Commemorating

In the case of the Hebrews of the Pentateuch, for example, the sacredness of the solar year was the central fact from which they derived a belief in larger cycles of time. In principle they observed a 7 year cycle, with a sabbatical year during which the earth was left fallow and debts were cancelled. This was extended to a Jubilee year, every fifty years, during which it was intended that eqaulity be restored amongst people.

For the Pope, this understanding of a Jubilee year has been associated with the Year 2000 celebrations, namely a special dedication to God at the end of a time cycle. Preparing for celebrations of the Year 2000 became the hermeneutical key of his pontificate, a reminder for Christians that the End of Time is a concept inherent in Christian faith. The entire history of the Church in past decades is understood as a preparation for this Great Jubilee. For the Pope the rituals of the Catholic Church (notably at Easter) satisfying atavistic urges to mark sacred time are profound expressions of the divine will. There is therefore a duty to sanctify time in processes which in some mysterious way bring man closer to God. The liturgical year of the Catholics in a certan way reproduces the whole mystery of the incarnation and redemption. A Jubilee Year is therefore an occasion for remission of sins and the granting of numerous indulgences.