Journeying through the 2025 as Jubilant Pilgrims of Hope by Michelle Tan

The author shares some reflections on the Jubilee Year of Hope, with special emphasis for educators.

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A happy New Year 2025 to one and all! And to everyone reading this on or before January 12, a blessed Christmastide too! We have just ushered in the Jubilee Year of Hope, declared by Pope Francis in May 2024 through a Papal Bull of Indiction (official Vatican document) entitled Spes Non Confundit (Hope Does Not Disappoint, SNC). 1 This holy year was officially inaugurated in Rome on 24 December 2024 with the Pope’s opening of the Holy Door at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and here in Singapore with an opening Mass celebrated by Cardinal William Goh on 28 December 2024 at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd. It will end on 6 January 2026, the feast of the Epiphany. To help us reap fully the fruits of this Jubilee Year, which is themed ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ , let us ponder on the following:

1. Jubilee

Under the Old Testament Mosaic law (Leviticus 25:8-55; 27: 16-25, the 50th year occurring at the end of 7 cycles of 7 years was to be a year of special grace and restoration dedicated to God and the remembrance of his mercy, where creditors forgave all debts owed to them, mortgagees returned land to their ancestral owners, masters set their slaves free, and land was allowed to lie fallow. Each such year was proclaimed by the blowing of a trumpet fashioned from a rams’ horn, in Hebrew yovel, from which the English jubilee is derived. In the age of the Church, Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of this law, and Isaiah’s prophecy: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. ” (Luke 4: 18-19)

Now proclaimed every 25 years, rather than every 50, today’s jubilee years are opportunities given to us by the Church “to re-establish a proper relationship with the Lord, with one another, and with all of creation.”

2. Hope

The Jubilee Year of 2025 is centred on hope. The source of this hope is Jesus Christ.

Pope Benedict XVI wrote: “[Christ is] the true shepherd, the one who knows even the path that passes through the valley of death; one who walks with me even on the path of final solitude, where no one can accompany me, guiding me through: he himself has walked this path, he has descended into the kingdom of death, he has conquered death, and he has returned to accompany us now and to give us the certainty that, together with him, we can find a way through. The realisation that there is One who, with his ‘rod and his staff comfort me’ so that ‘I fear no evil’ (Psalm 23:4), this was the new ‘hope’ that arose over the life of believers.”

Pope Francis reiterates that the death and resurrection of Jesus is the heart of our faith and the basis of our hope,^ and assures us that “Hope is not an empty word, or a vague desire of ours that things may turn out for the best; hope is a certainty, because it is founded on God’s fidelity to His promises. And this is why it is called a theological virtue: because it is infused by God and has God as its guarantor.”

3. Pilgrimage

The Vatican Jubilee website explains: “The word pilgrimage comes from the Latin per ager meaning ‘across the fields’ or perhaps from per eger meaning ‘border crossing’; both possible origins point to the distinctive aspect of undertaking a journey.

In the Bible, Abraham is described as a person on a journey: “Go forth from your land, your relatives, and from your father’s house” (Genesis 12:1). With these words Abraham begins his adventure, which ends in the Promised Land.

Jesus’ ministry can also be seen as a journey, from Galilee to the Holy City of Jerusalem.

Christ himself calls His disciples to walk this road, and even today Christians are those who follow him and set out after Him.”

Pope Benedict XVI reflected:

“To go on pilgrimage is not simply to visit a place to admire its treasures of nature, art or history. To go on pilgrimage really means to step out of ourselves in order to encounter God where he has revealed himself, where his grace has shone with particular splendour and produced rich fruits of conversion and holiness among those who believe.”

4. Encounter

The Jubilee Year’s theme reminds us that we are all members of the pilgrim People of God making their earthly journey towards the heavenly Jerusalem, led by Jesus the Good Shepherd, called to “step out of ourselves”.

In the words of the Vatican Jubilee website: “When we travel, we do not only change place physically, but we also change ourselves. Hence, it is important to prepare ourselves well, to plan the route, and learn about the destination… Along the way our traveling companions enrich us with new ways of understanding things and fresh perspectives.

Contemplation of creation is also part of the journey. Pilgrimage is an experience of conversion, of transforming one’s very being to conform it to the holiness of God.”

Our recent participation in the Synod on Synodality has surely prepared us for this Jubilee, having trained us to walk together as Church, sharing and listening to each other from and with the heart in honest and open dialogue, and discerning collectively on where to go next as Church and individual.

May this holy year continue to offer us “precious times for taking stock of our lives, both as individuals and as communities” and “opportunities for reflection, recollection, and listening to what the Holy Spirit is saying to us today through hearts open to the Lord.”

5. Mission

The hope of the Pope is therefore: “For everyone, 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!’.”

He reminds us why we are sent to proclaim the Good News of Christ our hope:

“Hope is not an empty word, or a vague desire of ours that things may turn out for the best; hope is a certainty, because it is founded on God’s fidelity to His promises. And this is why it is called a theological virtue: because it is infused by God and has God as its guarantor. It is not a passive virtue, which merely waits for things to happen. It is a supremely active virtue that helps make them happen.

A Christian cannot be satisfied with having hope; he or she must also radiate hope, be a sower of hope. It is the most beautiful gift that the Church can give to all of humanity” especially in our present time, when war, violence, natural disaster and ills of every kind seem to overwhelm the world.

He writes: “The apostle Peter exhorted the first Christians with these words: ‘Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope’. But he added a recommendation: ‘Do it with gentleness and reverence’ (1 Peter 3:15-16). This is because it is not so much the strength of the arguments that will convince people, but rather the love that we know how to put in them. This is the first and most effective form of evangelisation. And it is open to everyone!”

The logo of the Jubilee of Hope

The official is a beautiful representation of what we must strive for this year.

“The logo representing all of humanity, coming from the four corners of the earth. They embrace each other to indicate the solidarity and fraternity which should unite all peoples. The figure at the front is holding onto the cross. It is not only the sign of our faith, but also of our hope, which can never be abandoned, because we are always in need of hope, especially in our moments of greatest need.

There are the rough waves under the figures, symbolising the fact that life’s pilgrimage does not always go smoothly in calm waters. Often the circumstances of daily life and events in the wider world require a greater call to hope. That’s why we should pay special attention to the lower part of the cross which has been elongated and turned into the shape of an anchor which is let down into the waves. The anchor is well known as a symbol of hope. In maritime jargon the ‘anchor of hope’ refers to the reserve anchor used by vessels involved in emergency manoeuvres to stabilise the ship during storms.

It is worth noting that the image illustrates the pilgrim’s journey not as an individual undertaking, but rather as something communal, marked by an increasing dynamism leading one ever closer to the cross. The cross in the logo is by no means static, but it is also dynamic. It bends down towards humanity, not leaving human beings alone, but stretching out to them to offer the certainty of its presence and the security of hope.”

Stepping out into the Jubilee Year

As we begin the new school year, let us ponder, with the above as guidance, what the Jubilee Year might mean for us as educators, and for our schools, our families and our faith communities. May it inspire us to think about concrete practical ways we can proclaim the hope we have in Christ to those God has put into our lives, especially our young people.

A good way to begin is with Pope Francis’ Jubilee Prayer:

Holy Mary, Mother of God and Our Lady of Hope, pray for us!
Blessed, happy and holy Jubilee Year!