Where were you in the year 2000? Of course, many of you will remember this as Y2K and all the worry that this caused with computers and the new millennium. But the Year 2000 was a special jubilee year for the Catholic Church. I remember taking a pilgrimage group with me to Rome that year. Every 25 years is declared a special jubilee year, a year of Grace, and the next one will be in 2025. Some of the information for this upcoming jubilee year is just beginning to appear. Of course, this time around, they have an app! The official mobile application for Jubilee 2025 (Iubilaeum25) is now available in six different languages from the App Store for iOS and the Play Store for Android. In this app, users can access all the latest updates on the Jubilee, register as pilgrims for the Holy Year, and obtain the Pilgrim’s Credential free of charge. Once registered, one can also sign up for Jubilee events and pilgrimages to the Holy Door at St. Peter’s. If you are interested, please check this out.
This week we will celebrate Thanksgiving. It’s a time to gather with family, but also a time to thank the Lord for all the blessings received. Yes, count your blessings this week! Normally, we would also be thinking about the start of Advent next weekend, right after Thanksgiving. But since this is one of those unusual calendar years, Advent starts late this year on December 2nd with the vigil Mass for the 1st Sunday of Advent. It seems strange to think that we still have another week of Ordinary time left before we reach the final Sunday of Ordinary Time with the Feast of Christ the King! Thanks for reading! Fr Mark