Reflection

The Holy Father has dedicated 2025 as a Jubilee Year, something which happens every 25 years. The motto is ‘Pilgrims of Hope’, intending 2025 to be a year of hope for the world.

The Jubilee Year in the Catholic Church offers a unique and profound opportunity for evangelisation in Catholic schools. 

St Mary of the Cross Mackillop used to say: ‘We are but travellers here.’ For the 2025 Jubilee Year, Pope Francis invites us to reflect on what it means to be pilgrims of hope: a people who are not only travellers here but walking in joyful anticipation of ‘the heavenly goal to which we have been called’ (SNC §25). 

Pope Francis believes that, in today’s world, hope suffers; that too many people have been robbed by cynicism and despair. During Jubilee 2025, he wants everyone to have ‘an intense experience of the love of God that awakens in hearts the sure hope of salvation in Christ’ (SNC §6). Only this hope—born from knowing that nothing can separate us from God’s love (Rom 8:35-39)—can breathe life back into weary souls. 

This hope is not optimism. It is not a forced positivity in the face of hardship and evil. It is a grace from God, a trust in the Lord’s promises: that he is good, that he is merciful, and that we are journeying towards the one who says, ‘Look, I am making everything new’ (Rev 21:5).