Reflection 

Jubilee Year: Pilgrims of Hope                          Source: Jubilee Resource Pack for Parishes 

Jubilee years are a time of newness. They have been celebrated throughout the history of the Church, but their roots go back to the Old Testament, when the Israelites were commanded to celebrate a jubilee every 50 years… 

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).  

For this reason, the most striking part of the logo for this jubilee is the cross: bending towards humanity and forming an anchor, it depicts the cross as something to cling to, especially in rough seas. It is a contemporary ‘riff’ on an old biblical image. The epistle to the Hebrews describes the hope we have in Christ as ‘an anchor of the soul, as sure as it is firm’ (6:19).  

The cross is not a dead symbol from the past. It is a living sign of God’s unfathomable love, and one that carries us together in pilgrimage towards heaven.