Jubilee: A Sacred Time
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, when each of you shall return to your own property, each of you to your own family. This fiftieth year is your year of jubilee… It shall be sacred for you. LEVITICUS 25:10-12
Setting aside time for prayer, reflection, repentance and renewal are time-honored practices in the life of a Christian. Doing so in a deliberate
way, corporately, is also the way of the Church, the Body of Christ. We have liturgical seasons in the Church year. And we have Church years that celebrate themes or historical milestones. And this year, 2025, we have a Jubilee. Part of the gift of the Jubilee is the movement we make together in Christ, in union with the global Church and the Pope.
Rooted in the Old Testament, a Jubilee year observed a time of restoration, liberation, debt forgiveness and rest for the people and the land. The Catholic Church adapted this idea centuries ago, and in recent centuries, the interval became 25 years so that more generations might receive the spiritual benefits. Our world suffers: wars, displacements and homelessness, health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and too many tragedies to name. Pope Francis has invited us to live this year as “Pilgrims of Hope,” seeking graces that will bring recovery, renewal and hope in the wake of many challenges the people of the world face.
Whatever the question, the God of Hope has the answer.
Lord, we turn in hope to you as we come to Lent. Guide us on the path, as pilgrims, in this Jubilee.
Pat Gohn
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Need a page-a-devotional for Lent? Try The Path to HOPE, authored by Living Faith writers.
