WelCom December 2024/January 2025
Archbishop Paul Martin sm
One of the things that struck me when I was in Rome for the Synod in October were all the places that were undergoing renovation or restoration or repair in preparation for the Holy Year 2025, which will be begin on 28 December 2024. It is a reminder that so many people will be heading there on pilgrimage next year to celebrate this Jubilee Year of Hope.
Jubilee years are an ancient biblical time of renewal and renovation. Fields were left fallow for the year for recovery, debts were wiped, particular praise was given to God for all he has given to his people. It was part of the fabric of the Jewish life cycle. The Christian community took these Jubilee years and made them part of their praise and worship as well.
This coming Jubilee Year of Hope is focusing on being pilgrims of Hope. This is a virtue we are very much in need of in our current age when so many seem to have so little to hope in or for. This is a time for Christian people to be reminded again of our own hope in Christ and his resurrection and what that means for us. It is a chance to reflect on the gift of the Holy Spirit who gives us gifts to live this life well. It is a chance to celebrate the hope we have in the promise of eternal life with God.
Pope Francis is calling us to be Pilgrims of Hope and, in this year, we look at how we do that practically in our communities and in society. This means working for peace and justice, caring for God’s creation, bringing the Good News to those who have yet to hear it.
Over the course of the year there will be many opportunities to celebrate and give thanks for various groups and activities within the Church community. There is an extensive programme in Rome, and our dioceses are looking to do different things during the year to celebrate the Jubilee year. Some will be on a diocesan level, many will be at parish level, but all are a chance for us to stop and reflect and pray and celebrate our faith, centred on the virtue of hope.
In the Archdiocese we will be opening the Jubilee Year on 26 January. This is in recognition of the fact so many of us are not in our parish communities in the holiday period. My hope is we will take this sacred time, to take part in the liturgical events and other occasions planned. I encourage you to make the time in your lives for this, to prioritise it above other things, which may usually fill your diaries. A time of Jubilee is a chance to look again at our priorities, and if necessary to reschedule our lives, or our time, to make space for Christ and his people, our brothers and sisters in faith.
I look forward to being with you all in the coming year of Jubilee at the different events that will happen and I pray for all of us it will be a time of grace, reconciliation and spiritual growth.
Let us pray for our Church and our Archdiocese as we begin this time of Jubilee.
Faith, Hope and Love
Bishop John Adams
‘Hope’ the ‘middle child’ of the three theological virtues; faith hope and love, is surely the antidote to the booming sectarianism of our times. The opposite to ‘hope’ is ‘despair’ – but this word ought to never be part of the Christian vocabulary. The word ‘despair’, comes from the Latin words ‘de’ (down from) ‘sperare’ (hope), meaning an abandonment of hope. But no, for the Catholic, for the Christian, we are continually ‘looking forward’ to the resurrection from the dead and the life of the world to come. It is this well-founded hope that spurs us on.
We look forward in Hope to opening the Jubilee Year in the Diocese of Palmerston North on 2 February 2025.