‘The Jubilee invites us to begin again.’ (Pope Francis)
The Jubilee Year of Hope in 2025 will stand as one of those luminous moments in the life of the Church when the faithful are invited to look heavenward with renewed confidence.
In recent years, we have walked together through a world marked by uncertainty, division, war and a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. Yet, the Jubilee offered us an undeniable call: a chance to rediscover hope in Christ, who “makes all things new” (Revelation 21:5). It summoned us not only to celebrate the mercy and promises of God, but also to live them out beyond the calendar year itself.
When the Holy Father announced that 2025 would be dedicated as a Jubilee of Hope, it was not merely a pastoral theme but a prophetic reminder. Hope, in the Christian sense, is neither vague optimism nor sentimental wishfulness. It is, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, “the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises” (CCC, §1817). The Jubilee year was a moment of grace to rekindle this virtue, not only in our own lives but also in our communities and parishes.
But when the banners are taken down, the pilgrim crowds have gone home, and the special liturgies have ended, what then? What does hope look like in the days, weeks, and months after the Jubilee? And how can we ensure that the graces of this year will not disappear, but instead bear fruit for the future?
To explore this, I will look at six different ways of harvesting the fruits of the Jubilee year.
Hope is Rooted in Memory
To live in hope after the Jubilee, we must first root ourselves in the memory of God’s faithfulness. Throughout Scripture, the people of Israel were called to remember – to recall the Exodus, the covenant, and the saving acts of the Lord. The Psalms themselves are often songs of remembrance: ‘I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old’ (Psalm 77:11).
The 2025 Jubilee invites us to make such remembrance a habit. It is all too easy, once the festive year passes, to slip back into spiritual amnesia. Yet hope thrives when we cultivate a personal and communal memory of God’s mercy. Parish communities might consider keeping an annual ‘Day of Hope,’ recalling the Jubilee and sharing testimonies of how God has been at work. Families could make it a tradition to recount blessings each year on the anniversary of the Jubilee’s close. By keeping alive the memory of the Jubilee year, we create fertile ground for hope to grow and can act for greater justice, freedom from slavery and debt – as did the original Jubilee years in Scripture.
Hope is Sustained in Prayer
If the Jubilee called us to hope, it also reminds us that hope is sustained through a living relationship with God. In the months following the Jubilee, there will be a temptation to rest spiritually, to let our prayer life become irregular. But this is precisely when prayer is most needed, for hope fades when it is not nourished.
The Rosary, Daily Novenas, and Lectio Divina are not merely devotions but lifelines—ways of keeping our focus fixed on Christ, even when daily life is clouded by trials. Eucharistic Adoration can also serve as a weekly, even daily, anchor. Before the Real Presence, our hope is not based on changing circumstances but on the unchanging love of Christ.
Parishes might also encourage small prayer groups to continue meeting after the Jubilee, reflecting together on Scripture passages of hope: Romans 8, Isaiah 40, or the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. Such gatherings remind us that hope is not a solitary exercise, but something strengthened in communion with others.
Hope is Tested in Service
True hope does not retreat into the private realm; it overflows in acts of charity. As Pope Francis reminded us, ‘Hope opens new horizons, making us capable of dreaming what is not even imaginable’ (Fratelli Tutti, §55). The Jubilee year reminded us that hope must lead to a renewed commitment to service – especially among those on the margins of society.
The year having concluded, we face the challenge of keeping alive the missionary spirit it inspired. It is one thing to be moved by a homily or a pilgrimage moment; it is another to let that encounter shape the choices we make in our communities, workplaces, and parishes. Hope after the Jubilee will be tested by our willingness to be patient with the difficult neighbour, to persevere in visiting the lonely or an elderly parishioner, or to advocate for justice where injustice persists.
Here we recall St Paul’s words: ‘In hope we were saved’ (Romans 8:24). Salvation is not passive; it draws us into God’s mission. The Church’s charitable works, from food banks to refugee outreach, are tangible signs of this hope in action – as was seen by the response from the Church to the worldwide pandemic of 2020. If we continue to support these works after the Jubilee, this will show that hope has taken root and become sustainable.
Hope is Strengthened by the Sacraments
The Jubilee is traditionally marked by the grace of the Sacraments – especially Reconciliation and the Eucharist. The indulgences attached to the Jubilee Year are not magical tokens but real aids to holiness, meant to draw us deeper into the life of grace. The question after the Jubilee is whether we will continue to approach these Sacraments with the same enthusiasm.
Frequent Reconciliation is perhaps one of the most underrated habits for a life of hope. To hear the words, ‘I absolve you from your sins,’ is to be reminded that the past does not have the last word – God’s mercy does. Likewise, the Eucharist renews our hope each time we receive the very Body and Blood of the One who conquered death.
If parishes can encourage more regular reception of these Sacraments after the Jubilee – through frequent opportunities for Reconciliation or renewed catechesis on the Eucharist – then the seeds planted in 2025 will continue to bear fruit long afterwards.
Hope is Proclaimed in the Public Square
The Jubilee Year is not an inward-looking celebration. Its aim is to witness to Christ before the world. This is especially important in a post COVID 19 world, where in certain societies faith is becoming increasingly marginalised. To live in hope after 2025 is to be unafraid of speaking of Christ in public – not with aggression, but with gentleness and respect (cf. 1 Peter 3:15).
Post-Jubilee hope may take the form of a Catholic business owner making ethical choices despite financial cost, a teacher finding ways to speak of truth and beauty in the classroom, or a young person courageously defending the dignity of human life. Such witness can be costly, but it is precisely in these moments that hope shines brightest.
Hope is Passed to the next Generation
If the Jubilee is to have a lasting impact, it must be remembered not only by those who lived it but also by those who come after. Bishops, parents, catechists, and grandparents all have a role in telling the story of 2025 to the young – not simply as an event, but as a lived encounter with the Lord.
One of the most effective ways to transmit hope is through personal witness. A young person who hears from an older relative or parishioner, ‘I encountered Christ in a profound way during the Jubilee,’ is more likely to believe that hope is possible even in their own struggles. The Church’s future depends on such intergenerational transmission of faith and hope.
During the homily at the Mass for the Jubilee of Young People, Pope Leo XIV emphasised how important it is for the youth of the Church to work together with the rest of the Church: ‘How many times have we extinguished our light out of fear, shame, or laziness! But Jesus doesn’t call us to be isolated sparks, but constellations that illuminate the night of the world.’
A Hope that Endures – Hope Beyond the Jubilee
The Jubilee Year of Hope is not an endpoint but a threshold. If its message remains only in banners and memories, it will soon fade. But if we see it as the opening of a new chapter in our walk with Christ, then it will bear lasting fruit, and its light will continue to guide us long after 2025.
Hope is not naïve, nor is it fragile. It is forged in trial (take COVID 19 and the lockdowns as an example) but is strengthened by grace, and shared in love. To live with hope is to believe that God is not finished with us or with our world. The Jubilee calls us to step into that conviction with courage.
As we cross this threshold, may the Church become ever more a beacon of hope – not because of our strength, but because we bear witness to the risen Christ who makes all things new. And may future generations look back on this Jubilee not only as a year of celebration, but as the moment when a people of hope rose to meet the present and the future with faith.
I will finish with a quote from the late Pope Francis:
— from his proclamation of the Jubilee, Spes non confundit
(Hope does not disappoint) ■
