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A Call to Live Jubilee Year 2025

In his letter announcing the Jubilee Year of Hope 2025, Pope Francis states, “We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision.”

Hope - what a desperately needed virtue! So, I ask myself, how strong is my belief in the hope that Pope Francis describes? Quite honestly, it’s lacking. I sincerely desire to be hopeful but it takes more than desire, doesn’t it? For me, it takes a leap of faith (yet another virtue) to get anywhere near the degree of hope for which I long.

As a possible step, might I suggest identifying people of hope and then reflecting on how they live(d): Mary, St. Angela Merici, St. Marie of the Incarnation, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, and my own relatives, friends and colleagues who are pillars of hope. Some reflection questions you might use:

  • What or whom is their hope grounded in?
  • Did they have struggles in maintaining hope? How did they work through these struggles into more positive feelings and renewed optimism?
  • Are there specific practices they used to strengthen their hope? Describe them.
  • Who were their own models of hope? What characteristics define them?

May your living throughout this Jubilee Year be infused with peaceful relaxation into the loving embrace of our gracious God.

“The coming Jubilee will thus be a Holy Year marked by the hope that does not fade, our hope in God. May it help us to recover the confident trust that we require, in the Church and in society, in our interpersonal relationships, in international relations, and in our task of promoting the dignity of all persons and respect for God’s gift of creation.” (Pope Francis, Spes Non Confundit 25)

Sister Virginia DeVinne