Jubilee 2025: Announcing a Year of Favor from the Lord 
“Jubilee” is the name given to a particular year; the name comes from the instrument used to mark its launch. In this case, … the yobel, the ram’s horn, used to proclaim the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). This (Jewish) holiday occurs every year, but it takes on special significance when it marks the beginning of a Jubilee year. …[which] was intended to be marked as a time to re-establish a proper relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation, and involved the forgiveness of debts, the return of misappropriated land, and a fallow period for the fields.
In SPES NON CONFUNDIT (Hope Does Not Disappoint), Pope Francis’ document declaring 2025 a Jubilee year, the Holy Father calls us to be signs of hope in these times, particularly to prisoners on death row and other incarcerated people, to migrants, to the young, and to the elderly. From the Vatican’s web site www.iubilaeum2025.va
Jesus inaugurated the ultimate Jubilee Year when, in Luke 4:16-21, He proclaimed the opening words of Isaiah 61 and then declared those words “fulfilled in your hearing.” Learn more from Dr. John Bergsma, of the St. Paul Center as he unpacks his new series on the biblical roots of the Jubilee Year! Watch episode 1 now. To watch the rest of the series, a 30 day free membership is available. Watch the entire series, then cancel your membership before your free trial ends, or pay to get the “All Access” to everything the St. Paul Center offers.
Our United States Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has also begun a page dedicated to helping us learn about and practice what it means to be a pilgrim of hope. The logo has special meaning. Understanding the Theme Pope Francis’ Jubilee Prayer is also listed there. The diocesan office Evangelization & Catechesis has also created a page for us. Our diocesan newspaper, The Courier, reported the opening of the Jubilee Year. Throughout the year, Pope Francis has invited specific groups to gather in Rome for the Jubilee. During the Jubilee of Teenagers, 4/25-27, Bl. Carlo Acutis will become a canonized saint! Msgr. Anthony Figueiredo produces a video telling of Carlo’s 5 steps to becoming a saint.
How to live it out:
See our Facebook page for weekly Sunday reflections from the Diocesan Office of Evangelization & Catechesis.
Monthly, we will get suggested actions from our regional Social Ministry Committee. Here is January’s:
“During this holy Jubilee Year, we are alert to the opportunities to be a tangible sign of hope for brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind. One distressing reality is that in a world with enough food for all, millions of children (in the United States and globally) suffer from severe hunger and nearly half of all preventable deaths among children under age five worldwide are attributed to malnutrition. This is intolerable. Let us use our voices to speak up for the children.
“Contact our US House Representative, Claudia Tenney (585) 869-2060 and leave this message: I ask you to pass legislation in the Congress that fully funds the WIC program (Women, Infants, Children supplemental nutrition); expands the Child Tax Credit to cut poverty in families with children; increase funding for global child nutrition programs; help reduce food insecurity on college campuses. Be sure to leave your name and county in which you live. This phone call will take a minute or two, but can make a big impact. Thank you for caring.”