Happy New Year, my friends! As we continue to bask in the graces of the Christmas season, we begin a special New Year, a “Jubilee year,” and specifically a year proclaimed as the year of hope.
In pondering what I should write about this month, two things came to mind: taking a good look at the last year and looking forward toward this “Jubilee year.” Could there be a connection between the two?
Naturally, as a therapist, I believe there’s great benefit in looking back, understanding where we’ve come from and how it’s affected us. And as a coach, I see tremendous value in looking forward, setting goals, learning new skills, and improving our mindset.
So, I got to thinking, what exactly is a Jubilee year? We know it’s kind of special and only comes around every 25 years now. But what is it?
So, I did a little research and the first thing I saw was this:
A Holy Year of the forgiveness of sin, conversion and joyful celebration.
The forgiveness of sin says it all and connects all the dots for me. And of course, without the forgiveness of sin, there can be no conversion and certainly no joyful celebration.
When we boil it all down, isn’t healing from the past ultimately about the forgiveness of sin? As we uncover our hurts, reflect on our own sins, failings, weaknesses, and mistakes, it truly boils down to forgiveness.
So, as we think about this coming year of Hope, perhaps we can reflect on last year first.
What were you highlights?
What were your wins and accomplishments?
What were your disappointments?
What were your losses?
What are your regrets?
Let’s first look at your disappointments, losses, and regrets. Sometimes life deals us very painful periods where bad things seem to happen in clusters, a season of suffering, if you will. Perhaps that describes your year. You may have lost someone close to you through death, broken relationships, distance. You may have lost jobs or opportunities. You may have struggled financially. You may regret your own actions and behaviors and find yourself stuck in self-recrimination.
Whatever it was, are you holding resentments? Are you angry? Are you worried? Did you make resolutions you didn’t keep and hesitate even trying again this year? Are you tired? Have you lost hope?
Okay. You’re not alone. And you’re not unusual. And you’re not unforgiveable. And you can have a better year…a year of jubilee, a year rooted in hope.
So how do you get there?
One word: Forgiveness.
Holding onto the hurts of the past, the pain of last year, or the failings you beat yourself up about, will get you nowhere. It will keep you in chains. This is the year of Jubilee. This is a year of freedom, of conversion leading ultimately to joy—if you allow yourself to accept it. It’s up to you if you take advantage of it. But make no mistake, on many levels, it starts with forgiveness.
Now, I know it’s not easy to forgive, especially when the offending party hasn’t shown remorse; when their crimes are so heinous to be unspeakable. That’s where therapy comes in—and specifically Catholic therapy. Some sins we can’t move past alone and without the grace of God. Make this the year you reach out and get the help you need. You don’t have to carry your crosses alone.
The hardest person to forgive though is often yourself. Even when you’ve been clearly victimized, it may be hard to not feel that, on some level, it was your fault. Our minds can do that as a way to take back some control—if it was your fault then you can fix it, or atone for it, or never let it happen again, or beat yourself up for it. But that doesn’t work. It just doesn’t work. Reach out to a Catholic therapist and start your road to healing.
In this Jubilee year, begin with a good confession. Then leave your sins behind you. Once forgiven, they are gone, forgotten by God. Don’t take the bait when the devil tries to remind you again and again. Leave them at the foot of the cross. They’ve been paid for.
What were the good things last year?
Now, it’s time to make a concerted effort to look at the good things from last year…and even if you went through a terrible year, there were likely some good things and, most importantly, lessons learned. And lessons learned and put into practice, are always good things.
So, what were your highlights? Take some time to review month by month. Do you take a lot of pictures? Go through your camera roll or your social media posts. Review your calendar. What delighted you? What surprised you? What do you fondly remember when you reminisce?
What were your accomplishments?
Make a list of all of them, big and small. Even simple wins like losing 3 lbs., or eliminating sugar or caffeine, or organizing that junk drawer that’s driven you crazy for 5 years. Celebrate them. Make a big deal about them.
What did you learn last year?
Perhaps through trials you learned who your real friends are. Or perhaps you found new friends, or strengths and capabilities you didn’t know you had. Perhaps you learned patience, or more compassion. Perhaps you learned to set some boundaries or maybe even just that you need to.
Maybe you learned some practical things—new skills, a new hobby, a new language. List them all.
Last of all, how much time did you spend on things you over which you had no control?
This might be the most important question to ask yourself. Did you spend time worrying over the weather, over what other people may do or think or say? Did you worry about the state of the world? Easy to do…but did it solve anything? How much of your energy did you use up?
How much time did you spend trying to control what other people did, or felt or thought? Take some time thinking on this one. You may be surprised.
How much time did you work on how you felt, what you thought or what you did? What did you do to improve your outlook, build your skills or bolster your faith?
As you move forward into this new year, armed with an understanding of the past year, focus forward. Spend time only on what you can control and let the rest go. Choose hope. Choose peace in your life. This Jubilee year is for you!
Learn more about the Jubilee year here.
Wishing you abundant graces and blessings!
Allison is also the Founder and President of www.CatholicTherapists.com, and CatholicLifeCoaches.com, which provide nationwide networks of screened and dedicated Catholic therapists and Catholic life coaches.
- Ep. 352 How Do You Know What God Wants? - August 19, 2026
- Ep. 351 Is Your Therapist Reinforcing a Victim Mentality? - August 12, 2026
- Hate the Sin but Love the Sinner…Do We Have That Backwards? - August 12, 2026
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