Eugene arrived in Rome during the jubilee year of 1825. This year we can appreciate his words in a deeper way as we live through a jubilee year with its invitation to encounter the mercy of God in a deeper way.
Returning to my monastery, I couldn’t resist the impulse of going into the basilica of Saint Mary Major again. I roamed through it for half an hour without dwelling on any particular object precisely. I enjoyed the beauty of this building and, as I was going about, I was greatly edified by the great number of zealous pilgrims crowded around the confessionals where the Dominican Fathers, seated in those spacious confessionals, listened charitably to them, and from time to time, extended the long cane fixed in front of them, like a pavilion standard, to touch the head or shoulders of those who knelt before them for this very purpose.
The entire sight both edified and touched me. I stopped to ponder it for some time. It was noon. All these good people had been fasting till then, since they were going to devoutly receive Holy Communion to gain the jubilee indulgence after they left the tribunal.