalised, etc. The Ordinary Jubilee 2025, an integral part of the synodal journey, invites us to be pilgrims of hope, givers of hope, and livers of hope. Thus, next year, 2025, will be the year of celebration.

With this background of the Jubilee year and its scopes, we are entering into the Lenten season on 14 February 2024. Once again, this season gives us a clarion call to open our hearts during Lent and be reconciled with God, self, neighbour and creation. Rooted in the Word of God and enamoured by our staunch faith in Christ, we need to pray more, as this year designated for prayer indicates, to show gratitude for God’s unconditional blessings and reconcile with our fellow brethren.

This year is dedicated to prayer, which is so important in Lent. Even more than a duty, prayer is an expression of our need to respond to God’s love, which always precedes and sustains us. Christians pray knowing that, although unworthy, we are still loved. Prayer can take many forms, but what truly matters in God’s eyes is that it penetrates deep within us and chips away at our hardness of heart to convert us ever more fully to God and to his will. As Pope Francis mentioned in his message for lent in 2020, may we allow ourselves to be led like Israel into the desert (cf. Hos 2:14), so that we can at last hear our Spouse’s voice and allow it to resound ever more deeply within us. The more fully we are engaged with his word, the more we will experience the mercy he freely gives us. May we not let this time of grace pass in vain, in the foolish illusion that we can control the times and means of our conversion to him.

I earnestly pray and wish that our Lenten celebration in this preparatory year for Jubilee will open our hearts to hear God’s call to be reconciled to himself, to fix our gaze on the paschal mystery, and to be converted to an open and sincere dialogue with him. In this way, we will become what Christ asks his disciples to be: the salt of the earth and the light of the world (cf. Mt 5:13-14).

Wishing you all a fruitful Lent, I impart cordial blessings.

Yours devotedly in Our Lord,
Bishop Dr. S.Antonysamy
+ Most.Rev. Dr. S. Antonysamy
Bishop of Palayamkottai