Change of heart key to Holy Year indulgence, Latin patriarch says in Nazareth

NAZARETH, Israel (OSV News) -- An indulgence granted during the Jubilee Year is not just an occasion to "get something" but rather is a sign of the Holy Year, of the moment where the faithful must put themselves in front of God to discover the reality of oneself and see the need for forgiveness, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem said Dec. 29 at the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa's heartfelt message came as he was at the basilica to preside over a Mass inaugurating the Jubilee Year in the Holy Land.

"With the indulgence we get this privilege, this moment from God where we can get full forgiveness of all our sins but it is not something we can get by money, but it is something we can get by a conversion: Without a change of our heart, an indulgence of this year" has no meaning, the cardinal said. "On this occasion the intercession by Our Lady the Virgin Mary … starts this year as a new beginning for ourselves and our families."

Standing in front of the Grotto of the Annunciation, which is below the basilica and what Christian tradition holds is the site of the Angel Gabriel's greeting to Mary, the patriarch led the rite of the commemoration of the baptism.

Then, together with Melkite Catholic Archbishop Youssef Matta of Akka, Israel, he sprinkled the concelebrants and the people gathered around the site with the blessed water. The procession then moved to the basilica, preceded by the Gospel book and the adorned cross created in the Byzantine style for the Jubilee Year by Spanish Sister Maria Ruiz Rodriguez.

During the Jubilee Year, which is to focus on hope, indulgences can be obtained primarily through pilgrimages, including to the Holy Land, where pilgrims must visit at least one of three basilicas: the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Church (Basilica) of the Nativity in Bethlehem or the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.

The decree prepared by Apostolic Penitentiary and issued May 13 by the Holy See also states that pilgrims should devoutly participate in holy Mass or a celebration of the Word of God, the Liturgy of the Hours, the Way of the Cross, the Marian rosary, the recitation of the Akathist hymn or a penitential celebration that concludes with individual confessions.

"It is a great grace and a very special blessing to be here," said Sister Isabel Arreola Gopar, superior of Missionary Sisters of the Evangelization in the Holy Land from Capernaum. "We did everything we could to be here today. It is a wonderful event that God gives us this grace, not only for me but for all people."

The region has been embroiled in over a year of war, sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught by Hamas from the Gaza Strip on southern Israel communities. These attacks led to an Israeli military invasion into Gaza, followed by Hezbollah missile attacks on northern Israel and Israeli reprisal attacks on southern Lebanon.

Normally filled with pilgrims and tourists, the streets of Nazareth were quiet and almost eerily empty as the morning rain gave way to tentative sunshine, and most of those attending the ceremony were local Christians, religious and diplomats.

Alejandro Bonilla, 22, from Bogotá, Colombia, whose uncle works at the Colombian Embassy, said he felt grateful and privileged to be able to participate in the ceremony which strengthened his faith in a place of the foundations of his faith.

"I feel joy, I feel grateful and happy to be having this different experience," he told OSV News. "For some young people this may not be their idea for a vacation, but not many young people can have this experience. But I come for something different, I come for things I need for my faith."

Local resident Amir Shahadi, 17, called it an honor to be from the city of Nazareth at this moment, and in his first Jubilee Year, he said, he felt the need to pray for peace in the world and for forgiveness.

Having come all the way from Jerusalem, Armenian Christians Michael Sahagian, 32, and his cousin Maya, 17, said the inauguration of the Jubilee Year of the Catholic Church was important to them as Christians as a way of connecting with God and made them feel hopeful and proud.

In addition, said Michael Sahagian, he would be praying to God for peace for all people: Jews, Christians and Muslims.

"We should stop this conflict," he said. "I (hope) 2025 will give us peace and health, everything we need in this country. We don't know how long we will live, but this land will always be here, and we should just live our lives and not get into conflict."

Though it is difficult to speak of hope in a time and place enveloped by war and violence where there seems to be little hope, it is still the "the driving force and foundation of every initiative," Cardinal Pizzaballa said in his homily.

"It is indeed very difficult to speak of hope, to believe that there is hope, when everything around us speaks of war, violence, poverty and harshness of life ... especially in this last year," he said.

"In this terrible war, there are not only so many prisoners on all sides who need to see the light of freedom again. If we broaden our view to include all of us, I think we are all prisoners of this war and its aftermath in one way or another. Hatred, resentment and fear keep us trapped in our relationships and in our trust in each other. We are imprisoned, trapped in our fears, which do not allow us any courage, no trusting view and therefore no hope in others and in the future. In God as the one who is able to bring life, even where everything seems dead and finished," he added.

Indeed, he said, hope requires faith, foremost faith in God.

"It is not about knowing the creed by heart, but about being aware of God's presence in our own lives," he told the local faithful, who filled the sanctuary to standing-room only capacity.

"Faith in God leads us to look beyond ourselves, to believe in the work of God, who is not distant or immutable, but on the contrary acts in the life of the world and of man," he continued. "Believing in God means relying not only on our own actions and abilities, which often show their limitations. It means sharing and entrusting one's life and passion to God, knowing that this life and passion will become brighter and more complete in this divine friendship."

But hope also needs patience, the patriarch said, and knowing how to wait in a time when everything must be immediate.

"We want peace right now. We want an end to pain now. We want the solution to our problems now, and we do not resign ourselves to the idea that we should wait instead, patiently but without resignation," he said.

"Hope also requires knowing how to entrust the fruits of one's labor to others with time and patience," he added, reminding the faithful that hope can "illuminate" that expectation for peace with action and urging them not to use the current difficulties as an excuse for not taking action and "building something beautiful" and contributing to the construction of "friendship, solidarity and love."