December 30, 2024

Bishop Byrne celebrates opening Mass of Jubilee Year

REGIONAL
Story and photos by Carolee McGrath

SPRINGFIELD – Bishop William D. Byrne celebrated a special Mass, Sunday Dec. 29 at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Springfield at 10 a.m. to mark the opening of the Jubilee Year entitled, “Pilgrims of Hope.” The Mass, held on the Feast of the Holy Family, was broadcast live on “Chalice of Salvation,” which airs on WWLP-22 News. The celebration began at the front doors of the cathedral as Deacon John Williams, who will be ordained a priest next spring, read from the Bull of Indiction, a letter from Pope Francis, outlining what it means to be “pilgrims of hope.”

“The Holy Year of 2025 is itself in continuity with preceding celebrations of grace. Now the time has come for a new Jubilee, when once more the Holy Door will be flung open to invite everyone to an intense experience of the love of God that awakens in hearts the sure hope of salvation in Christ,” said Deacon Williams, reading from the pope’s letter.

In the Catholic Church, jubilees are marked every 25 years and are rooted in Jewish tradition. In the Old Testament jubilees were a call to come back to God and stood as a reminder of his mercy. The Jubilee 2025, began Dec. 24 when Pope Francis opened the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve, and will run through Jan. 6, 2026, the Solemnity of the Epiphany.

“For more than 700 years, the church has been celebrating jubilees. It’s just a moment to pause, to receive grace,” said Bishop Byrne. “There will be indulgences, real grace to be received in this moment if we follow the celebration of the jubilee. So it’s an opportunity to pause, to draw closer to our Lord. But the pope has said make this a jubilee of hope. What a great message that we need for our world that Jesus Christ is the King of the Universe, he’s the victor over sin and death. Now we need to let that take over our lives,” he said.

Other holy doors will be opened at the Rome basilicas of St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls. These basilicas are designated places where pilgrims will receive special graces after prayer, confession and receiving the Eucharist.

“Those doors which are cemented for 24 other years are opened up, and what happens is people come in pilgrimage and walk through the door, and they gain an indulgence,” said Father Gary Dailey, the rector of St. Michael’s Cathedral in Springfield. Father Dailey will be leading a pilgrimage to Rome in July.

“So the Holy Year is really about reconciliation and forgiveness of sins. People should pay attention to this because there is the possibility for people to be forgiven of the temporal punishment of sin. When we sin and go to confession, we are forgiven of our sins, but there is a temporal punishment attached to our sin. That’s where purgatory comes in where people have the opportunity to purge themselves of the temporal punishment of the sin. So the indulgence is highly significant in the church. We don’t talk about it or it has had bad reviews because people were buying indulgences which is not really what it was supposed to be,” Father Dailey explained.

“The church has been given the authority by Jesus (to grant indulgences) because when he said to Peter you are rock and on this rock I will build my church. He said whatever you declare bound on earth shall be bound in heaven, whatever is loosed on earth will be loosed in heaven. So the authority of the church has been given to grant these indulgences and God acknowledges it because Peter has said so. So this is a great privilege we have for the jubilee,” he said.

For those who cannot travel to Rome, other cathedrals have been designated locally as special places of prayer for pilgrims including St. Michael’s Cathedral in Springfield; St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Basilica in Chicopee; Dominican Nuns Adoration Chapel in West Springfield; National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge; Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel at Thomas Aquinas College in Northfield; the Monastery Chapel at the Sisters of Visitation in Tyringham; and the Newman Catholic Center at UMass in Amherst.

Bishop Byrne said his goal for the jubilee year is evangelization.

“One of the calls that we’re making here in the Diocese of Springfield for the jubilee is called ‘Walk with One.’ It’s simple. You figure out who is the Lord asking me to invite back to the church, back to Mass, even back to having a cup of coffee and talking about it. The first step is you pray. Lord, who should I bring home? Then you say Lord, how should I do that? Let it all be divine initiative, and then bring them back. So it’s an incredible opportunity,” he said.

Several events are planned for the jubilee year including pilgrimages to Rome, a diocesan men’s and women’s conference and a youth event.

“I really think it’s important to be investing in men’s ministry in women’s ministry, in the family and really building up the family. So with the jubilee, we are bringing back these conferences, not just for this year but hopefully for many years to come,” said Joe Austin, the director of the Office of Missionary Discipleship.

Austin will also be leading a pilgrimage for young people to Rome July 28-Aug. 6. A youth event is planned locally as well.

“There are many things we are launching during the jubilee year to really revitalize and bring back the faith and revitalize the faith in Western Mass,” Austin said.

To see a full listing of pilgrimages and events, go to diospringfield.org.