St. John The Baptist Catholic Church at 3160 Carla Dr., Carrollton , MI 48604-1749 US - The Third Millennium

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” What is Holy Year? In the Roman Catholic tradition, a Holy Year, or Jubilee is a great religious event. It is a year of forgiveness of our sins and also the punishment due to sin; it is a year of reconciliation between adversaries, of conversion and receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and consequently of Solidarity, hope, justice, commitment to serve God with joy and in peace with our brothers and sisters. A Jubilee year is above all the year of Christ, who brings life and grace to humanity. The origin of the Christian Jubilee goes back to Bible times. The Law of Moses prescribed a special year for the Jewish people: “You shall hallow the fiftieth year and proclaim the liberty throughout the land, to all its inhabitants; it shall be a Jubilee when each of you shall return to his family. This fiftieth year is to be a Jubilee year for you; you will not sow, you will not harvest the ungathered corn, you will not gather the untrimmed vine. The Jubilee is to be a holy thing to you, you will not eat what comes from the fields.” (The Book of Leviticus 25: 10-14) The trumpet with which this particular year was announced was a goat’s horn called Yobel in Hebrew, and the origin of the Word Jubilee. The celebration of this year also included the restitution of land to the original owners, the remission of debts, the liberation of slaves and the land was left fallow. In the New Testament, Jesus presents himself as the One who brings the old Jubilee to completion, because he has come to “preach the year of the Lord’s favor” (Isaiah 61: 1-2). Officials in Rome have unveiled the logo for the Jubilee year 2000, which proclaims Jesus Christ as the lord of yesterday, today and forever. The logo features five doves closely circling one another so that their wings resemble the petals of a flower. From the center of the circle emanates a burst of white to symbolize salvation. Each dove is a different color, and a cross in matching colors forms the backdrop along with a ring representing the universe.

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