Just before Christmas, when many of us were busy with holiday preparations and distractions and end-of-year duties, the church announced and began a Jubilee Year of Hope.
Now that the quiet of winter has descended, we ponder what that means so that we can fully participate in all that is good about this beautiful new year.
The theme of this Jubilee is “Peregrinantes in Spem” (Pilgrims in Hope). Let’s take a few moments to look carefully at the nomenclature so that, as pilgrims on this earthly journey, we can live more fully — genuinely joyful in the light of hope.
The concept of a jubilee year has its roots in the Old Testament, where every 50th year was set aside as a time for forgiveness of debts, the liberation of slaves and the restoration of property to its rightful owners (Lv 25). It was a time of renewal, of healing, and of reconciliation — a fresh beginning for both individuals and communities. This tradition was carried into the Christian faith, where jubilee years became opportunities for believers to experience profound spiritual renewal through prayer, penance and acts of charity. The Catholic Church usually celebrates a jubilee year every 25 years.
A jubilee by definition is a time of rejoicing. We are called to find joy in God’s mercy and grace and to reflect on his faithfulness. It is a time to remember that God is ever faithful, ever loving, and ever present in the life of the church, and to engage in acts of penance and reconciliation with joyful hearts. The invitation of a jubilee year is one of deep conversion — returning to God with our whole selves, acknowledging our failings, and embracing his boundless mercy.
In the context of “Peregrinantes in Spem,” the jubilee year calls us to embark on a journey rooted in hope. While this might be an actual physical pilgrimage to spiritual sites for some people, it can be a spiritual pilgrimage for all people. We journey toward God, not merely retracing steps from the past, but moving toward the fulfillment of his promises. This pilgrimage is not one of despair or resignation but of hopeful anticipation, knowing that God’s love is at work within us and in the world around us.
“Hope is the theological virtue 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. ‘The Holy Spirit … poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ Our Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life’ ” (CCC 1817). A theological virtue is a gift that comes from God and leads us back to God. Like other gifts, the gift of hope requires care. We are called in this year to be especially careful stewards of hope.
Hope is not a vague or passive wish for the future, but a living, active force that compels us to persevere even in times of difficulty. It is a virtue firmly anchored in the person of Jesus Christ, who is our ultimate source of joy and peace. Hope keeps our hearts fixed on the eternal, even when the trials of the world press in on us.
In the journey of a jubilee year, “Peregrinantes in Spem” challenges us to live in the tension between the present struggles and the future promise of salvation. Joyful pilgrims know that the road is long, and the path may be arduous, but they press forward with the sure confidence that God’s promises will be fulfilled. This is the essence of Christian hope: a hope that transforms our present moment and inspires us to act with charity, to forgive, to heal, and to walk with others on the road to God.
Hope also has a communal dimension in the jubilee year. We are not alone on this pilgrimage. The church, as a living body of believers, journeys together in faith, supporting and encouraging one another. “Peregrinantes in Spem” speaks to this shared journey of hope, where each of us plays a vital role in uplifting the other.
Step forward with joy into the Jubilee Year of Hope, grateful for the path before us. We know there will be challenges on the road ahead, but we walk with joyful expectation because each step draws us nearer to the promise of eternal life in Christ. Along the way, we find hope renewed in our hearts, not as a fleeting emotion, but as a deep, abiding trust in the goodness and mercy of God.
Foss, whose website is takeupandread.org, writes from Connecticut.
