The English word “Jubilee” comes from the Hebrew word “Yovel” which was the name given to a Ram’s Horn, which when blown through, made a particular sound that signalled the beginning of the Jewish Feast of Yom Kippur or the Feast of Atonement for sin.
Every fifty years, the celebration of the Feast of Yom Kippur also marked the beginning of a special Jubilee Year for the Jewish people.
The land was to be left fallow. If rented it was to be returned to its rightful owners. Slaves were to be freed. Special care was to be given to those less well off in society. All were to endeavour to make peace with God, with one another and even with nature itself. In a sense, it was to be a year of rebalancing and reconciliation.
Down through the centuries, this Jewish idea of a Jubilee year has been taken up by Christians.
Various Popes have declared special years that Catholics throughout the world would dedicate to deepening their faith and renewing their relationship with God and with one another.
At first, these Jubilee or Holy years were rare – they took place every one hundred years.
Then every fifty years. Eventually it was settled that they would take place every twenty five years in order to give everyone the opportunity to experience a Holy Year at least once in their lifetime.
Some Popes have called Holy Years at shorter intervals for various reasons or to celebrate certain important anniversaries.
Over time the opening of Holy Doors replaced the sounding of the Ram’s Horn to mark the beginning of the Christian Jubilee Year.
A key part of any pilgrimage to Rome is a visit to the four main churches or basilicas. If you search around at their entrances you will find a door bricked up – impossible to pass through. Each Holy Year the bricks are removed and the door is opened.
This Christmas Eve, Pope Francis paused before the Holy Door in St Peter’s Basilica. He knocked on it and gradually pushed it open to formally begin the Holy Year of 2025. To the sound of trumpets, he then led all those present through the door into the great Basilica that stands over the tomb of the Apostle Peter.
The Holy Door represents the idea of making a new beginning in time. Leaving the past in the past. Being reconciled with God and with one another. Starting the next phase of one’s life journey.
On this beautiful Feast of the togetherness of Mary, Joseph and Jesus – the Feast of the Holy Family – Pope Francis has asked Christian Communities throughout the world to formally mark the beginning of the Holy Year in their own local faith communities. We are gathering here this morning in the Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed in Heaven and St Nicholas to do just that.
Our opening procession reminded us that we are all pilgrims on the short journey of life. For the Christian, belief in God and the light of our faith guides us on the way. We are accompanied by other members of the Christian family and also by the saints that have gone before us. We are led by the cross of Jesus – a powerful symbol of the Christian belief that God is always with us.
A Jubilee year, a Holy Year is a hope-filled time.
This is true in particular of the Jubilee Year 2025.
For during it Pope Francis asks us to reflect on the idea of “Christian Hope”. The belief that no matter what, God is with us, God is on our side, God is working for us. No matter how dark the night, dawn will come. There is always a chance, no matter what, to leave the past in the past. To begin again and to find a new and more hopeful direction on the road of life.
Whether it is just by chance or by divine providence- I am convinced that this Jubilee Year, this Holy Year 2025 that we open today – is greatly needed at this time. Our world is in a sorry state – wars rage and hate and division abound. Inequality and poverty are common place.
Environmental catastrophe is but a step away. At the level of the human heart -many feel like cogs in a wheel that keeps on aimlessly turning.
Our world, at times, can seem senseless – lacking real depth of meaning – many despair. We put our heart and energy into things that are shallow, fleeting while overlooking the life-giving warmth of those around us, especially our family and our friends.
As the “Yovel”, the Ram’s Horn sounds and the Holy Doors in Rome are opened. As we begin the Jubilee Year of Hope 2025 – let us resolve, not to let this grace filled opportunity pass us by.
For the year to come is full of opportunities. Opportunities for personal “recharging” and “reconciliation”.
The next twelve months are a graced time to embark on “new directions” and “new beginnings” in our own personal lives, in the lives of our families and, please God, in the life of our battered and broken world. Amen