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A jubilee year is a time for forgiveness and renewal in our relationship with God. Jubilee years were initially marked in Scripture by the remittance of debt and property, and the healing of relationships. The Holy Father desires that this Jubilee Year will be a "moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the 'door' (cf. Jn 10:7-9)" (Spes Non Confundit, 1).
The 2025 Jubilee officially opened on December 24, 2024, with the rite of Opening of the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of St. Peter by the Holy Father, who then presided over the celebration of the Night Mass of the Lord's Birth inside the Basilica. The year will end in Rome on January 6, 2026.
Bishop Edward Burns officially opened the Jubilee Year in the Diocese of Dallas on December 29, 2024 at the Cathedral. The year in the Diocese of Dallas will end on December 28, 2025.
May the Lord bless this Jubilee Year and draw many more people to him through our own personal witness of his mercy and love!
What is a Jubilee Year?
A jubilee year is a time for forgiveness and renewal in our relationship with God. In the Bible, the year was marked by the remittance of debt and property as well as the healing of relationships (between people, nations, and even the relationship between humans and creation) (cf. Leviticus 25:8-55). The first Christian Jubilee was declared in 1300 by Pope Boniface VIII and occurs every 25 years. In 2015 Pope Francis declared an extraordinary Jubilee Year, the Year of Mercy.
Jubilees are still marked by forgiveness and renewal. We are exhorted to conversion, prayer, repentance, and renewed faith. As part of the generosity of the Church and Our Lord, indulgences are given to remove temporal punishment from sins that have been forgiven. Passing through a “holy door” has traditionally been a sign of conversion, passing away from one’s old life and into a life of renewed zeal and faith. This year, the only holy doors are in Rome.
What is the Jubilee Year 2025?
The Holy Father Pope Francis desires the Jubilee Year to be a "moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the 'door (cf. Jn 10:7-9)" (Spes Non Confundit, 1).
We want to reach those at the margins of society (prisoners, elderly, sick, poor) and those at the margins of our parishes (those who do not know Jesus). We want to foster in them a thirst for Jesus himself and curiosity around him that they may accept the invitation to encounter him at our parishes and pilgrimage sites. For our parishioners, we hope this Jubilee Year will foster determination to be a sign of hope for others and engender greater knowledge of God’s mercy, for they are “co-responsible for ensuring that manifold signs of hope bear witness to God’s presence in the world (SNC, 17).
"The storms that buffet us will never prevail, for we are firmly anchored in the hope born of grace, which enables us to live in Christ … This hope, which transcends life’s fleeting pleasures and the achievement of our immediate goals, … inspires us to keep pressing forward, never losing sight of the grandeur of the heavenly goal to which we have been called. The coming Jubilee will thus be a Holy Year marked by the hope that does not fade, our hope in God." - Spes Non Confundit, 25
Jubilee Prayer
Father in heaven, may the faith you have given us in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother, and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your Kingdom.
May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel. May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth, when, with the powers of Evil vanquished, your glory will shine eternally.
May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth.
To you our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever. Amen
How can you live the Jubilee Year?
As individuals Pope Francis encourages all of us during this Jubilee Year to encounter the Lord's mercy and then go forth and be a sign of hope to others. We can do this in a number of different ways, by
• Attending the Opening Mass at the Cathedral
•Going on pilgrimage, either locally or to Rome
•Crossing the threshold of the Holy Door
•Seeking Reconciliation
•Taking time for prayer
•Participating in liturgy, such as the Mass or the opening of the Holy Door
•Making a profession of faith
•Obtaining an indulgence
Indulgences
The Jubilee Indulgence is a concrete manifestation of God's mercy, which goes beyond and transforms the boundaries of human justice. This treasury of grace entered human history in the witness of Jesus and the saints, and by living in communion with them our hope for our own forgiveness is strengthened and becomes a certainty. The Jubilee indulgence allows us to free our hearts from the weight of sin because the reparation due for our sins is given freely and abundantly.
In practical terms, the experience of God’s mercy involves some spiritual acts indicated by the Pope. Those who cannot make the Jubilee pilgrimage due to illness or other circumstances are nonetheless invited to take part in the spiritual movement that accompanies the Jubilee year, offering up the sufferings of their daily lives, and participating in the Eucharistic celebration.