“Rediscover the joy of meeting the Lord,” Pope Francis exhorts as he opens Jubilee Year of Hope

By Natalie Hazel Quimlat, MD

The Holy Father, Pope Francis, opened the Holy Door of the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome on Christmas Eve, December 24, to signify the opening of the Jubilee Year of Hope. In his homily, the Holy Father emphasized that God-with-us is our hope. “If God can visit us, even when our hearts seem like a lowly manger, we can truly say: Hope is not dead; hope is alive and it embraces our lives forever,” he said.

Sow seeds of hope

“With the opening of the Holy Door we have inaugurated a new Jubilee,” the Holy Father continued to say. “Each of us can enter into the mystery of this extraordinary event. Tonight, the door of hope has opened wide to the world. There is hope for each of us.” In addition, he exhorted that “we are called to recover lost hope, renew hope in our hearts and sow seeds of hope amid the bleakness of our time”.

“With haste, then,” he said, “let us set out to behold the Lord who is born for us, our hearts joyful and attentive, ready to meet him and bring hope to the way we live our lives. This is our task: to bring hope into the different situations of life.” In closing, the Holy Father said, “On this night the ‘Holy Door’ of God’s heart lies open before you. Jesus, God-with-us, is born for you, for me, for us, for every man and woman. And remember that with him, joy flourishes; with him, life changes; with him, hope does not disappoint.”

Pope Francis opened a second Holy Door at the Rebibbia New Complex Prison in Rome last December 26 -the first in Jubilee tradition.

Bicol Dioceses simultaneously open the Jubilee Year

Last December 29, Feast of the Holy Family, several Dioceses in the Bicol region opened the Jubilee Year of Hope in their respective Cathedrals. These include the Archdiocese of Caceres and the Dioceses of Legazpi, Virac and Masbate. This comes after Pope Francis’ decree that on the said date, “in every Cathedral and Co-Cathedral, Diocesan Bishops are to celebrate [the] Holy Mass as the solemn opening of the Jubilee Year.” In every celebration, a procession precedes the Holy Mass.

The Diocese of Sorsogon is set to open the Ordinary Jubilee Year on January 5, 2025.