Living the jubilee way
What is a jubilee ?
A jubilee is a time of joy, an invitation to celebrate, to commemorate an important anniversary in the life of the Church. It is a time of grace to come back to God and welcome His overwhelming love for us.
Why a jubilee in Paray ?
In the sanctuary of the Sacred Heart in Paray-le-Monial, a jubilee is celebrated from 27th December 2023 to 27th of June 2025, to celebrate the 350 years since the apparitions of Jesus to St Margaret Mary. This jubilee is a chance to come on pilgrimage to the Apparitions Chapel in the monastery of the Visitation.
This jubilee way is an invitation to set about answering the call of Jesus : come to me, all of you who struggle under the weight of the burden and I will grant you rest, because I am gentle and humble in heart (Mat 11:28). Passing through the jubilee door is to enter the Heart of Jesus, to be renewed in depth in our life as a baptised person and to return to Him love for love.
What is a plenary indulgence ?
On the occasion of this jubilee, God shows his mercy, especially by granting freely a plenary indulgence to pilgrims who are prepared for it. Pope Francis reminds us what an indulgence is :
In the sacrament of Reconciliation, God forgives sins, and they are really erased, whilst there the negative imprint of the sin in our behaviour and our thoughts. The mercy of God is stronger than this. It becomes the indulgence of the Father, who reaches out to the sinner forgiven through the Bride of Christ, and liberates him of everything that remains from the consequences of the sin, enabling him to act with charity and grow in love rather than falling back into sin.
How to live the jubilee way ?
Here are internal and external means to experience profitably the jubilee way and receive the plenary indulgence.
- To be in a state of grace and have the internal ability to be completely detached from sin, even venial sin. This requires especially to go to confession (if possible on the same day, if not, a week before or after) and to take communion.
- To show our openess to the universal Church by praying for the Pope’s intentions. One Our Father and one Hail Mary are suggested.
- To profess the faith of the Church by reciting the Creed.
- To show clearly that we want to respond to the call of Jesus, who said I am the door of the sheep (Jn 10:7), by passing through the jubilee door of the Apparitions Chapel.
- To convey with specific charity the grace received by accom-plishing one of the acts of mercy as Pope Francis reminds us :
Let us rediscover the actions of corporal mercy : feeding those who are hungry, giving something to drink to those who are thirsty, clothing those who are naked, welcoming foreigners, helping the sick, visiting prisoners, burying the dead. And let us not forget the works of spiritual mercy : advising those who are in doubt, teaching the ignorant, warning sinners, consoling the afflicted, forgiving offence, patiently tolerating those who ennoy us, praying to God for the living and the dead.
It is possible to receive the plenary indulgence once a day, for yourself or for a dead person, but not for someone who is alive.
