The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-01-06
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Office of Intermountain Catholic. 400
Charles Block, 18th and Cur
It's Streets.
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DAWN OF THE HOLY YEAR.
Bishop Matz Explains the Meaning of
the Pone,s Prnclanl q +in1

blSuop MaLz EXplainS the Meaning o.
the Pope's Proclamation.
The letter Of the Holy Father an
nouncing the holy year, the year o
jubilee, has now been read Throughout
the Catholic world 1t will be of inter
est to many, both Catholics and non
Catholics, to know the origin and sig
MITIGATION of this jubilee celebration
which extends far beyond the days o
Christianity into Judaism, yea, to The
very dawn of the Mosaic law.
The name Of jubilee from the He
brew jobel, which means bring together
with JOY and eXultation, was the name
given to the fiftieth year among The
Jews, because it was a year of univer-
sal JOY. Wherein all slaves found theil
liberty; every Indebtedness was de-
Clared liQuidated and all membranes
were released. All values on imn1ov-
ables were rated in view of the jubilee
year by the distance Of time from the
date of sale to the jubilee. This wae
q wise provision, calculated to remind
the Jews that their ownership of land
was limited to the use; God was the
absolute owner. 1t prevented the accu-
mutation Of wealth in the hands of a
few; preserved a mode Of equality
amongst them; preserved noble and
honest families, and served to keep the
lIlDeS ulELlIlCl. L COlllCoS, eNGl III llll1
enlightened age, a measure of that kind
would be a grand panacea for some OF
the worst evils under which modern
society is ailing. A.
About the year 1900, rumor started,
no one knows how, to the effect that
every 100 years a. great indulgence is
granted in Rome. In consequence OF
this an enormous number Of pilgrims
ilocked to the Eternal city to gain the
3D. TQOTfeopn VIII ordered
the archives to be searched for any
foundation to sustain this popular rC-
NOR. Nothing could be found. But as
the number Of Pilgrims kept on in
creasing, the Holy Father was moved
TO grant the Indulgence, and by an
especial bull Of Feb. %, A. D., 1900, he
established the jubilee Indulgence for
that year and every succeeding Tooth
year And now was witnessed spec
tacle never before seen. Bishops and
Abbots; princes and people, hCcked to
Rome in such thrOngS, from all over
Europe, that throughout the year the
daily number of visitors was reckoned
at 200, 900 for the city, not counting
either the Romans or the pilgrims on
their Journey. Pope Clement VI, at the
supplcation of the Romans, shortened
the time for the jubilee to the fiftieth
year in January, 1349.
The afflUence Of pilgrims in Rome
from all over Christendom in the year
1850 far surpassed the preceding one.
Their number was computed at LOCO, 600
daily attendance from Christmas 1349,
10 Easter, 1850. 1t was less in the sum-
mer, but in the fail became enormous
again. Now, when We remember that
5n those days there were no railroads
and few coaches; that the roads were
lead, in many cases infested by rob
bers. and that these enormous dis
tances were mostly Travelled by pill
grins on foot, staff in hand, and carry
ing their luggage on their backs, we
may form an idea of that grand 1a1th
which characterized Europe during the
middle ages since a bull of the Pope
was capable of moving such enormous
masses of population, under such DIN
culties
Pope Urban VI, in 1885, shortened
still more the time for the jubilee to
every thirty-third year; in April, 1899,
and Paul the H. in 14IO, brought 1t
down to every twenty-fifth year, as We
have it now. In the year 1900 there was
no jubilee, because, when Plus VI was
about to publish it, he died at Valance,
and the papal states had been invaded
bv NAPOLEON. There was no regular
Jubilee. either in 1850, because Plus ~
was an exile in Gaeta.
In 1875 the same Pontiff was pris-
onei in his own palace, and for Ha;s
reason the customary jubilee was again
omitted. The last regular jubilee was
the one proclaimed by Leo XII, IN
1926. of this jubilee cur Holy Father,
Leo XIII, speaks as an eyewitness IN
his bull or Indication, May !, announc-
ing the present jubilee.
.sWeu do we remember, and even now
We still can see the throng of pilgrims,
walking in procession, from temple 10
tample: the Apostle men preaching IN
uubiic; the public places Of the city re
sounding with the praises of God; the
pope himself, with a large following OF
Cardinals. giving a magnificent publc
Example Of charity ana devotion. From
these. memories our mind wanderS with
sadness to the present time. For such
practices of devotion, which IN lhoSe
DAYS could be performed under the
public gaze, contributed admirably 70
foment the piety of the people; nov
that the conditions are changed, TINS
cannot be done"
Our Christian jubilee is a reproduc-
ifon. in a spiritual sense. Of the ancient
Jubilee of the Hebrews, since It prom
iaes TO break the fetters Of the bondage
III sin. and. a clear receipt for our whole
Indebtedness to God as contracted py
sin In other words, the jubilee means
sinaDlv a plenary Indulgence granted by
4
immense treasury Of merits composer
Of the infinite merits Of Jesus Christ;
the merits of His blessed Mother anu
of the Saints. It differs from the o1dl-
nary plenary indulgence only by rea-
sor of the sOlemnity; the privileges an
neXed and the eXuberance OF eNIiaoI
dfnarv graces which accompany II.
We were asked the question nut
few days ago: What is an indulgence!
The meaning of the word Indulgence,
which strikes one first implies Tor
naar9rce of restraint or control and
g,,ieht lead one to the idea that an in
dulgence is a relaxation OF the -SlhS
of morality. Some authors, prompted
NV Ignorance or malice, have dehneu
~ Indulgence in the Catholic sense y
In. an announcement of, or PERMISSION
IN sin. Nothing could be further from
+he truth than this definition. BEFORE
I'VE define the nature OF an lhuulsehCe,
and Illustration viii very materldlly
help to make clear what we understand
by an Indulgence.
+7at David fell into adultery win
19et,sabe. the wife of UriaS. Not nnu-
i,,eranv means to conceal his crime, ne
caTseth TTrias to be slain; then he mar
,ies 3ethsabe. who bears him son;
An had passed off very quietly, ana
I0s1-id might have battered himselt thdt
he had escaped all difficulty. he IoT-
.-ct he had the Lord to deal with. IA
~ next chapter we read that the Lord
sent to him Nathan, the PropneI, NlIo;
h1, means of a parable, broughJ DaH ~
- his senses. David did not recognize
1,}e avn picture in the rich man VINO
s-tola the moor mans eve lamp Belh-
s,sl,a and he became so incensed at 01e
s,1io1Iitv nerpetrated by the rlch man