SPES NON
CONFUNDIT
BULL OF INDICTION
OF THE ORDINARY JUBILEE
OF THE YEAR 2025
FRANCIS
BISHOP OF ROME
SERVANT OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD
TO ALL WHO READ THIS LETTER
MAY HOPE FILL YOUR HEARTS
1. SPES NON
CONFUNDIT. “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5). In the
spirit of hope, the Apostle Paul addressed these words of encouragement to the
Christian community of Rome. Hope is also the central message of the coming
Jubilee that, in accordance with an ancient tradition, the Pope proclaims every
twenty-five years. My thoughts turn to all those pilgrims of hope who
will travel to Rome in order to experience the Holy Year and to all those
others who, though unable to visit the City of the Apostles Peter and Paul,
will celebrate it in their local Churches. For everyone, may the Jubilee be a
moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the “door”
(cf. Jn 10:7.9) of our salvation, whom the Church is charged
to proclaim always, everywhere and to all as “our hope” (1 Tim 1:1).
Everyone knows what
it is to hope. In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and
expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may
bring. Even so, uncertainty about the future may at times give rise to
conflicting feelings, ranging from confident trust to apprehensiveness, from
serenity to anxiety, from firm conviction to hesitation and doubt. Often we
come across people who are discouraged, pessimistic and cynical about the
future, as if nothing could possibly bring them happiness. For all of us, may
the Jubilee be an opportunity to be renewed in hope. God’s word helps us find
reasons for that hope. Taking it as our guide, let us return to the message
that the Apostle Paul wished to communicate to the Christians of Rome.
A word of hope
2. “Since we are
justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we
boast in our hope of sharing in the glory of God… Hope does not disappoint,
because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that
has been given to us” (Rom 5:1-2.5). In this passage, Saint Paul
gives us much to reflect upon. We know that the Letter to the Romans marked a
decisive turning point in his work of evangelization. Until then, he had
carried out his activity in the eastern part of the Empire, but now he turns to
Rome and all that Rome meant in the eyes of the world. Before him lay a great
challenge, which he took up for the sake of preaching the Gospel, which knows
no barriers or confines. The Church of Rome was not founded by Paul, yet he
felt impelled to hasten there in order to bring to everyone the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, crucified and risen from the dead, a message of hope that fulfils the
ancient promises, leads to glory and, grounded in love, does not disappoint.
3. Hope is born of
love and based on the love springing from the pierced heart of Jesus upon the
cross: “For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the
death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by
his life” (Rom 5:19). That life becomes manifest in our own life of
faith, which begins with Baptism, develops in openness to God’s grace and is
enlivened by a hope constantly renewed and confirmed by the working of the Holy
Spirit.
By his perennial
presence in the life of the pilgrim Church, the Holy Spirit illumines all
believers with the light of hope. He keeps that light burning, like an
ever-burning lamp, to sustain and invigorate our lives. Christian hope does not
deceive or disappoint because it is grounded in the certainty that nothing and
no one may ever separate us from God’s love: “Who will separate us from the
love of Christ? Hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness,
or peril or the sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors
through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor
angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor
height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” ( Rom 8:35.37-39).
Here we see the reason why this hope perseveres in the midst of trials: founded
on faith and nurtured by charity, it enables us to press forward in life. As
Saint Augustine observes: “Whatever our state of life, we cannot live without
these three dispositions of the soul, namely, to believe, to hope and to
love”. [1]
4. Saint Paul is a
realist. He knows that life has its joys and sorrows, that love is tested amid
trials, and that hope can falter in the face of suffering. Even so, he can
write: “We boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Rom 5:3-4).
For the Apostle, trials and tribulations mark the lives of those who preach the
Gospel amid incomprehension and persecution (cf. 2 Cor 6:3-10).
Yet in those very contexts, beyond the darkness we glimpse a light: we come to
realize that evangelization is sustained by the power flowing from Christ’s
cross and resurrection. In this way, we learn to practise a virtue closely
linked to hope, namely patience. In our fast-paced world, we are
used to wanting everything now. We no longer have time simply to be with
others; even families find it hard to get together and enjoy one another’s
company. Patience has been put to flight by frenetic haste, and this has proved
detrimental, since it leads to impatience, anxiety and even gratuitous
violence, resulting in more unhappiness and self-centredness.
Nor is there much
place for patience in this age of the Internet, as space and time yield to an
ever-present “now”. Were we still able to contemplate creation with a sense of
awe, we might better understand the importance of patience. We could appreciate
the changes of the seasons and their harvests, observe the life of animals and
their cycles of growth, and enjoy the clarity of vision of Saint Francis. In
his Canticle of the Creatures, written exactly eight hundred years
ago, Francis saw all creation as a great family and could call the sun his
“brother” and the moon his “sister”. [2] A renewed appreciation of the value
of patience could only prove beneficial for ourselves and for others. Saint
Paul often speaks of patience in the context of our need for perseverance and
confident trust in God’s promises. Yet, before all else, he testifies to God’s
own patience, as “the God of all patience and encouragement” ( Rom 15:5).
Patience, one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, sustains our hope and
strengthens it as a virtue and a way of life. May we learn to pray frequently
for the grace of patience, which is both the daughter of hope and at the same
time its firm foundation.
A journey of hope
5. This interplay of
hope and patience makes us see clearly that the Christian life is a journey calling
for moments of greater intensity to encourage and sustain hope
as the constant companion that guides our steps towards the goal of our encounter
with the Lord Jesus. I like to think that the proclamation of the first
Jubilee, in the year 1300, was preceded by a journey of grace inspired by
popular spirituality. How can we fail to recall the various ways by which the
grace of forgiveness had been poured out upon God’s holy and faithful People?
We are reminded, for example, of the great “Pardon” that Saint Celestine V
granted to all those who visited the Basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio in
Aquila on the 28th and 29th days of August 1294, six years before Pope Boniface
VIII instituted the Holy Year. The Church was already experiencing the grace of
the Jubilee as an outpouring of divine mercy. Even earlier, in 1216, Pope
Honorius III granted the plea of Saint Francis for an indulgence for all those
visiting the Porziuncola on the first two days of August. The same can be said
of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela: in 1222, Pope Callistus II allowed
the Jubilee to be celebrated there whenever the Feast of the Apostle James fell
on a Sunday. It is good that such “dispersed” celebrations of the Jubilee
continue, so that the power of God’s forgiveness can support and accompany
communities and individuals on their pilgrim way.
Pilgrimage is of course a fundamental element of
every Jubilee event. Setting out on a journey is traditionally associated with
our human quest for meaning in life. A pilgrimage on foot is a great aid for
rediscovering the value of silence, effort and simplicity of life. In the
coming year, pilgrims of hope will surely travel the ancient
and more modern routes in order to experience the Jubilee to the full. In Rome
itself, along with the usual visits to the catacombs and the Seven Churches,
other itineraries of faith will be proposed. Journeying from one country to
another as if borders no longer mattered, and passing from one city to another
in contemplating the beauty of creation and masterpieces of art, we learn to
treasure the richness of different experiences and cultures, and are inspired
to lift up that beauty, in prayer, to God, in thanksgiving for his wondrous
works. The Jubilee Churches along the pilgrimage routes and in the city of Rome
can serve as oases of spirituality and places of rest on the pilgrimage of
faith, where we can drink from the wellsprings of hope, above all by
approaching the sacrament of Reconciliation, the essential starting-point of
any true journey of conversion. In the particular Churches, special care should
be taken to prepare priests and the faithful to celebrate the sacrament of
Confession and to make it readily available in its individual form.
In a particular way,
I would like to invite the faithful of the Eastern Churches, particularly those
already in full communion with the Successor of Peter, to take part in this
pilgrimage. They have suffered greatly, often even unto death, for their
fidelity to Christ and the Church, and so they should feel themselves
especially welcome in this City of Rome that is also their Mother and cherishes
so many memories of their presence. The Catholic Church, enriched by their
ancient liturgies and the theology and spirituality of their Fathers, monks and
theologians, wants to give symbolic expression to its embrace of them and their
Orthodox brothers and sisters in these times when they endure their own Way of
the Cross, often forced by violence and instability to leave their homelands,
their holy lands, for safer places. For them, the hope born of the knowledge
that they are loved by the Church, which does not abandon them but follows them
wherever they go, will make the symbolism of the Jubilee all the more powerful.
6. The Holy Year of
2025 is itself in continuity with preceding celebrations of grace. In the last
Ordinary Jubilee, we crossed the threshold of two millennia from the birth of
Jesus Christ. Then, on 13 March 2015, I proclaimed an Extraordinary Jubilee for
the sake of making known and encouraging an encounter with the “merciful face
of God”, [3] the core message of the Gospel for
every man and woman of every time and place. Now the time has come for a new
Jubilee, when once more the Holy Door will be flung open to invite everyone to
an intense experience of the love of God that awakens in hearts the sure hope
of salvation in Christ. The Holy Year will also guide our steps towards yet
another fundamental celebration for all Christians: 2033 will mark the two
thousandth anniversary of the redemption won by the passion, death and
resurrection of the Lord Jesus. We are about to make a pilgrimage marked by
great events, in which the grace of God precedes and accompanies his people as
they press forward firm in faith, active in charity and steadfast in hope
(cf. 1 Thess 1:3) .
Sustained by this
great tradition, and certain that the Jubilee Year will be for the entire
Church a lively experience of grace and hope, I hereby decree that the Holy
Door of the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican will be opened on 24
December 2024, thus inaugurating the Ordinary Jubilee. On the following Sunday,
29 December 2024, I will open the Holy Door of my cathedral, Saint John
Lateran, which on 9 November this year will celebrate the 1700th anniversary
of its dedication. Then, on 1 January 2025, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of
God, the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major will be opened.
Finally, Sunday, 5 January 2025, will mark the opening of the Holy Door of the
Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. These last three Holy Doors
will be closed on Sunday, 28 December 2025.
I further decree
that on Sunday, 29 December 2024, in every cathedral and co-cathedral, diocesan
bishops are to celebrate Holy Mass as the solemn opening of the Jubilee Year,
using the ritual indications that will be provided for that occasion. For celebrations
in co-cathedrals, the bishop’s place can be taken by a suitably designated
delegate. A pilgrimage that sets out from a church chosen for the collectio and
then proceeds to the cathedral can serve to symbolize the journey of hope that,
illumined by the word of God, unites all the faithful. In the course of this
pilgrimage, passages from the present Document can be read, along with the
announcement of the Jubilee Indulgence to be gained in accordance with the
prescriptions found in the ritual indications mentioned above. The Holy Year
will conclude in the particular Churches on Sunday, 28 December 2025; in the
course of the year, every effort should be made to enable the People of God to
participate fully in its proclamation of hope in God’s grace and in the signs
that attest to its efficacy.
The Ordinary Jubilee
will conclude with the closing of the Holy Door in the Papal Basilica of Saint
Peter in the Vatican on 6 January 2026, the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the
Lord. During the Holy Year, may the light of Christian hope illumine every man
and woman, as a message of God’s love addressed to all! And may the Church bear
faithful witness to this message in every part of the world!
Signs of hope
7. In addition to
finding hope in God’s grace, we are also called to discover hope in the signs
of the times that the Lord gives us. As the Second Vatican Council
observed: “In every age, the Church has the responsibility of reading the signs
of the times and interpreting them in the light of the Gospel. In this way, in
language adapted to every generation, she can respond to people’s persistent
questions about the meaning of this present life and of the life to come, and
how one is related to the other”. [4] We need to recognize the immense
goodness present in our world, lest we be tempted to think ourselves
overwhelmed by evil and violence. The signs of the times, which include the
yearning of human hearts in need of God’s saving presence, ought to become
signs of hope.
8. The first sign of
hope should be the desire for peace in our world, which once
more finds itself immersed in the tragedy of war. Heedless of the
horrors of the past, humanity is confronting yet another ordeal, as many
peoples are prey to brutality and violence. What does the future hold for those
peoples, who have already endured so much? How is it possible that their
desperate plea for help is not motivating world leaders to resolve the numerous
regional conflicts in view of their possible consequences at the global level?
Is it too much to dream that arms can fall silent and cease to rain down
destruction and death? May the Jubilee remind us that those who are peacemakers
will be called “children of God” (Mt 5:9). The need for peace
challenges us all, and demands that concrete steps be taken. May diplomacy be
tireless in its commitment to seek, with courage and creativity, every opportunity
to undertake negotiations aimed at a lasting peace.
9. Looking to the
future with hope also entails having enthusiasm for life and a readiness to
share it. Sadly, in many situations this is lacking. A first effect of this is
the loss of the desire to transmit life. A number of countries are
experiencing an alarming decline in the birthrate as a result
of today’s frenetic pace, fears about the future, the lack of job security and
adequate social policies, and social models whose agenda is dictated by the
quest for profit rather than concern for relationships. In certain quarters,
the tendency “to blame population growth, instead of extreme and selective
consumerism on the part of some, is one way of refusing to face the [real]
issues”. [5]
Openness to life and
responsible parenthood is the design that the Creator has implanted in the
hearts and bodies of men and women, a mission that the Lord has entrusted to
spouses and to their love. It is urgent that responsible legislation on the
part of states be accompanied by the firm support of communities of believers
and the entire civil community in all its components. For the desire of
young people to give birth to new sons and daughters as a sign of the
fruitfulness of their love ensures a future for every society. This is a matter
of hope: it is born of hope and it generates hope.
Consequently, the
Christian community should be at the forefront in pointing out the need for
a social covenant to support and foster hope, one that is inclusive
and not ideological, working for a future filled with the laughter of babies
and children, in order to fill the empty cradles in so many parts of our world.
All of us, however, need to recover the joy of living, since men and women,
created in the image and likeness of God (cf. Gen 1:26),
cannot rest content with getting along one day at a time, settling for the here
and now and seeking fulfilment in material realities alone. This leads to a
narrow individualism and the loss of hope; it gives rise to a sadness that
lodges in the heart and brings forth fruits of discontent and intolerance.
10. During the Holy
Year, we are called to be tangible signs of hope for those of our brothers and
sisters who experience hardships of any kind. I think of prisoners who,
deprived of their freedom, daily feel the harshness of detention and its
restrictions, lack of affection and, in more than a few cases, lack of respect
for their persons. I propose that in this Jubilee Year governments undertake
initiatives aimed at restoring hope; forms of amnesty or pardon meant to help
individuals regain confidence in themselves and in society; and programmes of reintegration
in the community, including a concrete commitment to respect for law.
This is an ancient
appeal, one drawn from the word of God, whose wisdom remains ever timely. It
calls for acts of clemency and liberation that enable new beginnings: “You shall
hallow the fiftieth year and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to
all its inhabitants” ( Lev 25:10). This institution of the
Mosaic law was later taken up by the prophet Isaiah: “The Lord has sent me to
bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to proclaim the year of
the Lord’s favour” ( Is 61:1-2). Jesus made those words his
own at the beginning of his ministry, presenting himself as the fulfilment of
the “year of the Lord’s favour” (cf. Lk 4:18-19). In every
part of the world, believers, and their Pastors in particular, should be one in
demanding dignified conditions for those in prison, respect for their human
rights and above all the abolition of the death penalty, a provision at odds
with Christian faith and one that eliminates all hope of forgiveness and
rehabilitation. [6] In order to offer prisoners a
concrete sign of closeness, I would myself like to open a Holy Door in a
prison, as a sign inviting prisoners to look to the future with hope and a
renewed sense of confidence.
11. Signs of hope
should also be shown to the sick, at home or in hospital. Their
sufferings can be allayed by the closeness and affection of those who visit
them. Works of mercy are also works of hope that give rise to immense
gratitude. Gratitude should likewise be shown to all those healthcare workers
who, often in precarious conditions, carry out their mission with constant care
and concern for the sick and for those who are most vulnerable.
Inclusive attention
should also be given to all those in particularly difficult situations, who
experience their own weaknesses and limitations, especially those affected by
illnesses or disabilities that severely restrict their personal independence
and freedom. Care given to them is a hymn to human dignity, a song of hope that
calls for the choral participation of society as a whole.
12. Signs of hope
are also needed by those who are the very embodiment of hope, namely, the
young. Sadly, they often see their dreams and aspirations frustrated. We
must not disappoint them, for the future depends on their enthusiasm. It is
gratifying to see the energy they demonstrate, for example, by rolling up their
sleeves and volunteering to help when disasters strike and people are in need.
Yet it is sad to see young people who are without hope, who face an uncertain and
unpromising future, who lack employment or job security, or realistic prospects
after finishing school. Without the hope that their dreams can come true, they
will inevitably grow discouraged and listless. Escaping into drugs, risk-taking
and the pursuit of momentary pleasure does greater harm to them in particular,
since it closes them to life’s beauty and richness, and can lead to depression
and even self-destructive actions. For this reason, the Jubilee should inspire
the Church to make greater efforts to reach out to them. With renewed passion,
let us demonstrate care and concern for adolescents, students and young
couples, the rising generation. Let us draw close to the young, for they are
the joy and hope of the Church and of the world!
13. Signs of hope
should also be present for migrants who leave their homelands
behind in search of a better life for themselves and for their families. Their
expectations must not be frustrated by prejudice and rejection. A spirit of
welcome, which embraces everyone with respect for his or her dignity, should be
accompanied by a sense of responsibility, lest anyone be denied the right to a
dignified existence. Exiles, displaced persons and refugees, whom
international tensions force to emigrate in order to avoid war, violence and
discrimination, ought to be guaranteed security and access to employment and
education, the means they need to find their place in a new social context.
May the Christian
community always be prepared to defend the rights of those who are most vulnerable,
opening wide its doors to welcome them, lest anyone ever be robbed of the hope
of a better future. May the Lord’s words in the great parable of the Last
Judgement always find an echo in our hearts: “I was a stranger and you welcomed
me” for “just as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and
sisters, you did it to me” (Mt 25:35.40).
14. The elderly,
who frequently feel lonely and abandoned, also deserve signs of hope. Esteem
for the treasure that they are, their life experiences, their accumulated
wisdom and the contribution that they can still make, is incumbent on the
Christian community and civil society, which are called to cooperate in
strengthening the covenant between generations.
Here I would also
mention grandparents, who represent the passing on of faith and
wisdom to the younger generation. May they find support in the gratitude of
their children and the love of their grandchildren, who discover in them their
roots and a source of understanding and encouragement.
15. I ask with all
my heart that hope be granted to the billions of the poor, who
often lack the essentials of life. Before the constant tide of new forms of
impoverishment, we can easily grow inured and resigned. Yet we must not close
our eyes to the dramatic situations that we now encounter all around us, not
only in certain parts of the world. Each day we meet people who are poor or
impoverished; they may even be our next-door neighbours. Often they are
homeless or lack sufficient food for the day. They suffer from exclusion and
indifference on the part of many. It is scandalous that in a world possessed of
immense resources, destined largely to producing weapons, the poor continue to
be “the majority of the planet’s population, billions of people. These days
they are mentioned in international political and economic discussions, but one
often has the impression that their problems are brought up as an afterthought,
a question which gets added almost out of duty or in a tangential way, if not
treated merely as collateral damage. Indeed, when all is said and done, they
frequently remain at the bottom of the pile”. [7] Let us not forget: the poor are
almost always the victims, not the ones to blame.
Appeals for hope
16. Echoing the
age-old message of the prophets, the Jubilee reminds us that the goods
of the earth are not destined for a privileged few, but for everyone.
The rich must be generous and not avert their eyes from the faces of their
brothers and sisters in need. Here I think especially of those who lack water
and food: hunger is a scandal, an open wound on the body of our humanity, and
it summons all of us to a serious examination of conscience. I renew my appeal
that “with the money spent on weapons and other military expenditures, let us
establish a global fund that can finally put an end to hunger and favour
development in the most impoverished countries, so that their citizens will not
resort to violent or illusory situations, or have to leave their countries in
order to seek a more dignified life”. [8]
Another heartfelt
appeal that I would make in light of the coming Jubilee is directed to the more
affluent nations. I ask that they acknowledge the gravity of so many of their
past decisions and determine to forgive the debts of countries
that will never be able to repay them. More than a question of generosity, this
is a matter of justice. It is made all the more serious today by a new form of
injustice which we increasingly recognize, namely, that “a true ‘ecological
debt’ exists, particularly between the global North and South, connected to
commercial imbalances with effects on the environment and the disproportionate
use of natural resources by certain countries over long periods of time”. [9] As sacred Scripture teaches, the
earth is the Lord’s and all of us dwell in it as “aliens and tenants” ( Lev 25:23).
If we really wish to prepare a path to peace in our world, let us commit
ourselves to remedying the remote causes of injustice, settling unjust and
unpayable debts, and feeding the hungry.
17. The coming
Jubilee Year will also coincide with a significant date for all Christians,
namely, the 1700th anniversary of the celebration of
the first great Ecumenical Council, that of Nicaea. It is worth noting
that, from apostolic times, bishops have gathered on various occasions in order
to discuss doctrinal questions and disciplinary matters. In the first centuries
of Christianity, synods frequently took place in both East and West, showing
the importance of ensuring the unity of God’s People and the faithful
proclamation of the Gospel. The Jubilee can serve as an important occasion for
giving concrete expression to this form of synodality, which the Christian
community today considers increasingly necessary for responding to the urgent
need for evangelization. All the baptized, with their respective charisms and
ministries, are co-responsible for ensuring that manifold signs of hope bear
witness to God’s presence in the world.
The Council of
Nicaea sought to preserve the Church’s unity, which was seriously threatened by
the denial of the full divinity of Jesus Christ and hence his consubstantiality
with the Father. Some three hundred bishops took part, convoked at the behest
of the Emperor Constantine; their first meeting took place in the Imperial
Palace on 20 May 325. After various debates, by the grace of the Spirit they
unanimously approved the Creed that we still recite each Sunday at the
celebration of the Eucharist. The Council Fathers chose to begin that Creed by
using for the first time the expression “ We believe”, [10] as a sign that all the Churches
were in communion and that all Christians professed the same faith.
The Council of
Nicaea was a milestone in the Church’s history. The celebration of its
anniversary invites Christians to join in a hymn of praise and thanksgiving to
the Blessed Trinity and in particular to Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
“consubstantial with the Father”, [11] who revealed to us that mystery of
love. At the same time, Nicaea represents a summons to all Churches and
Ecclesial Communities to persevere on the path to visible unity and in the
quest of fitting ways to respond fully to the prayer of Jesus “that they may
all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us,
so that the world may believe that you have sent me” ( Jn 17:21).
The Council of
Nicaea also discussed the date of Easter. To this day, different approaches to
this question prevent celebrating the fundamental event of our faith on the
same day. Providentially, a common celebration will take place in the year
2025. May this serve as an appeal to all Christians, East and West, to take a
decisive step forward towards unity around a common date for Easter. We do well
to remind ourselves that many people, unaware of the controversies of the past,
fail to understand how divisions in this regard can continue to exist.
Anchored in hope
18. Hope, together
with faith and charity, makes up the triptych of the “theological virtues” that
express the heart of the Christian life (cf. 1 Cor 13:13; 1
Thess 1:3). In their inseparable unity, hope is the virtue that, so to
speak, gives inward direction and purpose to the life of believers. For this
reason, the Apostle Paul encourages us to “rejoice in hope, be patient in
suffering, and persevere in prayer” (Rom 12:12). Surely we need to
“abound in hope” (cf. Rom 15:13), so that we may bear credible
and attractive witness to the faith and love that dwell in our hearts; that our
faith may be joyful and our charity enthusiastic; and that each of us may be
able to offer a smile, a small gesture of friendship, a kind look, a ready ear,
a good deed, in the knowledge that, in the Spirit of Jesus, these can become,
for those who receive them, rich seeds of hope. Yet what is the basis of our
hope? To understand this, let us stop and reflect on “the reasons for our hope”
(cf. 1 Pet 3:15).
19. “I believe
in life everlasting”. [12] So our faith professes. Christian
hope finds in these words an essential foundation. For hope is “that
theological virtue by which we desire… eternal life as our happiness”. [13] The Second Vatican Council says of
hope that, “when people are deprived of this divine support, and lack hope in
eternal life, their dignity is deeply impaired, as may so often be seen today.
The problems of life and death, of guilt and suffering, remain unsolved, so
that people are frequently thrown into despair”. [14] We, however, by virtue of the hope
in which we were saved, can view the passage of time with the certainty that
the history of humanity and our own individual history are not doomed to a dead
end or a dark abyss, but directed to an encounter with the Lord of glory. As a
result, we live our lives in expectation of his return and in the hope of
living forever in him. In this spirit, we make our own the heartfelt prayer of
the first Christians with which sacred Scripture ends: “Come, Lord Jesus!” ( Rev 22:20).
20. The death and
resurrection of Jesus is the heart of our faith and the basis of our hope.
Saint Paul states this succinctly by the use of four verbs: “I handed on to you
as of first importance what I in turn had received, that Christ died for our
sins in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was
raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared
to Cephas and then to the twelve” ( 1 Cor 15:3-5).
Christ died, was buried, was raised and appeared.
For our sake, Jesus experienced the drama of death. The Father’s love raised
him in the power of the Spirit, and made of his humanity the first fruits of
our eternal salvation. Christian hope consists precisely in this: that in
facing death, which appears to be the end of everything, we have the certainty
that, thanks to the grace of Christ imparted to us in Baptism, “life is
changed, not ended”, [15] forever. Buried with Christ in
Baptism, we receive in his resurrection the gift of a new life that breaks down
the walls of death, making it a passage to eternity.
The reality of death,
as a painful separation from those dearest to us, cannot be mitigated by empty
rhetoric. The Jubilee, however, offers us the opportunity to appreciate anew,
and with immense gratitude, the gift of the new life that we have received in
Baptism, a life capable of transfiguring death’s drama. It is worth reflecting,
in the context of the Jubilee, on how that mystery has been understood from the
earliest centuries of the Church’s life. An example would be the tradition of
building baptismal fonts in the shape of an octagon, as seen in many ancient
baptisteries, like that of Saint John Lateran in Rome. This was intended to
symbolize that Baptism is the dawn of the “eighth day”, the day of the
resurrection, a day that transcends the normal, weekly passage of time, opening
it to the dimension of eternity and to life everlasting: the goal to which we
tend on our earthly pilgrimage (cf. Rom 6:22).
The most convincing
testimony to this hope is provided by the martyrs. Steadfast in
their faith in the risen Christ, they renounced life itself here below, rather
than betray their Lord. Martyrs, as confessors of the life that knows no end,
are present and numerous in every age, and perhaps even more so in our own day.
We need to treasure their testimony, in order to confirm our hope and allow it
to bear good fruit.
The martyrs, coming
as they do from different Christian traditions, are also seeds of unity,
expressions of the ecumenism of blood. I greatly hope that the Jubilee will
also include ecumenical celebrations as a way of highlighting the richness of
the testimony of these martyrs.
21. What, then, will
become of us after death? With Jesus, beyond this threshold we will find
eternal life, consisting in full communion with God as we forever contemplate
and share in his infinite love. All that we now experience in hope, we shall
then see in reality. We are reminded of the words of Saint Augustine: “When I
am one with you in all my being, there will be no more pain and toil; my life
shall be true life, a life wholly filled by you”. [16] What will characterize this
fullness of communion? Being happy. Happiness is our human
vocation, a goal to which all aspire.
But what is
happiness? What is the happiness that we await and desire? Not some fleeting
pleasure, a momentary satisfaction that, once experienced, keeps us longing for
more, in a desperate quest that leaves our hearts unsated and increasingly
empty. We aspire to a happiness that is definitively found in the one thing
that can bring us fulfilment, which is love. Thus, we will be able to say even
now: I am loved, therefore I exist; and I will live forever in the love that
does not disappoint, the love from which nothing can ever separate me. Let us
listen once more to the words of the Apostle: “I am convinced that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to
come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38-39).
22. Another reality
having to do with eternal life is God’s judgement, both at the end
of our individual lives and at the end of history. Artists have often attempted
to portray it – here we can think of Michelangelo’s magnum opus in
the Sistine Chapel – in accordance with the theological vision of their times
and with the aim of inspiring a sense of awe in the viewer. We should indeed
prepare ourselves consciously and soberly for the moment when our lives will be
judged, but we must always do this from the standpoint of hope, the theological
virtue that sustains our lives and shields them from groundless fear. The
judgement of God, who is love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8.16), will surely
be based on love, and in particular on all that we have done or failed to do
with regard to those in need, in whose midst Christ, the Judge himself, is
present (cf. Mt 25:31-46). Clearly, then, we are speaking of a
judgement unlike any handed down by human, earthly tribunals; it should be
understood as a rapport of truth with the God who is love and with oneself,
within the unfathomable mystery of divine mercy. Sacred Scripture states: “You
have taught your people that the righteous must be kind, and you have filled
your children with good hope, because you give repentance for sins, so that…
when we are judged, we may expect mercy” ( Wis 12:19.22). In
the words of Benedict XVI: “At the moment of judgement we experience and we
absorb the overwhelming power of his love over all the evil in the world and in
ourselves. The pain of love becomes our salvation and our joy”. [17]
Judgement, then,
concerns the salvation in which we hope and which Jesus has won for us by his
death and resurrection. It is meant to bring us to a definitive encounter with
the Lord. The evil we have done cannot remain hidden; it needs to be purified in
order to enable this definitive encounter with God’s love. Here we begin to see
the need of our prayers for all those who have ended their earthly pilgrimage,
our solidarity in an intercession that is effective by virtue of the communion of
the saints, and the shared bond that makes us one in Christ, the firstborn of
all creation. The Jubilee indulgence, thanks to the power of prayer, is
intended in a particular way for those who have gone before us, so that they
may obtain full mercy.
23. Indeed,
the indulgence is a way of discovering the unlimited nature of
God’s mercy. Not by chance, for the ancients, the terms “mercy” and
“indulgence” were interchangeable, as expressions of the fullness of God’s
forgiveness, which knows no bounds.
The sacrament
of Penance assures us that God wipes away our sins. We experience
those powerful and comforting words of the Psalm: “It is he who forgives all
your guilt, who heals every one of your ills, who redeems your life from the
grave, who crowns you with love and compassion… The Lord is compassion and
love, slow to anger and rich in mercy… He does not treat us according to our
sins, nor repay us according to our faults. For as the heavens are high above
the earth, so strong is his love for those who fear him. As far as the east is
from the west, so far does he remove our sins” (Ps 103:3-4.8.10-12).
The sacrament of Reconciliation is not only a magnificent spiritual gift, but
also a decisive, essential and fundamental step on our journey of faith. There,
we allow the Lord to erase our sins, to heal our hearts, to raise us up, to
embrace us and to reveal to us his tender and compassionate countenance. There
is no better way to know God than to let him reconcile us to himself (cf. 2
Cor 5:20) and savour his forgiveness. Let us not neglect Confession,
but rediscover the beauty of this sacrament of healing and joy, the beauty of
God’s forgiveness of our sins!
Still, as we know
from personal experience, every sin “leaves its mark”. Sin has consequences,
not only outwardly in the effects of the wrong we do, but also inwardly,
inasmuch as “every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to
creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death, in the
state called Purgatory”. [18] In our humanity, weak and attracted
by evil, certain residual effects of sin remain. These are removed by the
indulgence, always by the grace of Christ, who, as Saint Paul VI wrote, “is
himself our ‘indulgence’”. [19] The Apostolic Penitentiary will
issue norms for obtaining and rendering spiritually fruitful the practice of
the Jubilee indulgence.
This experience of
full forgiveness cannot fail to open our hearts and minds to the
need to forgive others in turn. Forgiveness does not change
the past; it cannot change what happened in the past, yet it can allow us to
change the future and to live different lives, free of anger, animosity and
vindictiveness. Forgiveness makes possible a brighter future, which enables us
to look at the past with different eyes, now more serene, albeit still bearing
the trace of past tears.
For the last
Extraordinary Jubilee, I commissioned Missionaries of Mercy, and
these continue to carry out an important mission. During the coming Jubilee,
may they exercise their ministry by reviving hope and offering forgiveness
whenever a sinner comes to them with an open heart and a penitent spirit. May
they remain a source of reconciliation and an encouragement to look to the
future with heartfelt hope inspired by the Father’s mercy. I encourage bishops
to take advantage of their precious ministry, especially by sending them
wherever hope is sorely tested: to prisons, hospitals, and places where
people’s dignity is violated, poverty abounds and social decay is prevalent. In
this Jubilee Year, may no one be deprived of the opportunity to receive God’s
forgiveness and consolation.
24. Hope finds its
supreme witness in the Mother of God. In the Blessed Virgin, we see
that hope is not naive optimism but a gift of grace amid the realities of life.
Like every mother, whenever Mary looked at her Son, she thought of his future.
Surely she kept pondering in her heart the words spoken to her in the Temple by
the elderly Simeon: “This child is destined for the falling and rising of many
in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed, so that the inner thoughts of
many will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too” (Lk 2:34-35).
At the foot of the cross, she witnessed the passion and death of Jesus, her
innocent son. Overwhelmed with grief, she nonetheless renewed her “fiat”, never
abandoning her hope and trust in God. In this way, Mary cooperated for our sake
in the fulfilment of all that her Son had foretold in announcing that he would
have to “undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief
priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mk 8:31).
In the travail of that sorrow, offered in love, Mary became our Mother, the
Mother of Hope. It is not by chance that popular piety continues to invoke the
Blessed Virgin as Stella Maris, a title that bespeaks the sure hope
that, amid the tempests of this life, the Mother of God comes to our aid,
sustains us and encourages us to persevere in hope and trust.
In this regard, I
would note that the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City is preparing
to celebrate, in 2031, the fifth centenary of Our Lady’s first apparition.
Through Juan Diego, the Mother of God brought a revolutionary message of hope
that she continues to bring to every pilgrim and all the faithful: “Am I not
here, who am your Mother?” [20] That message continues to touch
hearts in the many Marian shrines throughout the world, where countless
pilgrims commend to the holy Mother of God their cares, their sorrows and their
hopes. During the Jubilee Year, may these shrines be sacred places of welcome
and privileged spaces for the rebirth of hope. I encourage all pilgrims to Rome
to spend time in prayer in the Marian shrines of the City, in order to venerate
the Blessed Mother and to implore her protection. I am confident that everyone,
especially the suffering and those most in need, will come to know the
closeness of Mary, the most affectionate of mothers, who never abandons her
children and who, for the holy people of God, is “a sign of certain hope and
comfort”. [21]
25. In our journey
towards the Jubilee, let us return to Scripture and realize that it speaks to
us in these words: “May we who have taken refuge in him be strongly encouraged
to seize the hope set before us. We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor
of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, where
Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered” (Heb 6:18-20).
Those words are a forceful encouragement for us never to lose the hope we have
been given, to hold fast to that hope and to find in God our refuge and our
strength.
The image of the
anchor is eloquent; it helps us to recognize the stability and security that is
ours amid the troubled waters of this life, provided we entrust ourselves to
the Lord Jesus. The storms that buffet us will never prevail, for we are firmly
anchored in the hope born of grace, which enables us to live in Christ and to
overcome sin, fear and death. This hope, which transcends life’s fleeting
pleasures and the achievement of our immediate goals, makes us rise above our
trials and difficulties, and inspires us to keep pressing forward, never losing
sight of the grandeur of the heavenly goal to which we have been called.
The coming Jubilee will
thus be a Holy Year marked by the hope that does not fade, our hope in God. May
it help us to recover the confident trust that we require, in the Church and in
society, in our interpersonal relationships, in international relations, and in
our task of promoting the dignity of all persons and respect for God’s gift of
creation. May the witness of believers be for our world a leaven of authentic
hope, a harbinger of new heavens and a new earth (cf. 2 Pet 3:13),
where men and women will dwell in justice and harmony, in joyful expectation of
the fulfilment of the Lord’s promises.
Let us even now be
drawn to this hope! Through our witness, may hope spread to all those who
anxiously seek it. May the way we live our lives say to them in so many words:
“Hope in the Lord! Hold firm, take heart and hope in the Lord!” (Ps 27:14).
May the power of hope fill our days, as we await with confidence the coming of
the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and glory, now and forever.
Given in Rome, at
Saint John Lateran, on 9 May, the Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus
Christ, in the year 2024, the twelfth of my Pontificate.
FRANCIS
_____________________________________
[1] Serm. 198 augm. 2.
[2] Cf. Fonti Francescane, No.
263, 6.10.
[3] Cf. Bull of Indiction of the
Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy Misericordiae
Vultus, 1-3.
[4] Pastoral Constitution Gaudium
et Spes, 4.
[5] Encyclical Letter Laudato
Si’, 50.
[6] Cf. Catechism of the Catholic
Church, No. 2267.
[7] Encyclical Letter Laudato
Si’, 49
[8] Encyclical Letter Fratelli
Tutti, 262.
[9] Encyclical Letter Laudato
Si’, 51.
[10] Nicene Creed: H. DENZINGER-A.
SCHÖNMETZER, Enchiridion symbolorum definitionum et declarationum de
rebus fidei et morum, 125.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Apostles’ Creed: H. DENZINGER-A.
SCHÖNMETZER, Enchiridion symbolorum definitionum et declarationum de
rebus fidei et morum, 30.
[13] Catechism of the Catholic Church,
No. 1817.
[14] Pastoral Constitution Gaudium
et Spes, 21.
[15] ROMAN MISSAL , Preface I for
the Dead.
[16] Confessions, X, 28.
[17] Encyclical Letter Spe
Salvi, 47.
[18] Catechism of the Catholic Church,
No. 1472.
[19] Apostolic Letter Apostolorum
Limina, 23 May 1974, II.
[20] Nican Mopohua, No. 119.
[21] SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL,
Dogmatic Constitution Lumen
Gentium, 68.
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