Bishop Mark Hagemoen has written a message to the faithful of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon about the Jubilee Year. Diocesan Jubilee Committee Chair Fr. David Tumback has also provided background information explaining Jubilee Indulgences, including the conditions to obtain an Indulgence, and sacred sites that have been identified in the diocese of Saskatoon for pilgrimage visits during Jubilee 2024.
Message from the Bishop:
To the Clergy, Religious, & Lay Faithful of the Diocese of Saskatoon:
Greetings Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
I write you as we embark on the Jubilee Year of Hope – a time of grace and renewal for our diocese and beyond. It has been the tradition since the year 1300 AD for popes to proclaim specific years as a “Jubilee Year.” This Jubilee time offers an important opportunity to deepen our relationship with God and each other. Well aware of the tumult and anxiety experienced by our brothers and sisters throughout the world at this time, Pope Francis encourages us to be “pilgrims of hope” on our journey to our Father’s House (see John 14:2).
The idea of a Jubilee time comes from the Old Testament and was known as a year of the Lord’s favour. A Jubilee year was a time for renewal and new beginnings: people’s debts were cancelled; property was returned to its original owners; the land was to “lie fallow” as crops were not sown so the land could “rest.” It was also a time of forgiveness and healing: prisoners and slaves were set free; and land was given to those who had no place of their own to live and work.
When Jesus Christ announced His mission, He quoted the prophet Isaiah (see Isaiah 61: 1-2) to indicate the He had come to bring Jubilee:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; to proclaim liberty to the captives; recovery of sight for the blind and to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Luke 4:18-19)
As at the time of this proclamation by the Lord – we too have our eyes fixed on Christ as we look to His message and way through the challenges and trials of our time.
The discipline of the Jubilee offers a year-long opportunity for personal as well as communal growth, healing, and renewal. This discipline features the following:
- Daily prayer with the Lord – the way we begin “putting on Christ” again. (see Romans 13:12);
- Weekly Sunday Mass, and also taking the opportunity to attend a week-day Mass;
- Monthly confession – as the Jubilee time focusses on receiving the MERCY of Jesus Christ;
- Receiving the Jubilee Indulgence (in conjunction with confession);
- Acts of charity and service: ways by which we live and sow Hope;
- A pilgrimage to one or several sites in our diocese, or at the Vatican.
The recent Synod invites us to think of ourselves in new ways as disciples of Jesus, and of our parishes as faith communities carrying on His ongoing mission for the world. We continue to live in an anxious and broken world that cries out to hear and realize the Good News of salvation that Jesus Christ brings us.
Each of us plays a role in God’s plan to save and heal the world. In fact – the secret to the joy and hope for our lives – this side of heaven – is to say “YES” to giving ourselves to His plan and call for our lives to be God’s hope for the world.
Let us find His Heart, His strength and courage, and His grace to live and love as He does. May Mary our Mother – in this Jubilee year – show us the way to the Sacred Heart of her Son, Jesus Christ.
Yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Mark A. Hagemoen