Closure of the Jubilee Year
Feast of the Holy Family
St. Colman's Cathedral, Cobh
28 Decemeber 2025
My friends,
“Pilgrims of Hope” served as the focus of this Jubilee Year. Inspired by its Old Testament roots to celebrate a ‘Year of Favour’ during which we, moved by God’s mercy, would treat all things in life with a spirit of compassion. Even in those far off days the very ground itself was included. Land that had given so much was respected with a fallow year, in which no crop would be planted. It was also a time in which the prisoner would be set free to begin life anew. It was also designated especially as a time for reconciliation. When through the exercise of forgiveness, we would enable one another to begin anew.
Our Jubilee Year of Hope, has had all that sense of compassion and renewal with the added dimension of the Lord Jesus, our Saviour, as the harbinger of hope – a hope that never disappoints (Rom 5:5)
The circumstances of our lives are always changing. Thankfully, most of the time things go smoothly. With the blessing of family, good neighbours and friends, we live with contentment and we’re thankful. Yet, we never know what a new day brings, by way of illness or misfortune. These situations really test us and if it lingers, tests our faith too.
Add to that, a daily news cycle that seems to relate only bad news, by way of conflict and war. The level of destruction of the innocent cries out to heaven for vengeance. It could lead us to despair, were it not for the patient witness of so many who suffer so grievously and unjustly. In that sense, our world is weary and in urgent need of a spirit of hope.
This Jubilee Year just concluding, is intended to nurture that sense of hope, that the Lord Jesus constantly offers those who place their trust in him. It is a hope that does not disappoint (Rom 5:5), in the sense that it enhances always in our heart, a sense of purpose and meaning in our lives, even in hardship and suffering.
The ‘Sterile Secular’ culture, which is so pervasive, especially for a new generation, easily erodes trust in the goodness and truth in the lives of so many – leading them to an emptiness of feeling – a nihilism that drains the joy out of living. Thankfully, there are signs that a new generation of young adults have discerned this from their own experience and have begun to share its fruits and are supporting one another on a wholesome spiritual pathway.
The Jubilee Year’s formal closure is to give thanks for its fruits in the life of the Church worldwide. It is equally an invitation to hold fast to its insights, that have come through our personal journey throughout the year, as well as the grace and blessing of the pilgrimages we’ve embarked upon.
A final word from the Jubilee of Hope, is that what we treasure and value will not be diminished by sharing it. Just as we share the Light of the Paschal Candle with joy and generosity, so too our sense of the Hope that is ours in Christ Jesus is deepened in our sharing it with joy.
