Welcome to St Mary's and Holy Family & St Michael Catholic Parish

The Holy Father has decided that 2025 will be a year of Jubilee, something which happens every 25 years.

The theme is “Pilgrims of Hope”, and is a year of hope for a world suffering the impacts of war, the ongoing effects of COVID-19 pandemic, and a climate crisis.  

“Jubilee” is the name given to a particular year; the name comes from the instrument used to mark its launch. In this case, the instrument in question is the yobel, the ram’s horn, used to proclaim the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). This (Jewish) holiday occurs every year, but it takes on special significance when it marks the beginning of a Jubilee year.

We can find an early indication of it in the Bible: a Jubilee year was to be marked every 50 years, since this would be an “extra” year, one which would happen every seven weeks of seven years, i.e., every 49 years (cf. Leviticus 25:8-13). Even though it wasn’t easy to organise, it was intended to be marked as a time to re-establish a proper relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation, and involved the forgiveness of debts, the return of misappropriated land, and a fallow period for the fields.

Quoting the prophet Isaiah, the Gospel of Luke describes Jesus’ mission in this way:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord,” (Luke 4:18-19; cf. Isaiah 61:1-2).

Jesus lives out these words in his daily life, in his encounters with others and in his relationships, all of which bring about liberation and conversion.

In 1300, Pope Boniface VIII called the first Jubilee, also known as a “Holy Year,” since it is a time in which God’s holiness transforms us. The frequency of Holy Years has changed over time: at first, they were celebrated every 100 years; later, in 1343 Pope Clement VI reduced the gap between Jubilees to every 50 years, and in 1470 Pope Paul II made it every 25 years. There have also been “extraordinary” Holy Years: for example, in 1933 Pope Pius XI chose to commemorate the 1900th anniversary of the Redemption, and in 2015 Pope Francis proclaimed the Year of Mercy as an extraordinary jubilee. The way in which Jubilee Years are marked has also changed through the centuries: originally the Holy Year consisted of a pilgrimage to the Roman Basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul, later other signs were added, such as the Holy Door. By participating in the Holy Year, one is granted a plenary indulgence.

OPPOSE TERMINALLY ILL ADULTS (End of Life) BILL!

In early September 2024, when parliament returned and a Bill on assisted suicide – so-called assisted dying – started its passage through the House of Lords, our Lead Bishop for Life Issues, Bishop John Sherrington, called for Catholics to unite in prayer and compassionate action. 

That call is renewed now, urgently, as the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill tabled by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, has passed through Second Reading and is now at Committee Stage. Report Stage is expected in the coming weeks. The Third Reading and vote is likely to take place at the end of April or start of May, at which time a decision will be made on whether to legalise assisted suicide and make this Bill law.

We need you to contact your MP now – even if you have already done so in the past – to voice your opposition. 

Act now! Contact your MP

The charity Right to Life UK has a simple online mechanism to do this. It takes little more than a few minutes to input your postcode, make sure the suggested text suits your viewpoint and submit your message to ask your MP to stop assisted suicide being rushed into law.  

To do this, visit the website https://righttolife.org.uk/asvote. Other materials are also available in the porches of our churches.

Eight Reasons Why We Must Not Legalise ‘Assisted Dying’

Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide: Writing or Speaking to your Elected Representative

Resources on ‘Assisted Dying’ (Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide)