What is the Jubilee Year of Mercy?

Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy. ... We need constantly to contemplate the mystery of mercy. It is a wellspring of joy, serenity, and peace. Our salvation depends on it…  Mercy: the bridge that connects God and man, opening our hearts to the hope of being loved forever despite our sinfulness…

At times we are called to gaze even more attentively on mercy so that we may

become a more effective sign of the Father’s action in our lives. 
For this reason I have proclaimed an Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy as a special time for the Church, a time when the witness of believers might grow stronger and more effective. 

~ Pope Francis

Pope Francis has announced the celebration of an "extraordinary Holy Year". This "Jubilee of Mercy" will commence with the opening of the Holy Door in St. Peter’s on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, 2015, and will conclude on November 20, 2016 with the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. At the start of the New Year, the Holy Father stated: "This is the time of mercy. It is important that the lay faithful live it and bring it into different social environments. Go forth!" The theme for this year has been taken from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians, "God rich in mercy" (Eph 2:4).

The opening of this next Jubilee will take place on the fiftieth anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council in 1965. This is of great significance, for it impels the Church to continue the work begun at Vatican II.

In the ancient Hebrew tradition, the Jubilee Year, which was celebrated every 50 years, was meant to restore equality among all of the children of Israel, offering new possibilities to families which had lost their property and even their personal freedom. In addition, the Jubilee Year was a reminder to the rich that a time would come when their Israelite slaves would once again become their equals and would be able to reclaim their rights. "Justice, according to the Law of Israel, consisted above all in the protection of the weak" (St. John Paul II, Tertio millenio adveniente 13).

The Catholic tradition of the Holy Year began with Pope Boniface VIII in 1300. Boniface VIII had envisioned a Jubilee every century. From 1475 onwards – in order to allow each generation to experience at least one Holy Year – the ordinary Jubilee was to be celebrated every 25 years. However, an extraordinary Jubilee may be announced on the occasion of an event of particular importance.

Until present, there have been 26 ordinary Holy Year celebrations, the last of which was the Jubilee of 2000. The custom of calling extraordinary Jubilees dates back to the XVI century. The last extraordinary Holy Years, which were celebrated during the previous century, were those in 1933, proclaimed by Pius XI to celebrate XIX hundred years of Redemption and in 1983, proclaimed by John Paul II on the occasion of the 1950 years of Redemption.

The Catholic Church has given to the Hebrew Jubilee a more spiritual significance. It consists in a general pardon, an indulgence open to all, and the possibility to renew one’s relationship with God and neighbor. Thus, the Holy Year is always an opportunity to deepen one’s faith and to live with a renewed commitment to Christian witness. With the Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis focuses attention upon the merciful God who invites all men and women to return to Him. The encounter with God inspires in one the virtue of mercy.

Mercy is a theme very dear to Pope Francis, as is expressed in the episcopal motto he had chosen: "miserando atque eligendo". One possible translation of this motto is "With eyes of mercy".

During the Year of Mercy, the Church offers a number of ways of receiving, sharing, and celebrating the graces of God’s mercy through rituals, prayers, and actions. These include some of the following:


Holy Door of Mercy – Pilgrimage and Prayer for Jubilee Indulgence

The initial rite of the Jubilee is the opening of the Holy Door. This door is one which is only opened during the Holy Year and which remains closed during all other years. Each of the four major basilicas of Rome has a Holy Door: Saint Peter’s, St. John Lateran, St. Paul Outside the Walls and St. Mary Major. This rite of the opening of the Holy Door illustrates symbolically the idea that, during the Jubilee, the faithful are offered an "extraordinary pathway" towards salvation. The Holy Doors of the other Basilicas will be opened after the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica. Every diocese around the world will have one or more Holy Doors available for pilgrimage and prayer as well. The Diocese of Des Moines has designated a number of doors throughout the diocese where people can visit to receive an indulgence through the church.

An indulgence is the remission before God of the temporal punishment due sins already forgiven as far as their guilt is concerned and for which a person obtains absolution through confession. Indulgence is therefore an act of the Church’s jurisdiction and allows baptized faithful who have confessed, taken communion and completed all acts required of them, to cancel the debt of “temporal punishment” which would otherwise be purged in purgatory.

This special grace is also offered to those who are unable to travel, especially the sick, homebound, and Imprisoned. The indulgence can be directed by a person to be applied to the deceased.


Sacrament of Confession

Throughout the Year of mercy, the faithful are encouraged to celebrate God’s mercy through the Sacrament of Penance. Priests and parishes will be offering special opportunities to celebrate God’s forgiveness. Pope Francis has asked that priests around the world open churches for an extended period of time for making the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation more available. This special opportunity, during the season of Lent, has been designated “24 Hours for the Lord” and will be held on March 4 & 5, 2015.


Catholics Come Home

Beginning in Lent, the Diocese of Des Moines will be reaching out to those who have left the practice of the Catholic faith or those who are unevangelized. Through media outreach, people will be welcomed and invited to seek the healing power of Christ.

 
Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy

In addition to receiving the many graces of God during the year, the faithful are called to be instruments of mercy to others through sharing in the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Through these acts we not only extend the love of God to others, but also grow in holiness ourselves. Over the next year our parish will offer opportunities for parishioners to learn about and grow in the practice of these merciful works.

Corporal Works of Mercy      Spiritual Works of Mercy
1. Feed the Hungry                  1. Counsel the Doubtful
2. Give Drink to the Thirsty      2. Instruct the Ignorant
3. Clothe the Naked                 3. Admonish the Sinner
4. Welcome the Stranger         4. Pray for the Living and the Dead
5. Visit the Sick                        5. Comfort the Sorrowful
6. Visit the Imprisoned             6. Forgive Offenses
7. Bury the Dead                      7. Bear Wrongs Patiently