Reflection – Jubilee Year of Hope
Annunciation Monastery Day of Contemplation
Sister Nicole Kunze, OSB
December 14, 2024
Pope Francis has given us the theme of hope for the upcoming Jubilee Year that officially opens on Christmas Eve. The opening phrase of the pope’s decree for the Jubilee Year is from the Letter to the Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 5: Hope does not disappoint. In this reflection, I will share with you some highlights from his 15 page Bull of Indiction or letter announcing the jubilee. (Link at the end of reflection)
In the second paragraph, Pope Francis gives us what I would call a definition of 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.” It is more than a feeling. I’m not sure if the pope consulted psychological studies, but these studies have shown that people who are hopeful believe that through their actions they can play a role in the outcome of a situation. We may think that hope and optimism are synonyms, but optimism is a belief that things will turn out right, often due to luck. I’m realizing that I need to change my language – I should say I’m optimistic about the Minnesota Vikings winning the Super Bowl rather than hopeful because my actions don’t play any role in the outcome of a football game. But I digress…back to the jubilee decree.
Next, Pope Francis states that “hope is born of love and based on the love springing from the pierced heart of Jesus upon the cross.” He follows it up by saying that “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.” That should comfort us and reassure us in our doubt, but I will admit that I still struggle with accepting that I don’t need to earn God’s love and that his love for me is completely unconditional. I’m reading the Liturgical Press Advent reflection book by Jessie Bazan, a professor at St. John’s. Last week, she shared this statement about God’s love for us: “This is the season to rest assured that God loves us. Through thick and thin, through life and death, we dwell with a God whose love knows no bounds.” (1) This statement and the pope’s comments on hope and love have caused me to wonder if my challenge to fully accept God’s love for me affects how hopeful I am about situations in my daily life.
A large section of the Pope’s letter highlights how we are called to read the signs of the times and interpret the meaning of these signs in the light of the Gospel. By doing that, these signs can become signs of hope. He highlights a desire for peace in the world and groups such as the sick, the youth, migrants, and the poor as people and situations that we are called to offer hope to. One such group I’ll highlight are prisoners, deprived of freedom and disrespected by most people. He encourages governments to initiate reforms that restore their hope, such as programs of reintegration. That reintegration is part of the work that Ministry on the Margins does. He calls all believers to demand dignified conditions in prisons and the abolishment of the death penalty. Pope Francis proposes that he will 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.
Saint Benedict’s Rule reinforces the pope’s writing on hope, particularly my favorite verse from the Rule – Chapter 4, verse 41: Place your hope in God alone.
In his book on the Tools for Good Work, Father Michael Casey says that committing our hope to God implies a deliberate action (2). It is more than just living in some vague state of hope. We are strengthened and sustained through our life of prayer and service. Casey reminds us that the commitment of our life to God and placing our hope in Him is primary in our final profession. Think of the words of our Suscipe – Receive me O Lord, according to your promise and I shall live. Do not disappoint me in my hope. As we sang it at our final profession, we were likely sharing with God our “desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring”, repeating Pope Francis’s definition of hope. I appreciate how we sing the Suscipe for our deceased sister at her wake and burial. Our sister’s hope has been fulfilled and we rejoice with her as we wait for our reward.
As we pray for our Church and the world as we enter into the Jubilee Year of Hope, may our witness help hope spread to all those we encounter and serve.
Link to the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee of the Year 2025:
(1) Bazan, Jessie. Daily Reflections for Advent and Christmas 2024-2025, Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2024.
(2) Casey, Michael. Seventy-Four Tools for Good Living, Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2014.
