Hope and forgiveness are crucial to Jubilee 2025

‘Hope is born of love . . . springing from the pierced heart

of Jesus upon the cross’ – Spes non confundit

(Courtesy Photo/Colton Machado)

By Jay Wonacott

For the ICR

On December 24, 2024, Pope Francis inaugurated the Jubilee Year by opening the Holy Doors at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The central theme of this year’s Jubilee Year is the virtue of hope.

In May 2024, Pope Francis wrote “Spes non confundit” to proclaim the Jubilee of Hope in 2025. The document outlines the themes and goals of the Jubilee, emphasizing the importance of hope, reconciliation, and renewal. The document is fairly short as Vatican documents go, and it is a good read to ponder the ways you might enact hope in your concrete lived experiences this coming year.

The first paragraph of “Spes non confundit” (“Hope does not disappoint”) speaks to the purpose of the Jubilee Year, which is to see Christ as our hope.

“In the spirit of hope, the Apostle Paul addressed these words of encouragement (“Hope does not disappoint” Rom 5:5) to the Christian community of Rome… For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the ‘door’ (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)”.

As Christians, we have this hope only in and through Jesus. The third paragraph of the papal document makes clear, “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).”

Forgiveness is a major theme of any Jubilee year. Biblical jubilees included the forgiveness of financial debt (see Leviticus 25). Spiritually, we should find ways to unburden others and forgive their spiritual indebtedness. We each hold resentments, grudges, or judgments about others that are unhealthy and continue to be harmful or hurtful to others. It also might be that we have done something to another person and need to reach out to seek forgiveness during this next year. Is there a spiritual debt that I owe or that is owed to me that needs to be forgiven during this upcoming year of hope?

Recently, I had my own experience of offering forgiveness. I was approached after Mass by someone with whom I had a bit of a falling out some years ago over a situation that was bigger than either of us. For my part, I harbored no ill will against this person but had chosen, due to the past experiences, not to engage him. As I rose from my pew to walk toward the church doors, I heard this person call my name, asking for a moment to talk. He approached and asked for forgiveness for the part he had played in the falling out. I paused to consider the weight of this request.

Thankfully for both of us, I had spiritually processed the past hurt and told him to be at peace and move on as well. I extended my forgiveness to him. Relief followed for both of us. In hindsight, I should have asked for his forgiveness in return, for negative thoughts or feelings I had harbored. As I have reflected on it, this was a moment of great hope for this person who needed the burden of this spiritual debt lifted. As Christians, we are commanded by Christ to love one another. Loving one another in Christ, which includes forgiving others, is hard to do, but necessary if we are to restore hope to others.

“Spes non confundit” says it well: “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” (23).

Have a blessed Jubilee Year.

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