The Jubilee Never Ends: The Grace You Can Receive Every Day

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010826.cfm

Father Chris Alar, MIC reminds us that God’s timing is never accidental. Though the Jubilee Year of Hope formally concluded on January 6, its message—and its grace—did not end. Rooted in Leviticus 25 and proclaimed anew by Isaiah, the Jubilee was always meant to announce freedom, restoration, and mercy. But as Father Chris explains, this freedom is not political or economic. It is spiritual.

When Jesus proclaims the “year acceptable to the Lord,” He reveals the true purpose of the Jubilee: liberation from sin. The people of His time expected a Messiah who would overthrow Rome. Instead, Christ came to free humanity from captivity to sin. This misunderstanding is the same reason many rejected Him then—and why many still misunderstand the Church today.

A Jubilee Year in the Church is a special season of grace, conversion, and renewal. Through prayer, pilgrimage, Acts of mercy, and the Sacraments, the faithful are invited to experience not only forgiveness, but healing. While the Jubilee indulgence tied to specific holy doors has ended, the grace of plenary indulgences has not.

Father Chris teaches that Catholics can obtain a plenary indulgence every single day through what he calls the “Big Four”: praying the Rosary in a church or with another person, spending thirty minutes in Eucharistic Adoration, reading Sacred Scripture for thirty minutes, or walking the Stations of the Cross that are properly erected. These are not loopholes. They are gifts.

Indulgences are among the most misunderstood teachings in Christianity. They do not forgive sin—that happens in Confession. Rather, indulgences remit the temporal punishment that remains after sin is forgiven. Scripture confirms that forgiveness does not erase all consequences. God forgave David, yet consequences followed. A nail may be removed from a board, but the hole remains. Indulgences help repair that damage.

Father Chris addresses common Protestant objections with clarity and charity, explaining that the Church never sold indulgences and that praying for the dead and making reparation for sin are deeply biblical practices rooted in the early Church. God, who gave His authority to forgive sins to His ministers, also gave His Church the authority to remit punishment.

Quoting St. Faustina’s Diary, Fr. Chris reminds us that indulgences draw from the treasury of the Church for the relief of souls, especially those in purgatory. This is not a religion of “no.” It is a faith overflowing with God’s “yes.”

The Jubilee may be over—but grace is still available. The question is whether we will receive it.