Greetings my brothers and sisters,
On Christmas Eve of 2024, Pope Francis opened and passed through the Holy Door at St. Peter’s and the
Church began the celebration of another Jubilee Year. The theme of this one is Pilgrims of Hope. In his
Bull of Indiction, Spes Non Confundit, Pope Francis says this about the Jubilee:
Hope is also the central message of the coming Jubilee that, in accordance with an ancient
tradition, the Pope proclaims every twenty-five years. My thoughts turn to all those pilgrims of
hope who will travel to Rome in order to experience the Holy Year and to all those others who,
though unable to visit the City of the Apostles Peter and Paul, will celebrate it in their local
Churches. For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the
Lord Jesus, the “door” (cf. Jn 10:7.9) of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim
always, everywhere and to all as “our hope” (1 Tim 1:1).
We can rightfully ask ourselves, then: Is Jesus truly my hope? That is, is it my earnest and heartfelt
desire to encounter Jesus and to cling to him as the source of my life and true happiness? If this is true,
then I am certainly going to be able to “proclaim always, everywhere and to all” that Jesus is “our hope”!
If this is not true, then I will clearly not be able to make this proclamation and the Jubilee Year will not
be a time of celebration and growth but just another “Church thing”. Why would I as a Catholic not have
Jesus as my hope?
One reason might be because for me Jesus is not so much somebody that I know and encounter but
more of an idea or historical figure. Sometimes Jesus can be considered more of a philosophy of life than
a true person whom I can know and love. When this is the case, it is easier to have him as just another
item or activity in my life and not the source of my life. I can seek to place my hope in other activities
which seem to hold more weight: family, work, financial stability, prestige…the list can be quite long!
The problem with placing my hope in anyone of these other “activities” is that ultimately, they will
disappoint because they are limited and imperfect. Pope Francis recognizes this reality:
Everyone knows what it is to hope. In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and
expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring. Even so,
uncertainty about the future may at times give rise to conflicting feelings, ranging from
confident trust to apprehensiveness, from serenity to anxiety, from firm conviction to hesitation
and doubt. Often we come across people who are discouraged, pessimistic and cynical about the
future, as if nothing could possibly bring them happiness.
This discouragement, pessimism and cynicism is quite possible when my hope is not centered in Jesus
and my encounter with him. In this spirit, the Pope expresses his hope: may the Jubilee be an
opportunity to be renewed in hope. I join my hopes to that of the Pope for all of us. These monthly
reflections for this year, therefore, will center on the Jubilee Year theme and how we can make certain
that our hope is truly centered in Jesus and that Jesus is for each one of us a person whom we
encounter and seek to love above all others. Putting our certain hope in Jesus will allow us to hear more
easily and with a more open heart his call. May we always have such certainty!
Wishing you all a blessed and prayerful Jubilee Year 2025.
St. Joseph Marello, pray for us.
Fr. Brian, OSJ
