Written by Fr. Andrew Kolena, East Lake Chaplain
Jubilee of Hope!
What if there were a special event that happened once in your life, when you could start over? Say, when you turned 50, you could have all your debts forgiven, have a chance to make past mistakes right, and start fresh with all the knowledge acquired in your 50 years in the school of hard knocks? I think a lot of us would jump at that chance, if for no other reason than to see if we can do things better this time around and avoid the mistakes made in the immaturity and inexperience of youth. That would certainly make the 50th birthday party a bit more lively! It would be an exciting time, one that we could look forward to with anticipation, and we could begin planning even years in advance, so as to take the best advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime moment.
This event did happen for the people of Israel, every fifty years. The Lord commanded Moses when he gave the Law, “You shall count seven weeks of years—seven times seven years—such that the seven weeks of years amount to forty-nine years. Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month let the ram’s horn resound; on this, the Day of Atonement, the ram’s horn blast shall resound throughout your land. You shall treat this fiftieth year as sacred. You shall proclaim liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to your own property, each of you to your own family.” (Lv 25:8-10)
Every fifty years, there was a year of Jubilee when each family would be able to take possession of the land given to them when the Israelites first came into the promised land after their 40 years in the wilderness. It was a year of mercy and favor of the Lord, a chance to start over once again, but also a year to rely on God’s providence, because the lands were not allowed to be cultivated during this year. Normally this would only come once in a man’s lifetime, and so it would be very awaited and hoped for.
The Church has continued this tradition of a Jubilee year of mercy and hope, and not only every 50 years, but every 25 years. Pope Francis has decreed this year 2025 as the year of hope. His official decree has the title “Spes non confundit,” hope does not disappoint. The Jubilee year of the Church is a year of grace and mercy. But what sets it apart from any other year? After all, we have the opportunity to receive God’s mercy whenever we go to confession, and we can even receive a plenary indulgence–the remission of all temporal punishment from sins already forgiven–very often through various pious acts. Externally, there may not be much that is different or that cannot be lived during normal liturgical years. However, the Holy Father invites us to live this holy year of hope in a particular way: “The interplay of hope and patience makes us see clearly that the Christian life is a journey calling for moments of greater intensity to encourage and sustain hope as the constant companion that guides our steps towards the goal of our encounter with the Lord Jesus.”
He goes on to speak more about this journey, or pilgrimage, that is our Christian life. Throughout the history of the Jubilee year in the Church, going on pilgrimage to Rome to pass through the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica was always encouraged. This would undoubtedly require great sacrifice and cost for the faithful, but it is this type of “moment of greater intensity” that the Holy Father encourages us all to live during this year. A trip to St Peter’s, as awesome at that would be, might not be in the cards for us this year. Could we perhaps make a family pilgrimage to Holy Name Cathedral here in the Archdiocese? Are there other Jubilee events that we can participate in as a family in other designated churches? The Archdiocese has on its website a list of different churches that have been named as Jubilee sites for this year, including Santa Maria del Popolo in Mundelein.
A year of Jubilee is always one of mercy. Hopefully we can be encouraged to take frequent advantage of the sacrament of confession and receive from God, the Father of mercies, that forgiveness that restores our hope and optimism in the world, and among each other.
The Holy Father concludes his decree with this exhortation: “The coming Jubilee will thus be a Holy Year marked by the hope that does not fade, our hope in God. May it help us to recover the confident trust that we require, in the Church and in society, in our interpersonal relationships, in international relations, and in our task of promoting the dignity of all persons and respect for God’s gift of creation. May the witness of believers be for our world a leaven of authentic hope, a harbinger of new heavens and a new earth (cf. 2 Pet 3:13), where men and women will dwell in justice and harmony, in joyful expectation of the fulfilment of the Lord’s promises.
Let us even now be drawn to this hope! Through our witness, may hope spread to all those who anxiously seek it. May the way we live our lives say to them in so many words: “Hope in the Lord! Hold firm, take heart and hope in the Lord!” (Ps 27:14). May the power of hope fill our days, as we await with confidence the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and glory, now and forever.”