Christine Newkirk presents on the history of jubilees in Jewish culture and their continued celebration in the Catholic Church at a Professional Development Day at St. Joseph Parish in Hayward on Jan. 14. (Catholic Herald photo)
Jenny Snarski
Catholic Herald Staff
In light of the 2025 Jubilee Year in the global Catholic Church, Diocese of Superior’s Director of Ecclesial Ministries and Diocesan Consultation Christine Newkirk led one of the three professional development days on the topic. More than two dozen parish leadership personnel, including permanent deacons and priests, gathered on Jan. 14 at St. Joseph Parish in Hayward to learn and share.
Newkirk provided historical context for jubilee years as rooted in the Old Testament and Jewish history. With a prominent element of the jubilee being forgiveness of debts, Newkirk stated that it was not merely an attempt to correct economic problems, but a restoring of the people’s identity. “The jubilee operated as a correction of a problem of the heart,” she said, “not a problem of the economy.”
In Jewish culture, Newkirk explained, every seventh year was a “sabbath year” in remembrance of God’s rest after the work of creation. Each sabbath year included resting, no sowing of crops and sharing with those most in need; this required preparations each sixth year to ensure needs would be cared for in the duration of the sabbath year. Newkirk said it was a call for both physical rest and rest “of the heart.”
She asked, “How do I bring a sense of sabbath within myself?” Whether it is committed to for seven minutes or seven hours, “rest is needed for replenishing.” Newkirk offered various examples she has personally implemented and asked participants for others. Ideas included: no shopping on Sundays, no housework and spending time in nature as well as ideas for religious education programs to implement “fee forgiveness” where during a sabbath year parents give out of the generosity of their hearts.
“We don’t think scripturally like we could,” Newkirk offered. What can be learned from this Jewish cultural tradition is a sense of freedom and the societal impact of forgiveness and redistribution of resources among the community, she said.
Newkirk reflected on the spiritual element of jubilee practices as directed towards heaven as the goal of life, to make sure “we’re prepared, healed and ready.”
Turning to the specific celebration for the 2025 Jubilee Year, Newkirk expanded on the theme proposed by Pope Francis, “Pilgrims of Hope.” She explained that while in its more exact definition, a “pilgrimage” is journey away from home to visit holy sites, its fuller understanding has as its goal a spiritual transformation rather than a unique tourist experience.
After small-group discussion on the meaning of being a pilgrim, reflections were shared by the group; it was acknowledged that openness is needed for a deep encounter on pilgrimage in contrast to a more secular sense of self-discovery.
Although personal improvement programs also incorporate getting out of one’s comfort zone and physical discomfort, the purpose of pilgrimage is directed towards one’s relationship with God rather than an internally focused aim. It was also noted that pilgrimages are most often made as a group experience and that a communal sense is steeped in Catholic liturgy and worship. When individuals make themselves open and vulnerable to the action of the Holy Spirit, the shared experience can be more fruitful for all.
Newkirk discussed elements unique to the official jubilee years that are only celebrated every 25 years. A few groups from the diocese are making pilgrimages to Italy this year; others travelled to the Dec. 29 Mass at the Cathedral in Superior to celebrate the Jubilee Year’s opening. She also highlighted the sacred sites regionally in Wisconsin – Our Lady of Champion near Green Bay, the Guadalupe Shrine in La Crosse and Holy Hill near Milwaukee – as well as the diocesan cathedral and historic site of St. Joseph’s parish on Madeline Island.
She commented on the importance of remembering that “we do belong to something bigger than our parish,” and that nothing can replace the sense of unity of these larger scales of the diocesan and universal Catholic Church.
A second small group discussion was conducted on the second element of the Jubilee Year’s theme, hope.
Hope was presented to the entire group as “the opposite of hopelessness” and a receptive versus passive virtue of Christian courage. It was noted that hope depends on God and the acknowledgement of our dependency on him, but also that we have the opportunity and responsibility to see ourselves as answers to the prayers of others. Suffering was also offered as an opportunity for hope.
The morning ended with an invitation to make personal commitments for both pilgrimage and maintaining a sense of the sacred in daily life as well as one for bringing hope to others.
The afternoon sessions addressed the Catholic Church’s social teaching.
“Life and Dignity of the Human Person” encompasses the sacredness of life from conception to natural death and calls for a society that maintains people as more important than things. “Call to Family, Community and Participation” follows as human beings are social creatures and family needs to be protected as the central social institution. “Rights and Responsibilities” includes what one should be able to respect but also offer others.
The “Option for the Poor and Vulnerable” invites individuals and societies to ensure proportional response to the needs of those most in need. “Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers” affirms that the economy exists to serve people and not vice versa, also that work is meant to be an expression of human realization and must conform to their dignity.
“Solidarity” sees others as neighbors and family, all children of God and requires care for humanity as a whole. “Care for God’s Creation” expands solidarity to all of creation in service of the common good.
In closing, Newkirk offered a quote of El Salvador’s bishop, St. Oscar Romero, who died from gunshot wounds suffered while celebrating Mass and was declared a martyr by Pope Francis. Just months before his assassination, Romero said, “The Christian society that God wants is one in which we share the goodness that God has given for everyone.”
