This Alpohnsian Academy Blog post continues the series on the keywords of the Jubilee 2025, conceived in a dialogical form: a first contribution by an Alphonsian Academy professor is followed by a second contribution written by a student. The first keyword is Jubilee—Post 2/2.
The post by Fr. Andrzej S. Wodka, C.S.R., on the word ‘jubilee’ invites us to grasp the extraordinary grace accompanying the opening of the jubilee year, a year of hope. The three Hebrew words from which the word ‘jubilee’ is derived – jobel (ram), jobil (call) and jobal (remission) – call us to listen to the sound of the horn, to be vigilant and to convert.
The connection between the Jubilee and biblical tradition, in particular the sound of the horn associated with the sacrifice of Isaac, underlines the importance of faith and deliverance. The opening of the Holy Door is not merely a ritual act; it marks the beginning of a period of grace and reconciliation. The reference to the sacrifice of Isaac and the ram that replaces him as a symbol of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, underlines the continuity between the Old and New Testaments.
Sound the horn! When there is a sound, one cannot fail to recall the importance of listening. Listening is not limited to the reception of sound waves through the ears; our body interacts with the sound, creating a resonance involving emotions, moods, memory, affections, feelings, etc. The relationship between sound and listening is multidimensional, involving physical, psychological and social aspects. Listening is a relational act that generates moments of euphoria, uncertainty and expectation. In this jubilee year that calls us to live the hope, we can ask ourselves: ‘Have I heard the call of the jubilee horn of hope? What do I want to be liberated from? How will I live hope here where I am? What hopes have failed me?’.
In his post, P. Andrzej S. Wodka reminds us that “Animated by revealed faith, believers cannot tolerate the various forms of slavery (often for life), also practised among other peoples”. This is particularly relevant at a time when social inequalities are evident. The call not to tolerate slavery or permanent deprivation is an invitation to reflect on contemporary injustices. We are called to promote justice with hope, a hope that does not disappoint because it is rooted in the love of Christ.
Spes non confundit, as pilgrims of hope, we are called to be prophets, waiting with hope in the time of darkness, uncertainty, and night for the future of a more human, more fraternal, and more loving world. In this jubilee, we can seek the remission of our sins, but we can also proclaim the year of grace and the possibility of a new beginning to those who no longer hope, announcing that the day will come. We do not know when, but it will come.
In the book of Isaiah, we find this question: ‘Sentinel, how much remains of the night? Sentinel, how much of the night remains?’ The sentinel answers: ‘The morning comes, then also the night; if you want to ask, ask, convert, come!’ (Is21:11-12). There is, therefore, a before and an after, a moment of waiting, a moment where we feel that the darkness of the night is infinite and that the day does not come. And here, arriving in this Holy Year, a moment of extraordinary grace, is the voice, the sound of the horn announcing in this darkness, the presence of the light, and of the hope that we are called to kindle, personally and as a community. It is a call that not only questions us, but also awaits an answer; the day will come, justice, peace, love will come, we must continue to ask, and ask again, through conversion: ‘Convert, come’.
Where shall we go? To whom shall we go? Who can give us hope? With Simon Peter, we answer: we should go to Jesus. ‘You have words of eternal life; we have believed and known that you are the Holy One of God’ (Jn 6:68-69).
Amélia Vasco Manjate, PhD student
Pontifical Institute Alphonsian Academy