Juiblee 2025

The Jubilee has always been an event of great spiritual, ecclesial, and social significance in the life of the Church. Ever since 1300, when Boniface VIII instituted the first Holy Year, God’s holy and faithful people experienced this celebration as a special gift of grace, characterized by the forgiveness of sins, and in particular, by the indulgence, which is a full expression of the mercy
 of God. Now, as the first twenty-five years of the new century draw to a close, we are called to enter into a season of preparation that can enable the Christian people to experience the Holy Year in all its pastoral richness.

Here, we must fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision. This Jubilee Year can contribute greatly to restoring a climate of hope and trust as a prelude to the renewal and rebirth that we so urgently desire; that is why I have chosen as the motto of the Jubilee, Pilgrims of Hope. This will indeed be the case if we are capable of recovering a sense of universal fraternity and refuse to turn a blind eye to the tragedy of rampant poverty that prevents millions of men, women, young people and children from living in a manner worthy of our human dignity.

The spiritual dimension of the Jubilee, which calls for conversion, should also embrace these fundamental aspects of our life in society as part of a coherent whole. In the realization that all of us are pilgrims on this earth, which the Lord has charged us to till and keep (cf. Gen 2:15), may we never fail, in the course of our sojourn, to contemplate the beauty of creation and care for our common home. It is my hope that this Jubilee Year will be celebrated and experienced with this intention too. Growing numbers of men and women, including many young people and children, have come to realize that care for creation is an essential expression of our faith in God and our obedience to his will.

I ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to accompany the Church on the journey of this grace filled event of the Jubilee, and to you and your co-workers, with gratitude, I cordially send my blessing.  

The Holy Doors of the Jubilee Year

The Holy Door is one of the essential parts of a jubilee year. These special doors, found at St. Peter’s Basilica and Rome’s three other papal basilicas, are sealed from the inside and only opened to walk through during the holy year. These doors are now opened and have a symbolic meaning: Christ presents
himself as the gate to heaven. ... He is the only Savior of the world, and to go through that [holy] door is to enter into this mystery of Christ [the gate of heaven], who brings us eternal salvation.

Pope Francis Opens Holy Door in 2015
The Church has decreed that one of several ways a Catholic can receive the special grace known as a Plenary Indulgence during the Jubilee Year 2025 is by making a pilgrimage to at least one of the four major papal basilicas: St. Peter’s, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, or, St. Paul Outside the Walls.

Pope Francis wrote: “For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the ‘door’ of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere and to all as ‘our hope,’”

From Father Terry:
Please Note: For those unable to travel to Italy, the Church has said a
Jubilee Year plenary indulgence can also be obtained in 2025 by following the
instructions of our own local Bishop. Bishop DeGrood wrote about this in the
January edition of the Bishop’s Bulletin. I will high-light that article in my next
Pastorate Bulletin.

More information on the Holy Year will be found in future Pastorate Newsletters.
Also, read about it in the January Bishop’s Bulletin. 

A Year of Hope

We have begun a Year of Hope, declared by Pope Francis. It started at Christmas in 2024 and will conclude at Epiphany in 2026. During this holy year it is the Holy Father's intention that this would be a time of renewed faith and hope in the face of global challenges that affect the way we live. It is to be a time of conversion for ourselves as well as a time of looking towards the needs of others. But it is also to be a time of blessings for all of us. And one of the greatest blessings that we each can receive is that of going through "a Holy Year Door."

Above, I mentioned that each of the four main basilicas in Rome have a Holy Year Door. To go through it is to enter into the mystery of Christ who is the "gate of heaven" who brings eternal salvation. And one also receives a Plenary Indulgence when they perform this holy act. A Plenary Indulgence is a blessing that, after one has gone to the Sacrament of Confession, all effects of their sin will then be erased. Knowing that not everyone can go to Rome to receive this blessing, the Holy Father allowed Bishops to also offer this blessing to those in their own diocese in other spiritual ways as well. Here is what Bishop DeGrood has written in the January Bishop's Bulletin concerning the people in the Sioux Falls Diocese:

"I hereby designate and exhort the faithful in the Diocese of Sioux Falls to make pilgrimages and to
perform the devotional acts prescribed by the Apostolic Penitentiary in the following manner:

• By devoutly making a pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Sioux Falls with the intention of fulfilling the requirements for obtaining the Jubilee Indulgence.
• By devoutly making a pilgrimage to a parish church within the boundaries of their Pastorate grouping that is not their own parish Church of domicile, with the intention of fulfilling the requirements for obtaining the Jubilee Indulgence.

And so, just go visit another one of the parishes within our Pastorate of the Holy Angels. Everyone shouldSt. Teresa of Avila, Beresfordbe only about a half hour away from another parish. But of course, to receive the blessing of the Holy Year,
don't forget to fulfill the following requirements to receive a Plenary indulgence. They are:

1. Having an interior disposition that is free from all affection for sin
2. Receiving Holy Communion
3. Sacramentally confessing one’s sins
4. Praying for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff with the customary Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be all within several days surrounding the performance of the prescribed work.

It is that simple. But remember, it is a "Holy Year." The Holy Father's intention is not just to do this one act
and be done. All year long we are to work on aspects of conversion and charity. In my next article I will speak more about these topics. (Or, check out Bishop's DeGrood's statement in the January Bishop's Bulletin.)