JUBILEE IN THE BIBLE
The Jubilee in the Bible is an extraordinary Sabbatical Year. It was celebrated every 50 years, that is after seven ordinary Sabbatical Years (celebrated every seven years). In the Year of Jubilee, the land was completely left to rest; all debts were remitted; land that had been alienated was resotred to its original owners; and slaves were released from bondage. It was called Jubilee because it started with the blowing of the yobhel or ram'shorn (Leviticus 25).
The Jubilee Year was confirmed by Jesus, when he said: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4:18-19).
The Jubilee is a time for conversion, and it could be the last chance to escape eternal damnation. As Jesus said in the parable of the fruitless fig tree: "Leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down" (Luke 13:8-9).
THE JUBILEE
The Jubilee, or Holy Year, is a period of conversion and grace to be kept every 25 years. The name comes from the Hebrew word yobhel, or ram's horn, that was blown to announce the beginning of the Holy Year. It was St. Jerome (385 AD) who translated yobhel into the Latin Jubilaeum, meaning "rejoicing".
The Jubilee 2000 begins on Christmas Eve of December 25, 1999, with the opening of the Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and ends with its closing on Epiphany, January 6, 2001.
The first Christian Jubilee was celebrated by Pope Boniface VII in 1300 AD as a centenary observance. In 1343, Clement VI reduced the interval to 50 years, and in 1470, Paul II further reduced it to 25 years. Sometimes, there are special Holy Years.
To gain the Plenary Jubilee Indulgence, the faithful have to visit a designated church and to perform three works of repentance and piety:
1. General Confession 2. Participation in the Holy Mass 3. Prayer for the intentions of the Pope and a deed of charity.
The pilgrimage to a designated church is part of the Jubilee. Until 1500, the Jubilee Indulgence could be gained only in the four Roman major Basilicas (Peter, Paul, John, Mary major). Thereafter, it was extended to the minor basilicas, the cathedrals and designated shrines throughout the world.
In the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan, Pangasinan, there are four designated Pilgrimage Churches. These are the: ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST PARISH CHURCH, Dagupan City (Vicariate I); EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD PARISH CHURCH, Lingayen (Vicariate II); OUR LADY OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY PARISH CHURCH, Manaoag (Vicariate III); ST. DOMINIC PARISH CHURCH, San Carlos City (Vicariate IV).
