A jubilee year is a time in which God’s holiess transforms us. The Bible indicates that the holy year was intended to be marked as a time to re-establish a proper relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation. In 1470, Pope Paul II declared that Holy Years would be celebrated every 25 years. Holy Year, or Jubilee Year, includes special celebrations and pilgrimages, strong calls for conversion and repentance, and special opportunities to experience God’s grace through the sacraments, especially confession.
Pope Francis had dedicated this Jubilee Year to “Pilgrims of Hope”. In the heart of each person dwells the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite not knowing what the future may bring. This Jubilee Year is an opportunity to be renewed in hope, in the hope of “life everlasting”. Through our baptism, we are Pilgrims of Hope, opened to God’s grace, nourished by Jesus Christ, and accompanied by the Holy Spirit. On this journey anchored by unending hope, we patiently yearn to see God as he is, to be living stones transformed into spiritual houses, and to await with creation for God’s redemption.
Throughout the Jubilee Year, Catholics in the Diocese of Sacramento are invited to live abundantly in hope, so that we may credibly bear attractive witness to the faith and love that dwell in our hearts, illuminating the hope of eternal life.