This is the Year of Jubilee!
The Jubilee is an ancient tradition from the times of the Old Testament. It was a special time that occurred once every 50 years. During a Jubilee, all land was returned to its ancestral owners.
In ancient Israel, when you bought property from someone, it did not mean that you owned it permanently. Instead, it was much closer to our modern idea of leasing or renting a property. Essentially this meant that you could not own someone else’s land for more than one generation.
At the Jubilee Year, all the “leased” land would be returned to the family of the one who sold it. In addition to this, any Israelite who had was purchased by another Israelite was to be set free.
The Jubilee was a time of freedom and renewal. It was a way to prevent families from falling into generational poverty due to the bad decisions of their fathers. It was a time when debts were cleared and people could begin again.
Jesus clearly makes reference to the Jubilee when he quotes from Isaiah while preaching at Nazareth. He speaks about “The Year of the Lord’s favor…” (Lk 4:19) which is how the Jubilee is described in Leviticus 25: 10-13. He also uses the language of liberty to captives and letting the oppressed go free. These also are references to the Jubilee.
The Good News of Jesus is that He brings freedom. The Jubilee is a manifestation of that freedom in this world.
In 2025, Pope Francis has called for Jubilee Year. The last Jubilee Year was in the year 2000. It is a tradition that a pope calls for a Jubilee every 25 years. In that year as well, the Jubilee Doors were opened at the Vactican. Pilgrims who travel their are able to obtain an plenary indulgence, which is the full remission of temporal punishment for sin. This is in keeping with the idea of setting captives free in a Jubilee. This time, the captivity is sin.
Pope Francis write “For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the “door” (cf. Jn 10:7.9) of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere and to all as “our hope” (1 Tim 1:1). (Spes Non Confundit, 1). This Jubilee Year coincides with the Year of Hope. Pope Francis sees a strong connection between the Jubilee and Hope.
The Jubilee is often accompanied by a pilgrimage. The symbolism points to the hope of reaching the destination of the journey. It also involves a reaching out of our places of comfort in the hope of a better world. Pope Francis writes about the young people of today are crushed by despair. and that “For this reason, the Jubilee should inspire the Church to make greater efforts to reach out to them.” (Spes Non Confundit, 12).
He also writes about how the poor, migrants, the elderly, and the sick need the hope of Christ. We are called to pilgrimage to them and share this hope. Christ can help set them free from the prison of spiritual darkness. Our calling to to pilgrimage to them with that hope.
Pope Francis also has called upon world leaders to emulate as much as possible the Jubilee spirit of forgiveness. “I propose that in this Jubilee Year governments undertake initiatives aimed at restoring hope; forms of amnesty or pardon meant to help individuals regain confidence in themselves and in society; and programmes of reintegration in the community, including a concrete commitment to respect for law.” (Spes Non Confundit, 10)
While governments have a responsibility to enforce the laws and administer justice, Pope Francis reminds us that even those who break the laws are still children of God. I know people who are involved in prison ministry and they speak to me about the deep hunger for God found there and the need for hope.
What are some things we can do in this Jubilee Year?
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