Homily of Bishop Niall Coll for Mass to launch the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope
You might counsel me to change my friends when I tell you that a good number of them present as anxious even depressed about the world today.
Political uncertainty around the globe; terrible wars and human suffering in the Holy Land, Ukraine, Lebanon and countless other places; the aftereffects of the pandemic all serve to alarm many. Here in the West, we see a rise in anxiety and unhappiness among people, especially the young. Some scholars explain this in terms of the pervasive use of social media which is having a profound impact on mental health. Platforms designed for engagement often lead to social comparison, cyberbullying, and a distorted sense of reality. This is especially harmful to adolescents, who are in a critical period of identity formation. And parents and teachers are beginning to recognise the profound challenges that Artificial Intelligence is bringing.
Add to this the decline in face-to-face interactions: as digital communication replaces in-person interactions, young people are losing crucial opportunities to develop social skills and build meaningful relationships. This isolation fuels feelings of loneliness and unhappiness. Families today, we need to acknowledge, as we do on the Feast of the Holy Family, have to deal with complex challenges.
I could go on identifying examples of the issues which traumatise so many of us today – but that is unnecessary as the point is made: for many there is a crisis of hope. For many life lacks meaning, direction and purpose.
It is in the context of this crisis of un-hopefulness that we gather to play our part in Pope Francis’ proclamation of the 2025 Jubilee Year, aptly themed “Pilgrims of Hope.” This Jubilee invites us to address these deficiencies by embarking on a spiritual journey which seeks renewed meaning and purpose in life.
In his papal bull read at the beginning of this liturgy, Pope Francis emphasises that hope is not merely a fleeting sentiment but a steadfast anchor for our souls. He writes, “May the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the ‘door’ of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere, and to all as ‘our hope.’”
This call reminds us that in a world often overshadowed by despair and uncertainty, our faith in Christ illuminates our path, guiding us through life’s challenges.
The opening of the Holy Door at Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome on Christmas Eve – a truly iconic act, well reported online and in the news – marked the start of this Jubilee Year 2025. This sacred act symbolises Christ as the gateway to salvation and invites us to enter into a deeper relationship with Him. Truly, we are invited to a deeper sense of our baptismal calling to be His disciples, His followers, His witnesses in the world of everyday life. Pope Francis extends this invitation globally asking every diocese to celebrate in the manner we are now doing so here in Ossory, so as to make the journey of hope accessible to all Catholics, other Christians and people of goodwill.
Pope Francis urges us to translate our hope into tangible acts of love and mercy. He envisions the Jubilee as a time when we become “tangible signs of hope for those of our brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind.” This mission calls us to reach out to the marginalised, to heal divisions, and to be instruments of God’s compassion in the world.
The Holy Father’s decision to open a Holy Door within a Roman prison (Rebibbia Prison Complex) on Saint Stephen’s Day serves as a powerful testament to the boundless nature of God’s mercy. It is a call for all, regardless of circumstance, to look to the future with hope and renewed confidence.
To finish, we may ask what is the “hope” that Pope Francis calls us to, in other words what might it look like in the concrete circumstances of our own lives:
- Hope looks like forgiving when you want to stay angry. It looks like being kind to someone who doesn’t deserve it, because you believe they can change.
- Hope looks like standing up for what is right, even when it costs you, because you believe justice matters.
- Hope is getting out of bed in the morning when you’re struggling and depressed and uncertain – believing – just maybe – that today might bring something new.
- Hope looks like parents raising children in a digital world, helping them to understand that their value goes beyond screens, and teaching them to find their identity in something deeper than “likes” and “comments” on social media.
- Hope looks like peacemakers who refuse to give up on reconciliation … and so much more.
As we journey through this Jubilee Year, I invite both you and those rather weathered friends of mine that I mentioned at the beginning of this homily to embrace the hope that does not disappoint. Let hope inspire us to deepen our faith, to act with love, and to become beacons of hope in our homes, parishes and wider communities. In doing so, we fulfil the very essence of our calling as “Pilgrims of Hope,” bringing light to the world and drawing closer to the heart of Christ. Truly the work of the Lord’s disciples!
ENDS
- This Mass was celebrated by Bishop Niall Coll in Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Kilkenny, Diocese of Ossory, on Sunday 29 December 2024.
- A Jubilee Year is celebrated every twenty-five years by the worldwide Church during which Catholics come together to rejoice in the faith. Over the Jubilee Year we will be encouraged to show mercy, forgive past wrongs, relieve debt, to spiritually rejuvenate, and be offered an opportunity to recieve a plenary indulgence.
