New Year, Holy Year

As 2020 comes finally to its end, we welcome with hope (and no small amount of trepidation) its sequel, 2021. It’s worth remembering, though, that we are also celebrating some other years as well: holy years.

The Year of Saint Joseph

Pope Francis has declared a “Year of Saint Joseph” from December 8, 2020 through December 8, 2021. This year is to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of Saint Joseph as patron saint of the Universal Church.

In the seven sections of his letter Patris Corde (“With a Father’s Heart”) the Pope calls our attention to Saint Joseph as a beloved father, a tender and loving father, an obedient father, an accepting father, a creatively courageous father, a working father, and finally as a father in the shadows.

The aim of the letter, and by extension the year, is “to increase our love for this great saint, to encourage us to implore his intercession, and to imitate his virtues and his zeal”.

At the end of the letter, the Pope adds a prayer to Saint Joseph, which he encourages all of us to pray together:

Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son;
in you Mary placed her trust;
with you Christ became man.

Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father
and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy, and courage,
and defend us from every evil.  Amen.

The Year of the Eucharist

In my own Archdiocese of Seattle, Archbishop Etienne in his pastoral letter “The Work of Redemption“ proclaimed a “Year of the Eucharist” which began on the external Solemnity of Corpus Christi (June 14, 2020) and will conclude on the same feast this coming year (June 6, 2021).

In his letter, the Archbishop says:

During the coming year, I ask every Catholic and every parish community to commit themselves to deepening our understanding and experience of the Eucharist, and strengthening our Eucharistic liturgies.

I’ve written about this before, so please check out the article where I discuss the Archbishop’s wonderful letter and the celebration of this year.

The Jacobean Holy Year

Finally, the Jacobean Holy Year began today, December 31 2020. And what pray tell is a Jacobean Holy Year? These are the years on which the Feast of Saint James the Apostle – July 25 – falls on a Sunday. In these years, pilgrims on the Camino can obtain a plenary indulgence by making their pilgrimage and walking through the Holy Doors of the Cathedral in Santiago.

These doors are normally sealed, and they are opened during the ceremony that kicks off the holy year. Following the end of the holy year, they are ceremoniously sealed once again.

Here’s a short video produced by Televisión de Galicia to show what unsealing the doors looks like.

The person “opening” the door is typically the Papal Nuncio – the Pope’s representative in Spain. This year, he read a short letter from the Pope which extended the Jacobean Holy Year until December 31, 2022.

So this year will be two years long! Obviously, this is due to COVID-19, and it is a concession for the relatively small number of pilgrims who will be able to walk the Camino in the coming months.

The unsealing of these doors is a major event in Spain. In fact, the local television coverage was six hours long!

New Years, New Opportunities

Every new day is an opportunity to grow in holiness, to grow closer to the Lord. Every new day is an opportunity to cast off the old man and to put on Christ.

New years, whether they are designated as holy years or not, are a God-given opportunity at a major reset in our lives. Most folks make New Year’s resolutions, and most of those are quietly forgotten by February.

I challenge you this year to take advantage of these holy days, these holy years, to grow closer to the Lord, day by day.

If that means a dedication to praying more – great!

If that means a rededication to loving God through loving your neighbour – and your enemy – great!

If that means you’ve decided to walk the Camino de Santiago to seek God’s graces on pilgrimage – great!

And when you fall down in your resolution – because you are human and you will fail – just remember to get back up again. This is the spiritual life.

These designated years are just another set of tools to help you focus on the Lord and to bring you closer to the joys of heaven. So let’s celebrate them!