2025, A Jubilee Year of Hope
What is a Jubilee?
Every 25 years, the Church universal celebrates an “Ordinary Jubilee Year.” Pope Francis, following the ancient tradition, has declared the year 2025 as a Jubilee Year of Hope according to his letter Spes non confundit (“Hope does not disappoint” Rom 5:5). Every Jubilee Year is a “moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus […] whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere and to all as ‘our hope’ (1 Tim 1:1)”.
What is hope? In his letter on the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis defines hope as “the desire and expectation of good things to come.” Jesus Christ and the gift of his pierced heart on the cross obtained for us the gift of eternal salvation, thus filling our hearts with the hope of fullness of life in this life and into eternity (see John 10:10). As Pope Francis also says, “Christian hope does not deceive or disappoint because it is grounded in the certainty that nothing and no one may ever separate us from God’s love.”
At five locations in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, a crucifix is the central image of the Jubilee. This crucifix displaying the pierced heart of Jesus signifies and calls to mind the gifts of God given to his children by the merits of Jesus on the cross, the same merits that give value and efficacy to the work of the Church, including the dispensation of indulgences.
Indulgences
As a concrete sign of hope for us all, the pope has established that special indulgences be granted throughout the Jubilee Year of 2025.
Indulgences are a “way of discovering the unlimited nature of God’s mercy […] who, through the Bride of Christ, his Church, reaches the pardoned sinner and frees him or her from every residue left by the consequences of sin.”
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1473), every mortal sin has both an eternal and a temporal consequence. The eternal consequence is forgiven when we celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The temporal consequence is the time that it takes to make up for the wrong we did and confessed. If I break my friend’s car window, my friend might forgive my guilt and allow the friendship to continue (analogous to the eternal consequence of sin [loss of God’s friendship for all eternity] being forgiven), but I still need to repair the window or make amends in justice to the fact that the window was just fine before I broke it. This “reparation” takes time; why we call it the temporal consequence of sin.
The temporal consequence of sin is in part “dealt with” by the fulfillment of the Penance given by the priest in Confession. A plenary indulgence, however, forgives the temporal consequence for our sins completely. Certain actions, however, need to take place as we fulfill the work that grants the plenary indulgence, namely, celebrating the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist, receiving communion at that Mass, praying for the Holy Father (an Our Father and a Hail Mary), and having a firm resolve not to sin again. In terms of the “work” necessary to obtain the indulgence, this Jubilee Year, Cathedrals and other designated locations are being highlighted as places to encounter the gift of God’s love and mercy through the reception of indulgences.
According to the Holy Father, a plenary indulgence can be obtained for yourself or for a soul in purgatory this Jubilee Year by visiting the Cathedral or one of the other locations in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and, there, participating in Mass, the Via Crucis, the Rosary etc. People who visit these locations individually or in a group and engage in Eucharistic adoration and meditation, concluding with the Our Father, the Creed, and a Hail Mary, can also obtain a plenary indulgence.
What is a Pilgrimage?
Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.
JEREMIAH 6:16
A pilgrimage is a journey to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion. A pilgrim is more than a tourist and a pilgrimage is more than a journey. A pilgrim travels with a spiritual purpose, a goal to be closer to God. The practice of pilgrimage has a special place in the Jubilee Year, because it represents the journey each of us makes in this life. Life itself is a pilgrimage, and the human being is a viator, a pilgrim travelling along the road, making one’s way to the desired destination. Similarly, to reach a designated Pilgrimage Site, everyone, each according to his or her ability, will have to make a pilgrimage. This will be a sign that hope is also a goal to reach and requires dedication and sacrifice. Pilgrimage will be an impetus to conversion: by crossing the threshold of the Pilgrimage Site, we will find the strength to embrace God’s mercy and dedicate ourselves to being merciful with others as the Father has been with us. Pilgrimage causes change in the pilgrim – a transformation takes place that shows the journey was one of spiritual formation.
For those unable to travel due to physical or other constraints, a “pilgrimage of the heart” is possible. One simply finds a quiet place, “unplugs” from the many electronic distractions that surround us, and quietly prays to be aware of God’s presence. Using a mental image of passing through a doorway, one would ask for God’s assistance in moving through the challenges that one faces in life. Offering prayers for those who are on pilgrimage is another way of spiritually connecting with a pilgrimage site.
As is traditional, those making pilgrimages will be asked to turn away from any attraction to sin, receive the sacrament of reconciliation, attend a Eucharist, and pray for the pope's intentions in order to receive the full mercy of God’s indulgence.
(Pope Francis – Adapted)
Pilgrimage Sites in the Archdiocese of Milwuakee
PILGRIMAGE DECREE
The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Milwaukee
Basilica of St. Josephat, Milwaukee
Holy Hill Basilica and National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, Hubertus, Wis.
Archdiocesan Marian Shrine, Milwaukee
141 N. 68th St.
Milwaukee, WI 53213
Schoenstatt Shrine, Waukesha