2025 will be a Jubilee Year, with an opportunity to get a plenary indulgence.
It was announced by Pope John Paul II at the end of the Great Jubilee (December 24, 1999 to January 6, 2001), that there will be a jubilee year every 25 years. Therefore, the year 2025 will be a Jubilee Year, beginning on December 24, 2024 and ending on January 6, 2026.
What is a Jubilee Year?
A Jubilee Year is a special year of grace, in which the Catholic Church offers the faithful the possibility of asking for a plenary indulgence (the remission of sins for themselves or for deceased relatives). A bit different from the secular calendar, the Jubilee Year year starts on December 24.
The most well-known rite that starts the Jubilee Year is the opening of the Holy Door in Saint Peter’s Basilica. Normally walled up, the door was opened at that time.
This was followed on successive days by opening the Holy Doors on the other 3 Major Basilicas: Saint John Lateran, Saint Paul Outside the Walls and Saint Mary Major.
These doors will remain open until the end of the Jubilee, when they are once again walled up. Those walking through these holy doors will receive a plenary indulgence.
There are no diocesan holy doors; However, a person can make a pilgrimage to any cathedral to receive the same indulgence. Also, a bishop can designate certain types of shrines for the same indulgence.
You can find the official Vatican Jubilee Year 2025 website here.
One of the best things about Advent and Christmas is discovering the many varied traditions that families have passed down through the generations. When you travel….whether locally or abroad….you will often find traditions that have endured for centuries.
One of these traditions is the “Christmas nail”. Supposedly resembling the nails used to attach Jesus to the cross, it is a reminder of the true meaning of Christmas….that the birth of Christ was subsequently followed by His crucifixion and then His resurrection.
It is fitting that the nail is placed on a tree….since He was crucified by hanging Him on a tree.
Many families put the Christmas nail near the center of the tree, to remind them that Christ should be at the center of their lives. It is a great way to bring Christ back in to Christmas.
The plight of Christians in the Holy Land….especially in Gaza, is dire. The following article is courtesy of Vatican News Service:
As the Holy Land marked a grim first anniversary Oct. 7 of the Hamas attack on southern Israeli communities and subsequent Israel-Hamas war that has devastated the Gaza Strip, the papal almoner raised $35,000 in one afternoon from delegates to the Synod on Synodality and immediately sent it to Holy Family Parish in Gaza City.
“In addition to $35,000 donated by synodal delegates in one day, the Holy Father topped the sum with additional $32,000 and that same night the money was sent to the nunciature in Jerusalem,” Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, told OSV News.
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He asked synod members in Rome to give alms after their synodal session Oct. 7, a day of prayer, fasting and penance for peace in the Holy Land. Almsgiving “must make us suffer, must hurt us, because we give up what belongs to us in order to give to our neighbor who is in need or even about to die,” he said.
All funds collected in a “big, huge” basket in front of the synod hall were sent through the papal embassy in Jerusalem to Father Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest at Holy Family Parish, “whom the pope calls every day at 4 p.m.,” Cardinal Krajewski said.
photo/courtesy Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem)
Father Romanelli gathered the parish children that night to thank synod delegates for their generosity. In a video obtained by OSV News, he said that “with a little group” of children, representing over 500 people sheltering in the parish premises, he wanted to “thank the Holy Father, Pope Francis, the synodal fathers, for all you did to help, through the almoner, Cardinal Konrad.” Father Romanelli was thankful for the “prayer, closeness and concrete help” because “everyone needs everything” in Gaza, he said in the video.
Cardinal Krajewski said he played the video to synod delegates Oct. 8 and they were “very moved,” seeing over 30 children and some parents with Father Romanelli in the middle, surrounded by his flock.
During an Oct. 7 Mass accompanied by recitation of the rosary and vespers for peace in the Holy Land, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa said in Jerusalem’s pro-cathedral that “what has happened and is happening in Gaza leaves us stunned and beyond understanding.”
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But as “on one hand diplomacy, politics, multilateral institutions and the international community have shown all their weakness,” the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem said. “On the other, we have also been supported.”
Cardinal Pizzaballa stressed that “the Holy Father has repeatedly called on all parties involved to stop this drift, but he has also expressed human solidarity with our community in Gaza in concrete ways and has also given them concrete support.”
Cardinal Krajewski told OSV News that “in the Gospel there is no ‘I’ll help tomorrow’ — in the Gospel there is a ‘now,’ there is an urgency to help, and that’s exactly what needed to happen on Oct. 7,” he stressed. “They need our support now, not tomorrow,” he said, expressing happiness that the basket “filled up quickly” and he could send the funds to Jerusalem “that same evening.”
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Pope Francis sent a letter to Catholics in the Middle East on Oct. 7, the day “the fuse of hatred was lit,” something that “did not sputter, but exploded in a spiral of violence.” Christians who decided to remain in the land “of which the Scriptures speak most often,” he said, are “sprouts of hope.” The pope thanked them for “wanting to remain in your lands” and “being able to pray and love despite everything.”
The pontiff told Catholics living through difficulties of war in the region that “the light of faith leads you to testify to love amid words of hatred, to encounter amid growing confrontation, to unity amid increasing hostility.”
“Pope Francis remembers about Gaza Christians every day. He calls every day but also, as we can see by this fundraiser, sends concrete help,” Cardinal Krajewski said.
“This is the position of the church — we don’t leave anyone behind — and even if we can’t be there physically, we are close and want to show it in every possible way,” the papal almoner said.
Amid the horrors of Hamas attack that saw 1,200 Israelis killed on Oct. 7 and 250 taken hostage and the subsequent Israel-Hamas war that to date has left over 42,000 Palestinians dead in the Gaza Strip, according to Gaza Health Ministry, Cardinal Pizzaballa said that “in such dramatic context, let us face it: This year has put our faith in a test. It is not easy to live in faith during these hard times.”
“The words ‘hope’, ‘peace’, ‘coexistence’ seem to us to be theoretical and far from reality. … But it is exactly here that our Christian faith must find a visible expression,” he said.
“We are called to think beyond the logic calculations, we cannot stop only at human reflections that trap us in our grief, without opening perspectives,” he said. “We are called to read these challenges in the light of the Word of God, a Word that accompanies and widen our hearts. And we have to continue doing so.”
The patriarch concluded, “In this time when violence seems to be the only language, we will continue to speak of and believe in forgiveness and reconciliation.
Based on new regulations, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) has expressed its positive opinion regarding the devotion to Our Lady of Montichiari (Rosa Mystica) in northern Italy. This approval is conveyed through a letter to Bishop Pierantonio Tremolada, with the endorsement of Pope Francis
Praying at the site of the apparitions of Our Lady of Rosa Mystica
“The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has stated that it found no elements in the messages disseminated by Pierina Gilli that contradict the teachings of the Catholic Church on faith and morals. This declaration is included in a letter published on July 8, signed by the Prefect of the DDF, Victor Manuel Fernandez, and approved by the Pope. The letter addresses the devotion to Maria Rosa Mystica (‘Mary Mystical Rose’) and the messages that Pierina Gilli claims to have received from the Virgin Mary in 1947 and 1966. The letter highlights the positive aspects of these messages, while also noting some elements that require clarification to prevent misunderstandings.”
Sister Blessed Marie-Leonie Paradis, founder of the Institute of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family of Sherbrooke, will be declared a saint on Oct. 20.
Born Virginie Alodie on May 12, 1840, in L’Acadie, Quebec, Blessed Marie-Leonie founded her institute to collaborate with and support the religious of Holy Cross in educational work, in 1880 in New Brunswick.
Today her sisters work in over 200 institutions of education and evangelization in Canada, the United States, Italy, Brazil, Haiti, Chile, Honduras, and Guatemala.
“She always felt a call to support priests in their ministry”, said Bishop Poitras, and “events led her to found a new community which was recognized in 1896 by the Bishop of Sherbrooke: the Little Sisters of the Holy Family.”
Mother Mary Leonia died on May 3, 1912, in Sherbrooke, Quebec, at the age of 72. She was beatified in Montreal on Sept. 11, 1984, by Saint John Paul II, during his visit to Canada.
When you travel abroad and use your credit or debit cards, you are probably going to be charged a “Foreign Transaction Fee”. These can quickly add up if you are not careful. Here are some interesting statistics.
Waste of Money: More than 4 in 5 Americans say foreign transaction fees are a rip-off.
Foreign Fee Awareness: Nearly 1 in 3 Americans don’t know whether their credit card has a foreign transaction fee.
Foreign Fees Lurking Domestically: Nearly 2 in 3 Americans don’t realize foreign transaction fees can apply without foreign travel.
International Travel Concerns: 52% of baby boomers say they worry about card loss/theft the most when using their credit cards internationally, while 34% of Millennials are most concerned about foreign transaction fees.
Exchange Rate Stunner: 82% of Americans don’t know that using a credit card gets them the best exchange rate when traveling abroad.
Best International Credit Cards: Based on a comparison of 1,500+ credit cards, the WalletHub Awards for 2024’s Best International Credit Cards go to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve®. Both have $0 foreign fees and great travel rewards.
“Most people agree that foreign transaction fees are a rip-off, according to a new WalletHub survey, and that’s without even realizing that foreign fees can apply to orders from the U.S. placed with a foreign merchant. More than 2 in 5 people say they’ve been charged a foreign fee on an online purchase, for example. Despite how common and unpopular foreign fees are, around one-third of us still have no idea whether our credit cards charge foreign fees. Figuring that out before your next trip abroad or major purchase from an international merchant is a must. A credit card with no foreign fee can save you 3% in fees and more than 6% on currency conversion, according to WalletHub’s research.”
Many think that western business leaders invented business concepts…..This is not correct.
Followers may guess my views on the monastic life.
Monasteries invented data storage and retrieval systems. They were called libraries. They also didn’t need photocopiers – they had their own copiers.
Monasteries invented business governance practices. What is a chapter but a town hall meeting? What is an abbot’s council but an executive committee?
Abbeys invented fund-raising. How do you think they built the great abbeys of Europe? Very little of the money was “borrowed”. Abbots had to work the room long before corporate America thought of it.
Conservation? Green practices? Circular economy? The monks were doing this 1500 years ago. There’s nobody in ag-tech that can build a water recirculation system like the monks. There’s nobody that can get that extra inch of hair on a sheep like monks can.
Crop science? Crop yield? Hah. They still run circles around people who can’t even grow crops on the same land for more than about 50 years. They do centuries of crop yields from the same fields – naturally.
Business management systems. The monks were doing it long before the invention of double entry bookkeeping.
Staying out of bank debt. The monks were doing it long before anyone else realized the debt trap of usury.
Five star hospitality? Well, I don’t mean rooms like in luxury hotels. But for care of the pilgrim traveler, even at great inconvenience to them, they still have short term rental accommodations beat.
Ride sharing? Hah. They had a network of wagons and watercraft to take goods to market before some business guy thought of it.
The long view? Abbeys are built for a thousand years. They are beautiful, unlike the glitzy towers of today’s utilitarian monstrosities.
Radio and electronic communications networks. Okay, maybe not as fast – but they could get a message across Europe before anyone or any current tech, at the time.
The knowledge economy? They didn’t need Chat GPT or AI. They had “real I”.
Corporate structure? CEO. CTO. CFO. CMO. Treasurer. Hah. They had those 1500 years ago!
Investigations into employee theft, missing inventory, and other misdeeds. No need for such things. The monks have a process called “Chapter of Faults”. Check it out.
Company security. Nope. They’ve had 1500 years of knights and templars. Way before the idea of a police force came into being.
Finally, remember that the monks invented the university system, the hospital system, and the welfare system. They kept the culture alive in tough times, and will do so again in our era when it all collapses. Or when the asteroid hits!
It is impossible not to notice that many Catholic churches built in the last 50 years lack the beauty and majesty of the churches in the years and centuries of the past. Many lay the blame on Vatican II, which seemed to want to throw tradition out the window. We are not here to debate the good and bad of the Second Vatican Council, but certainly no one can deny that many of the changes relating to church architecture were not inspirational. Suddenly churches were built somewhat resembling bomb shelters, and the interiors were devoid of many of the things that made the church a Catholic church.
Inside, the Eucharist was placed out of sight, or at least not in a prominent place. Stained glass windows and statues were minimalized. Altar rails quickly disappeared. Statues? Not too many and often not prominent. Often times, it was the Diocesan building committees that wanted this…not the individual pastors or their congregations. Want to put the tabernacle front and center? You were lucky it was (literally, in some cases) in a closet somewhere.
Side Altar in Chartres Cathedral
For example, when we look at the magnificent Chartres Cathedral in France, built between 1134 and 1260, during the “Dark Ages” (they weren’t really all that dark if you look at church architecture….some of the most beautiful churches were built during this time.)
Cathedrals and churches were meant to be inspiring….and many of them still are today. We doubt the same will be said about some of these modern buildings 100 years from now .
To the left is just one of the many side altars in Chartres Cathedral.
One of the colors used in the windows is unique…..dubbed “Chartres Blue”. In future centuries, will these new churches be equally inspiring? We doubt it.
Of course, some of the construction revolves on making the buildings less expensive to build and more efficient so far as heating and cooling costs are concerned. And while it is true that the Eucharist is the same no matter what the church looks like, we do like to enter a place that evokes a certain feeling that this is no ordinary space.
Is the pendulum starting to swing back?
Like any idea that is taken to excess, we are starting to see a renewed interest in Catholic churches that look like…..Catholic churches.
The restoration work was done by Conrad Schmitt Studios. We have no relationship with them, but they appear to do outstanding restoration work for churches.
Another source we note is that of FyndersKeepers. They offer a large range of used and restored altars, altar rails, stations of the cross, candle holders….just about everything you can think of.
Again, we do not have a business relationship with them, but they appear to have an excellent reputation.
Have any suggestions for newly remodeled churches?
Please leave a comment….we would love to know about it.
If you want to know the truth of what is happening to Christians in Gaza, we invite you to join this presentation by Select International Tours on March 14th at 8:00 PM Eastern time. Jeff Cavins and Fr. Leo Patalinghug will host a live online event Thursday, March 14, 2024 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.
If you have traveled with Select International Tours, you may know that in addition to running a pilgrimage company, they also run a charitable foundation called Select to Give, an IRS-approved 501(c)(3) charity founded in 2014.
What you may not know is the purpose and the scope of their foundation. You may not know that their primary focus is to help the suffering Christians who live in Bethlehem and Gaza. Select to Give is a large part of their mission, and they are grateful to each of you who has taken the time to learn about the foundation and support their work in the past.
The online event will be hosted by Jeff Cavins and Fr. Leo Patalinghug, with guests including Gus Lloyd, Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio, Fr. David Michael Moses, as well as Christians from the Holy Land who share their personal experience of the current situation in the Holy Land.
You will hear from a Select to Give American volunteer who has chosen to live in Bethlehem during the last six months to help those in need the most. A very special guest will be the Pastor of Holy Family Church, the only Catholic Parish in Gaza. You can hear a first-hand testimonial from someone we can trust who lives in Gaza.
Click here to view the Live Presentation on March 14
The event will hosted on the Apostle website and will begin promptly at 8:00 PM. Please be sure to click the link above and create a Free Login with your email beforehand.
Donations: If you would like to support this effort, they will be accepting tax-deductible donations via credit card during the event. If you wish to donate by mail, please make your check payable to Select to Give, Inc. and mail it to:
Select to Give, Inc.
c/o Select International Tours
85 Park Ave.
Flemington, NJ 08822
A tax letter confirming your donation will be sent via email within 10 business days of the event.
Please help us promote this exceptional chance to learn from Christians currently residing in the Holy Land. Utilize the image and links above on your social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or via emails and texts. By broadening this campaign’s reach, they can connect with more Christians concerned about the struggles of our brethren in the Holy Land.
