 Jubilee Year  Origins, Traditions and Extraordinary Relevance September 20, 2016

Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy

Jubilee Year: 7 x “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.” (Leviticus 25: 8-10)

Dependence on God “You shall not sow, nor shall you reap the after growth or pick the untrimmed vines, since this is the jubilee. It shall be sacred for you. You may only eat what the field yields of itself.” (Leviticus 25: 11-12)

Real Estate ? “In this year of jubilee, then, each of you shall return to your own property. Therefore, when you sell any land to your neighbor or buy any from your neighbor, do not deal unfairly with one another. On the basis of the number of years since the last jubilee you shall purchase the land from your neighbor and so also, on the basis of the number of years of harvest, that person shall sell it to you. When the years are many, the price shall be so much the more; when the years are few, the price shall be so much the less. For it is really the number of harvests that the person sells you. Do not deal unfairly with one another, then; but stand in fear of your God. I, the LORD, am your God.” (Leviticus 25: 13, 15-16)

Indebtedness “When your kindred with you, having been so reduced to poverty, sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves. Rather, let them be like laborers or like your tenants, working with you until the jubilee year, when, together with any children, they shall be released from your service and return to their family and to their ancestral property.” (Lev. 25: 39-40) “When your kindred, having been so reduced to poverty, sell themselves to a resident alien…Even after having sold themselves, they still may be redeemed by one of their kindred…With the purchaser they shall compute the years from the sale to the jubilee.” (Lev. 25: 47-50)

Christian Jubilee Year Pilgrimage Jerusalem, Rome, Santiago de Compostela Contrition, Penance and Remission of Sin Sacred Place, Sacred Action Pope Boniface VIII (1300 A.D.) Ordinary and Extraordinary Year of Redmption (1983) Great Jubilee Year 2000

Holy Door and Jubilee Year Major Basilicas Saint Peter in the Vatican Saint John Lateran Saint Paul Outside the Walls Saint Mary Major Outside Rome

Opening the Door of Mercy

Jubilee Motto and Logo

Justice and Mercy “If God limited himself to only justice, he would cease to be God, and would instead be like human beings who ask merely that the law be respected. But mere justice is not enough. Experience shows that an appeal to justice alone will result in its destruction. This is why God goes beyond justice with his mercy and forgiveness. Yet this does not mean that justice should be devalued or rendered superfluous. On the contrary: anyone who makes a mistake must pay the price. However, this is just the beginning of conversion, not its end, because one begins to feel the tenderness and mercy of God. God does not deny justice. He rather envelopes it and surpasses it with an even greater event in which we experience love as the foundation of true justice. God’s justice is his mercy given to everyone as a grace that flows from the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus the Cross of Christ is God’s judgement on all of us and on the whole world, because through it he offers us the certitude of love and new life.” - Pope Francis

Sin, Forgiveness and Indulgences “Despite being forgiven, the conflicting consequences of our sins remain. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God forgives our sins, which he truly blots out; and yet sin leaves a negative effect on the way we think and act. But the mercy of God is stronger even than this. It becomes indulgence on the part of the Father who, through the Bride of Christ, his Church, reaches the pardoned sinner and frees him from every residue left by the consequences of sin, enabling him to act with charity, to grow in love rather than to fall back into sin.” - Pope Francis

Indulgences (CCC, ) Double consequence of sin: Grave sin Deprives us of communion with God Eternal damnation Unhealthy attachment to creatures needing purification = “temporal punishment” “An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins which have already been forgiven.” “Strive by works of mercy and charity, as well as by prayer and the various practices of penance, to put off completely the ‘old man’ and to put on the ‘new man’.”

Requisites for Indulgence Complete detachment from sin Confession Holy Communion Pray for the Holy Father +/- 20 days

Local Holy Doors Cathedral of Saint Mary National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity Gesu Church Saint Anthony Church Our Lady of Mercy Church Saint Mary Star of the Sea Church

Corporal Works of Mercy Feed the hungry Give drink to the thirsty Cloth the naked Shelter the homeless Visit the sick Visit the imprisoned Bury the dead

Spiritual Works of Mercy Counsel the doubtful Instruct the ignorant Admonish sinners Comfort the afflicted Forgive offenses Bear wrongs patiently Pray for the living and the dead

“Merciful like the Father” Happy Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy!