Although the Christmas season has just ended, it is time to prepare for Christmas 2024, which will begin the Holy Year 2025, lasting from Dec. 24, 2024, to Dec. 14, 2025.
A Holy Year, or Jubilee Year, is celebrated every 25 years; the last one, not counting the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy from December 2015 to November 2016, took place in 2000 at the beginning of the new millennium. The Jubilee Year is a time to reflect upon the blessings that God has bestowed, while deepening one’s confidence in the Lord.
In his Feb. 11, 2022, letter to the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, Pope Francis declared the motto for the Jubilee Year to be “Pilgrims of Hope.”
Pope Francis noted in his letter that during the past few years, “not a single country has been unaffected by the sudden outbreak of an epidemic that made us experience first-hand not only the tragedy of dying alone, but also the uncertainty and fleetingness of existence, and in doing so, has changed our very way of life.” Other contributors to these feelings are the wars around the world, poverty, the changes in climate, mass media, and the rapid advancement of technology, which causes more stress than remedies for humanity.
These factors can lead one to despair, a certain type of sadness, resulting in a judgment that nothing can be done; the future is bleak. This despair can lead people to become harshly individualistic, caring only for themselves, becoming blind to the needs of others. Such despair can also lead to small-mindedness; the issues are just too great, so why bother to address them.
The other side of despair is presumption: that everything will all work out in the end, and therefore I need not do anything. Such presumption tends to lead one to be concerned only for his/her own welfare, neither taking note of nor addressing the needs of others.
Theologically, despair and presumption lead a person to conclude that there is nothing God can do for me or that God is so merciful, I do not need to be concerned about making it to heaven. Both attitudes prevent one from continual conversion in Christ, striving every day to live in the love of God.
Between despair and presumption is the virtue of hope, which recognizes that although a certain good is difficult to obtain, it is possible – either by some effort or by the assistance of another. The theological virtue of hope is defined as that “by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 1817) The gift of fear of the Lord is associated with the theological virtue of hope, for it is a recognition that God exists: “For he that comes to God, must believe he is and rewards them who seek him.” (Heb 11:6)
In the same letter to the Pontifical Council, Pope Francis requested that the years 2023 and 2024 be in preparation for the Holy Year 2025. The preparation suggested for 2023 was a study of the four major documents of the Second Vatican Council. [Recall that the goal of this council was to make Jesus known to the world, particularly through his bride the Church. To these documents we can add Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical “Spe Salvi” (Saved in Hope).]
Pope Francis suggests that this year, 2024, be a year of prayer: “Prayer, above all else, to renew our desire to be in the presence of the Lord, to listen to him and to adore him.” He concludes his letter by putting forth the “Our Father” as the prayer that will strengthen our hope and lead us to living as disciples.
Pope Benedict also noted the importance of prayer for the development of hope. He noted that prayer deepens our desire for God, purifies us of self-deception and “awakens [one’s] conscience in such a way that it no longer aims at self-justification, and is no longer a mere reflection of [oneself] and those of [one’s] contemporaries who shape [one’s] thinking, but it becomes the capacity to listen to the Good itself.” (“Spe Salvi,” 33)
The “Our Father,” when prayed with intention and devotion, leads us to listen to God. It recognizes God as our Father; that all human beings are created in His image and likeness. The prayer leads us to desire to be with God, in heaven; to seek the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, so to do God’s will; to trust in God for the everyday needs as well as the supernatural blessings given in the Blessed Sacrament; to confidently seek God’s forgiveness, leading us to be forgiving; to rely on His divine assistance to overcome temptations and obstacles; to be protected from evil, particularly the pains of hell. The prayer ends where it began, a desire to be with God.
Praying the “Our Father” in this way will lift our spirits greater than when our favorite sports team wins. The Holy Spirit will fill disciples with a divine hope that will remind them that in this present world, we are “strangers and pilgrims.” (1 Peter 2:11) The hope born in us from the “Our Father” will lead us beyond despair that nothing can be done, leading us to do great things. This hope will break us out of the individualism that comes with presumption, allowing us to assist one another. Christian hope reminds the disciple that there is a future. This hope helps to move us toward that future and to assist others in reaching it as well.
Together, we are making our way to the Heavenly Jerusalem. The journey to heaven is difficult, but made possible by God’s grace. As 2024 begins, it is my prayer for all of us to prayerfully ponder and reflect upon what it means to be “Pilgrims of Hope.” Reading Pope Benedict’s “Spe Salvi” is a wonderful resource. Praying the “Our Father” devoutly and intentionally will allow the theological virtue of hope to grow in our hearts. This hope will allow us to respond to the changing times with courage, so that guided by faith, hope and charity, we will help make a better future for all people.
Father Jason Rocks is chancellor for the Diocese of Camden and pastor of Holy Eucharist Parish, Cherry Hill.
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