Holy Year: Rooted in mercy

Oct 21, 2015

By Mike Nelson
While the Holy Year of Mercy declared last March by Pope Francis does not fall within the customary 25-year cycle of holy year (or jubilee) celebrations, it falls perfectly within the tradition of this sacred observance, which began with Mosaic law.

The jubilee, the Lord stresses, "shall be sacred for you. You may only eat what the field yields of itself," (Lv 25:11-12).

Beyond matters of farming and property, though, lies the real heart of the jubilee: "Do not deal unfairly with one another," says the Lord, "but stand in fear of your God. I, the Lord, am your God. Observe my statutes and be careful to keep my ordinances, so that you will dwell securely in the land" (Lv 25:17-18).

In a holy year, the Bible says, land shall be restored to its original owners, debts forgiven, slaves liberated and family members cared for. The bottom line: We are called to treat one another with fairness, kindness and mercy.

Centuries after Moses, the prophet Isaiah addresses the holy year, proclaiming that the Lord "has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted; to proclaim liberty to the captives, release to the prisoners; to announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God; to comfort all who mourn" (Is 61:1-2).

Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in the New Testament when Jesus, reading the prophet's words in the synagogue at Nazareth, proclaims "a year acceptable to the Lord" (Lk 4:19).

In the Catholic Church, the first jubilee year was proclaimed for the year 1300, by Pope Boniface VIII. Since then, the Church has observed more than two dozen holy years, mostly in 25-year intervals, but also several "extraordinary" jubilees proclaimed by Popes to mark occasions of significance.

In 1983, St. John Paul II declared a Holy Year of Redemption to mark 1,950 years since the Death and Resurrection of Christ.

In proclaiming the year 2016 (beginning Dec. 8, 2015, with the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception) as a Holy Year of Mercy, Pope Francis reminds us that a holy year offers us the opportunity "to be touched by the Lord Jesus and to be transformed by his mercy, so that we may become witnesses to mercy -- because this is the time for mercy."

A holy year, above all, is the year of Christ, who brings life and grace to humanity. For many, it is a time to seek indulgences, reconciliation and forgiveness of transgressions. But let us not forget, as the Lord declared through Moses, it is not simply our sins that need forgiven.

Recall the Our Father, which we pray at every Mass. Forgiveness and mercy, it would seem, is something we are called to offer more than once every 25 years.

Nelson, a freelance writer, is former editor of The Tidings, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.