Dear Parishioners:
As you may know, every 25 years, the church celebrates a “jubilee” year. A jubilee year is a special year of remission of sins, debts, and universal pardon. In the Book of Leviticus, a jubilee year is mentioned to occur every 50th year during which slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts would be forgiven, and the mercies of God would be particularly manifest.
This Jubilee Holy Year marks the 2,025th anniversary of the Incarnation of our Lord, an “event of great spiritual, ecclesial, and social significance in the life of the Church.” It is a special year of reconciliation and pilgrimage. Pope Francis has designated the 2025 Holy Year as a time to renew ourselves as “Pilgrims of Hope.”
The Jubilee is called a “Holy Year,” not only because it begins, is marked, and ends with solemn holy acts, but also because its purpose is to encourage holiness of life. A Holy Year is convoked to strengthen faith, encourage works of charity and brotherly communion within the Church and in society and to call Christians to be more sincere and coherent in their faith in Christ, the only Savior.
A Jubilee can be “ordinary” if it falls after the set period of years, and “extraordinary” when it is proclaimed for some outstanding event. There have been twenty-six “ordinary” Holy Years so far: the Year 2025 will be the 27th. In addition, the custom of calling “extraordinary” Jubilees began in the 16th century. The last two “extraordinary” jubilees were held in 1933 (proclaimed by Pope Pius XI to mark the 1900th anniversary of Redemption) and 1983 (proclaimed by Pope John Paul II to mark 1950 years since the Redemption carried out by Christ through his Death and Resurrection in the year 33). In 1987, Pope John Paul II also proclaimed a special Marian year. As you know, I like to end the Prayer of the Faithful by asking for Mary’s intercession. We then pray the “Hail Mary.” I began that custom as a way to further honor Mary during the special Jubilee Year dedicated to her in 1987.
As a Parish and as a Diocese, we will be sponsoring various events throughout the year. As part of the Diocesan celebration of the Jubilee year, we will have a Diocesan Eucharistic Pilgrimage with the Blessed Sacrament across Long Island beginning on May 31, 2025, and our Diocesan Eucharistic Congress which will take place on Pentecost Sunday, June 8, 2025. I hope you will take part in the various spiritual opportunities that the diocese and parish will offer.
Remember: Together, we can do something beautiful for God.
In Christ,
Fr. Brian