Dear brothers and sisters!
In just a few weeks, Pope Francis will open the holy door of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, marking the beginning of the official jubilee. We will celebrate a holy year. According to an ancient tradition, jubilee years are celebrated every twenty-five years. The programmatic slogan for the upcoming jubilee year is "Pilgrims of Hope." We must not forget the second, even greater event in the history of our salvation, which is the coming of God in human flesh to this earth, for which we are preparing in this Advent season.
Both of these great celebrations are linked to pilgrimage. We have before us the pilgrimage of the Virgin Mary from Nazareth to the mountainous region to visit her relative Elizabeth, as well as the journey of the shepherds and the wise men to Bethlehem, along with the pilgrimage of the first jubilee year proclaimed by Pope Boniface VIII.
The jubilee and Christmas are a challenge for us to embark on a journey, to travel; to leave behind the old way of life and share the love that God offers us. Thus, we are invited to a journey of conversion, because pilgrimage is the fulfillment of the invitation to holiness. However, holiness is never individualistic; it is always focused on God and on the entire community of believers. The Second Vatican Council expressed this with the words: "It has pleased God to sanctify and save people not individually and apart from one another, but to create from them a people that might acknowledge him in truth and serve him holy." (Lumen Gentium 9)
In the spirit of the synodal process, we are invited to mutual dialogue, listening, and collaboration. A Christian is never alone on their journey. In Christ and through Christ, our life is mysteriously connected to the lives of all Christians in the supernatural unity of His Body and ultimately with all humanity.
Thus arises a wonderful exchange of all, but especially spiritual goods, among believers, much like in interconnected vessels. The body of Christ has many parts, but the same Christ's blood circulates within them, and the same Spirit animates them.
In this Holy Year, we are called to pass through the Gate, which is Christ, who invites us to reconcile with the Father, to meet within ourselves with our neighbors, and to rediscover the peace that Jesus has won for us. He does not take all our debts away somewhere into the desert but destroys them with His love, on His body.
We look forward to meeting together on various occasions, during pilgrimages, prayers, adoration, and experiencing mutual love. Throughout the Church, in every diocese and parish, events are already being prepared and planned to celebrate God, express gratitude for all His gifts, loyalty to the Holy Father, and belonging to the Catholic Church. All of this is very important so that we can live in mutual community.
However, this is only one side of the coin. The other warns us not to fall into the notion that this jubilee is merely an opportunity for some kind of self-actualization and presentation of our faith through pilgrimages and various religious activities.
When we recall the intention with which God introduced and explained the law concerning the jubilee year, we see a fundamental difference. Let’s remember at least briefly what the Book of Leviticus says: freedom for all inhabitants, release of slaves, restoration of property, return of seized lands, forgiveness of debts, not to extort from neighbors, not to spread slander, not to oppress or rob your neighbor, the wage of a laborer shall not remain with you all night until morning...
From this, we see that the Holy Year was primarily established for those who suffered in the midst of the chosen people. Even in our case, the Holy Year is more for others, through us, than for us. The whole world should learn from our lives how good the Lord is.
This was also announced by Jesus Christ in the synagogue of Nazareth: that I might proclaim the gospel to the poor; to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to set at liberty those who are oppressed and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor... Christ does everything for man to prove to him that He loves him infinitely.
Is it good to travel to Rome? – certainly; is it good to pass through the holy door? – certainly; is it good to visit the main basilicas? – certainly. To confess, to obtain plenary indulgence, to receive Christ in the Eucharist? – certainly. But let us be careful not to narrow the intention of the Holy Year to just: how many of us were on pilgrimage, how many confessions there were, how many communions we distributed, and so on.
Surely, from the heart, we wish for all wars and bloody conflicts among states and nations to end. This is very difficult, as not only God's word but also the calls of the Holy Father encounter hard hearts and deaf ears.
Yet, what can each of us do, let us do it. What if we were to stop the neighboring or family property court disputes? What if we fanned the dying embers of marital love and rejected thoughts of divorce? What if we gave a chance for life in a woman's womb to be born? What if we justly rewarded our employees?
Dear believers, realize the meaning of the Holy Year: to proclaim the gospel to the poor; to release the captives; to give sight to the blind; to free those we have oppressed and to proclaim the Lord's favorable year. All of this, as well as many other good deeds, we can and must carry out in our daily lives to be a sign of hope for others even in difficult circumstances.
This is the true fruit of the celebration not only of the Holy Year but also of the feast of the Birth of the Son of God. Let us realize that the place where Jesus wants to be born today is our heart.
Most Holy Theotokos, Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Mother of the Church, accompany us through this Holy Year and lead us to your Son, for He is God and lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, we, the bishops of Slovakia, bless you with love in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. We ask you, please pray for us.
Bishops of Slovakia
