Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi, bishop emeritus of San Cristóbal de Las Casas and head of the Doctrine of Faith at the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM), offers readers of Exaudi his weekly article.
FACTS
Following a tradition dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries of celebrating the birth of Jesus every 25 years, Pope Francis has called us to a Jubilee, or Holy Year, on the occasion of the 2025th anniversary of that saving event. The remote foundation of this celebration is what God ordered Israel to have, that every 50 years there should be a Jubilee; that is, a celebration that would bring joy to the people. It consisted in that those who owed something, had their debts forgiven; if they were slaves or prisoners, they regained their freedom; If they had lost land, they recovered it (cf. Lev 25:10-17). It was a way of ensuring social justice, to avoid abuses and excesses in the social classes.
Likewise, it is now, 2025 years since the birth of Christ. How do we say that this date is exact, since the Gospels do not specify it? The biblical texts only speak of the religious and civil authorities of those times, but do not detail days and years. According to the calendar that was used until then in the territories dominated by the Roman Empire, it was said that Christ was born in the year 747 after the founding of Rome. However, a monk from the 5th century, Dionysius Exiguus, originally from Romania or Bulgaria, a specialist in mathematics and in the task of calculating liturgical dates, claimed that the center of history was not the founding of Rome, but the birth of Jesus, and that therefore this event should mark the year 1 of the new era of humanity. It was not until the 8th century that the Emperor Charlemagne promoted the new calendar in his domains, consolidating its use throughout Europe and then in almost the entire world. The monk Dionysius was wrong by about five or six years, according to current biblical research, but chronological precision is not as important as the mystery we celebrate. For us, history is told before and after Christ, knowing that it is not chronological mathematics that governs life, but saving events.
We are all sinners. We all owe something; we have all failed against the ten commandments; we should all pay for our faults. This Jubilee is for us to recover our freedom, wounded by our sins; it is for us to receive forgiveness for our faults; it is for us to recover inner peace, hope, divine grace; it is for us to be happier, because that is what God wants for his children. God does not want slaves, tied by various chains, but free beings, with the freedom that only Christ can give us. To this end, the doors of cathedrals and other special temples have been symbolically opened to invite us to obtain this grace, following these steps as conditions: abhor sin and repent, through a good sacramental confession; nourish ourselves with Eucharistic Communion, pray for the intentions and needs of the Pope and practice a work of mercy with those who suffer in body or spirit. In this way, we obtain the Plenary Indulgence, which is the forgiveness of the penalties that we should pay for our sins, in this or the next life. This Indulgence can also be applied for our deceased so that, if they still owe something, they may already reach heaven.
ENLIGHTENMENT
Pope Francis, in the Bull of Invocation, says: Hope constitutes the central message. May it be for everyone a moment of living and personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the “door” of salvation (cf. Jn 10:7.9); with Him, whom the Church has the mission to proclaim always, everywhere and to everyone as “our hope” (1 Tim 1:1). We often meet people who are discouraged, who look to the future with scepticism and pessimism, as if nothing could offer them happiness. May the Jubilee be an opportunity for everyone to rekindle hope.
Hope is founded on the love that flows from the Heart of Jesus pierced on the Cross: “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more now that we have been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Rom 5:10).
Christian hope does not deceive or disappoint, because it is founded on the certainty that nothing and no one can ever separate us from divine love: “Who then can separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword? But in all these things we have a great victory because of him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor spiritual powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will ever be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:35, 37-39). This is why this hope does not give way in the face of difficulties: because it is based on faith and is nourished by charity, and in this way it makes it possible for us to move forward in life (Nos 1-3).
ACTIONS
Let us not miss this opportunity for grace, forgiveness, freedom, and hope. Jesus Christ awaits us with open arms. Let us approach him with faith and confidence.
