The spiritual door is open. Will we have the courage to go through it this jubilee year?
The actual holy door was opened by Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on Christmas Eve, inaugurating the Jubilee Year of Hope. For the rest of the year, pilgrims from around the world will pass through the door, searching for eternal life. The door symbolizes our faith in the salvation offered through Jesus Christ, the one portal to eternal life.
A jubilee year, celebrated every 25 years and sometimes on special occasions (such as 1933, marking 1,900 years since Christ’s death and resurrection), is a time of renewal. Dating back to Old Testament times, jubilee years were occasions for the forgiveness of debts, the freeing of slaves and prisoners, and gratitude for God’s blessings. Pilgrimages were rooted in the tradition of people returning to their family’s place of origin during jubilee years.
We are all encouraged to make a pilgrimage in a jubilee year. While Rome expects record numbers of tourists and pilgrims this year, it is not practical for every Christian to journey to the Eternal City. But don’t let that stop you from being a pilgrim! We can all be pilgrims in our own dioceses, or even in our own homes.
Pope Francis has chosen “hope” as the theme of this jubilee and outlines many reasons for this in his papal bull Spes Non Confundit (“Hope Does Not Disappoint”), a phrase from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans. The entire text is worth a read and can be found online: Spes non confundit – Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025 (9 May 2024) | Francis.
Hope, says Pope Francis, “gives inward direction and purpose to the life of believers.” Who doesn’t want that?
The Pope offers practical advice on living out hope: “So that we may bear credible and attractive witness to the faith and love that dwell in our hearts; that our faith may be joyful and our charity enthusiastic; and that each of us may be able to offer a smile, a small gesture of friendship, a kind look, a ready ear, a good deed, in the knowledge that, in the Spirit of Jesus, these can become, for those who receive them, rich seeds of hope.”
Pope Francis also acknowledges obstacles to hope, including the widespread lack of patience, which he says is closely tied to hope. Cultivating patience in today’s fast-paced world, where instant gratification reigns, would help us hold on to hope, he explains.
“In our fast-paced world, we are used to wanting everything now,” writes Pope Francis. “We no longer have time simply to be with others; even families find it hard to get together and enjoy one another’s company. Patience has been put to flight by frenetic haste, and this has proved detrimental, since it leads to impatience, anxiety, and even gratuitous violence, resulting in more unhappiness and self-centredness.”
Our task as Catholic families is clear in this Year of Jubilee: to be pilgrims and bearers of hope, wherever we are. The best place to begin is in our own homes. If we make a conscious effort to bring hope to our families, it will become easier to share it with the wider world.
Imagine the graces that would abound for families who decide to unplug, spend real “face” time together, and perhaps make small-scale pilgrimages to local churches. There may be shrines in our own dioceses where we could walk together, learn about local church history, and pray for special intentions. Families might also rediscover the sacrament of reconciliation, another jubilee suggestion from Pope Francis, as a source of hope.
Jubilee years are not just for world travellers, clergy, or those with plenty of time. We are all in need of hope, and when we have it, we are called to share it.
Indeed, hope never disappoints.
Lazzuri writes from her home in Nova Scotia, where she lives with her husband, four of her six children, and her mom. She can be reached at clarelazzuri@gmail.com.
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