FAITH MATTERS
With Pope Francis declaring 2025 a Jubilee year, we should look to the future with hope
‘Pilgrims of Hope’ is the theme for the Holy Year, which is marked every quarter century and comes at a time when the country and world are faced with many significant issues.
By Bishop Gerard Bergie
Contributing Columnist
Saturday, January 11, 2025
We begin a new year at a time when our country and world face many challenges. When we are faced with so many significant issues, it is easy to become discouraged.
Given this reality, it is quite significant the Catholic Church is celebrating a Holy Year in 2025. It began in St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve. The theme is “Pilgrims of Hope” and that is precisely what the world needs at this moment.
In the document inaugurating the Holy Year, Pope Francis states the following: “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. For all of us, may the Jubilee be an opportunity to be renewed in hope.” (Spes Non Confundit — “Hope does not disappoint.”)
The tradition of a Jubilee, or Holy Year, dates back to the Old Testament. The Law of Moses prescribed a special year for the Jewish people that was to take place every 50 years.
It was to be a time of forgiveness and freedom.
“You shall hallow the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land, to all its inhabitants; it shall be a jubilee for you when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his family.” (The Book of Leviticus 25:10)
In Western Christianity it was Pope Boniface VIII who, in the year 1300, officially began the tradition of a Jubilee with a pilgrimage.
At that time there were great hardships and disease effecting the world. There was also a desire for spiritual renewal. This pope proposed making a pilgrimage to Rome to visit the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul. The intention was to pray for God’s blessings and to seek divine mercy.
Initially, the length of time between Jubilees varied; however, it was not until 1425 that the current tradition of once every 25 years began.
A significant part of making a pilgrimage to Rome is walking through the Holy Year doors at the four major Basilicas of Rome (St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Mary Major and St. John Lateran) and to offer prayers at the tombs of the saints.
Many may not be able to travel to Rome; however, Christians can still open the “holy door” of their hearts to Christ.
For Catholic Christians, Pope Francis is asking us to focus on Christ during this Holy Year. He reminds us of the words of St. Paul: “Since we are justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing in the glory of God … Hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Rom 5:1-2.5)
It is God’s love for us that offers the greatest hope. We need not be troubled because we are loved. This simple fact should help us dispel any uncertainty about the present and anxiety about the future.
Let us courageously embrace the belief that “hope does not disappoint.” In a world where so many feel overwhelmed and discouraged, let us bring hope through the power of love.
May this Holy Year of 2025 be a time marked by the “hope that does not disappoint.”
Happy New Year.