On Sunday, 29 December 2024, the Catholic community of Perth gathered at St Mary’s Cathedral for the launch of the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.
Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB presided over the 11am Mass, urging the faithful, who had packed the Cathedral to standing-room-only capacity, to look to the Holy Family of Nazareth as a source of hope and inspiration in times of challenge.
This celebration marked the beginning of a global initiative established by Pope Francis in his Bull of Indiction, Spes non confundit (Hope Does Not Disappoint), inviting the Church worldwide to a time of prayer, reflection, and spiritual renewal.
The 2025 Jubilee Theme: Pilgrims of Hope
Jubilee Years, celebrated every 25 years, are sacred times for spiritual growth, emphasising God’s boundless mercy, the call to reconciliation, and the opportunity for conversion. This tradition dates back to the year 1300, when Pope Boniface VIII inaugurated the first Jubilee Year.
Pope Francis has chosen the theme “Pilgrims of Hope,” offering a timely message for a world still grappling with the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the devastation of war, and the escalating climate crisis.
The Pope marked the beginning of the Jubilee Year on Christmas Eve by opening the Holy Door of St Peter’s Basilica, symbolising the pathway to grace and renewal. During the ceremony, he prayed for softened hearts, that “enemies may speak to each other again, adversaries may join hands, and people seek to meet together.”
Pope Francis also reminded the faithful that Christian hope does not deceive or disappoint because it is grounded in the certainty that nothing and no one can ever separate us from God’s love.
A Journey of Mercy and Faith
During Archbishop Costelloe’s homily, he shared that the theme that Pope Francis has chosen, ties together his deep conviction in the unfailing merciful love of God and the way this mercy accompanies us on our journey through life.
“We are called to be Pilgrims of Hope — people on a journey, always open to the mercy of God. It is this merciful love that, the more we embrace and accept it, provides a solid foundation upon which we can build our lives. It assures us that, unless we deliberately and willfully turn our backs on it, God’s grace will always strengthen us in our struggles, heal us of our brokenness, and bring us the peace of forgiveness when our hearts and spirits are tormented by sin.”
Archbishop Costelloe highlighted the new year as an opportunity to rediscover God’s ceaseless offer of love and mercy. Reflecting on the Christmas season, he pointed out how the incarnation of Jesus reveals God’s relentless pursuit of humanity. “Every word Jesus speaks, every miracle He performs, every encounter He has with people, reveals the deepest truth of who God really is.”
He emphasised that Christ’s acts of forgiveness and healing — from His words on the cross to His compassion for the leper — are powerful demonstrations of God’s mercy. However, our own “hardness of heart, which closes us in on ourselves and leads us to push God out of our lives” is an obstacle to us receiving God’s love.
An Invitation to Open the Door
Archbishop Costelloe concluded his homily with a powerful invitation to respond to God’s persistent call: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with Me.”
“The Lord Jesus stands at the door of our lives, at the door of our hearts,” Archbishop Costelloe said. “He knocks with one hand, holding in the other the gifts of compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and healing. We must be attentive, for often He knocks gently, and we may struggle to hear Him amid the busyness and noise of our lives.”
He urged the faithful to embrace hope and trust in God’s unfailing love. “We will need courage,” he said, “for there may be within each of us a fear or suspicion that, if we let the Lord in, He may ask more of us than we’re willing to give. But most of all, we need hope. As St Paul reminds us, 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.”
The launch of the Jubilee Year of Hope invites all to embark on the journey of faith, confident in the unshakeable promise of God’s love and mercy. In a world longing for healing and reconciliation, it serves as a timely reminder that, through Christ, hope truly does not disappoint.
Link to Papal Bull:
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/bulls/documents/20240509_spes-non-confundit_bolla-giubileo2025.html
Link to Hymn for the 2025 Jubilee
https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en/giubileo-2025/inno-giubileo-2025.html
Link to the Prayer for the 2025 Jubilee in different languages:
https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en/giubileo-2025/preghiera.html