Jubilee 2025: Journey of Hope at St. Mary of the Angels Pope Francis has proclaimed 2025 a Jubilee Year for the Catholic Church throughout the world. The theme of this Jubilee Year is Pilgrims of Hope, reminding us that our lives don’t stand still but are on a sacred journey toward the fullness of God’s Kingdom in heaven. As St. Augustine said, “If we are not moving forward, we are going backwards.” So as faith-filled pilgrims, let us move forward, sustained by hope, and strengthened by the company of all believers.
Opening the Jubilee Year 2025, Pope Francis begins his bull with St. Paul’s words: Spes non confundit—“Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5). This Jubilee Year should be a “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)” (n. 1) Our life’s journey, then, will be one filled with hope as we strive to reach our eternal home in heaven, because Jesus Christ accompanies us on that journey.
Pope Francis warns us of how the Internet can consume our space and time, distracting us on our journey, keeping us from contemplating God awe-inspiring creation and from appreciating “the changes of the seasons and their harvests, observe the life of animals and their cycles of growth, and enjoy the clarity of vision of Saint Francis” (ibid. 4). So, in this Jubilee Year, let us contemplate “the beauty of creation and masterpieces of art, we learn to treasure the richness of different experiences and cultures, and are inspired to lift up that beauty, in prayer, to God, in thanksgiving for his wondrous works” (ibid. 5). We should see the beauty of St. Mary of the Angels as helping us do just that.
As we journey together into this Jubilee Year of 2025, which is meant to be a time of renewal and reconciliation, I invite each of you to reflect deeply on what this sacred time means for our parish and for your personal walk with Christ. The Pope encourages the Church to use the Jubilee to give special care “to prepare priests and the faithful to celebrate the sacrament of Confession and to make it readily available in its individual form” (ibid.). Certainly, we will continue to do this at St. Mary of the Angels, embracing the Sacrament of Reconciliation with joy and humility by allowing Christ to accompany us in our inward renewal and to heal our souls.
A Jubilee Year is meant to be a gift—a moment in the life of the Church when we are called to experience the abundance of God’s mercy. Are we grateful to God for this gift? Are we responding to it as the invitation to deepen our commitment to prayer, reconciliation, and acts of love? I encourage you to participate wholeheartedly in deepening your personal life of prayer and bring your family and friends along.
This year also reminds us to reach outward. Let us find ways to live out our faith by serving others—assisting family members as well as the poor and marginalized, or simply being a source of encouragement to those around us. Perhaps you would consider volunteering at Midtown or Metro as a tutor or mentor.
May this Jubilee Year fill you with hope, joy, and renewed faith. Let us walk together, as a parish family, trusting in the boundless mercy of God and seeking His will in all that we do.
Fr. John Waiss
Pastor
