Saint Gertrude Parish - Lasne

Let us pray for the hostages still held in Gaza

for two years now

10. During the Jubilee Year, we will be called to be tangible signs of hope for many brothers and sisters living in distressing conditions. I am thinking of prisoners who, deprived of their liberty, experience daily, in addition to the harshness of confinement, emotional deprivation, imposed restrictions, and, in many cases, a lack of respect.

I propose that governments, in this Jubilee Year, take initiatives that restore hope; forms of amnesty or sentence reduction aimed at helping people regain confidence in themselves and in society; pathways for reintegration into the community that correspond to a concrete commitment to respecting the laws.

The plea for acts of mercy and liberation that allow for a fresh start is an ancient call that comes from the Word of God and endures with all its wisdom: “You shall consecrate this fiftieth year and proclaim liberty to all the inhabitants of the land” (Lev 25:10). The Mosaic Law is echoed by the prophet Isaiah: “The Lord has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Isa 61:1-2). These are the words that Jesus makes his own at the beginning of his ministry, declaring the “year of the Lord’s favor” fulfilled in himself (cf. Lk 4:18-19).