This Christmas is more than ordinary in 2025! The Jubilee Year began on Christmas Eve. It started with the Opening of the Holy Doors in Rome. This makes it a year not to be missed. It only happens every 25 years!

Jubilee years began about the year 1300 and occurs every 25 years, marking the next Jubilee in 2050. The word Jubilee comes from the Hebrew word jobel. Jobel is the ram’s horn. In Jewish culture, the ram’s horn announced the jubilee year.

Whispers from those who talk liturgy and muse church topics suggest that an extraordinary Jubilee will take place in 2033. It will celebrate the 2000 anniversary of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This is known as an extraordinary Jubilee because it is celebrated outside the 25 year sequence.

The last Jubilee was ushered by Pope Saint John Paul II in the year 2000. Check out this video from 2000:

The Vatican explains a jubilee year as

“a year of forgiveness of sins and also the punishment due to sin, it is a year of reconciliation between adversaries, of conversion and receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and consequently of solidarity, hope, justice, commitment to serve God with joy and in peace with our brothers and sisters.”

Pope Francis released the papal bull SPES NON CONFUNDIT, which quotes Romans 5:5. It roughly translates to “Hope will not disappoint.” The Bishop of Rome points out that we are all Pilgrims of Hope. There are moments we need for intense renewal toward a hope-filled faith. He said,

This interplay of hope and patience makes us see clearly that the Christian life is a journey calling for moments of greater intensity to encourage and sustain hope as the constant companion that guides our steps towards the goal of our encounter with the Lord Jesus. 

We are all pilgrims journeying together to everlasting life. True to Pope Francis’ style, he will open a holy door at Rebibbia prison. It is his way of showing the nearness of God to prisoners. No one is far from God’s reach.

This particular opening of the Jubilee was super special. I told my son about the Jubilee Year. The next time he participates, he will be 30 years old! Such a hard thing to imagine now! The bishop led the procession of hundreds of pilgrims into the Cathedral. It was definitely a moving feeling at the Opening Liturgy with my whole family.

Here are some practical things we can do to celebrate this Jubilee Year well (especially in the Diocese of Sacramento):

1. Recommit to a life of deliberate and intentional personal prayer. Set your phone for a daily alarm to make time for five minutes of prayer daily.
2. Visit your home parish or a parish near you. Make time to sit down and be with Jesus, who is there in the Most Blessed Sacrament. We don’t need to go there with anything to say. We don’t need to go with an agenda. Simply be still and let Jesus love you and bask in his presence.
3. Be open to praying the scriptures. Download a reliable app or pull out your hard copy of the Bible. Keep it by your bedside, read a few verses a day, write your impressions on the margins.
4. Celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation! The greatest gift you can give Jesus is the joy of being your savior. There will be a diocesan wide event from noon on Friday, March 28 through noon on Saturday, March 29. Many parishes will offer 24 hours for the Lord! Priest(s) will be available for continuous confession. This is an immense grace, so bring a friend!
5. Renew or begin a devotion to the Rosary. Familiarity with this popular devotion can foster a genuine love for Jesus with Mary.
6. I invite us to read the papal bull as this year of grace opens for all of us. Jesus is the door, and through him, we go together to the arms of our loving Father.
7. Finally, unique to the Diocese of Sacramento, go on pilgrimage to one of the twelve parishes. A friend and I spoke of how there are twelve parishes and twelve months in the year. You can visit one parish a month in this vast diocese. There are many graces tied to these pilgrimages. Read them here.

To go on a pilgrimage is a rehearsal to our final pilgrimage to eternal life. We are going to God together. Happy Jubilee, everyone!