When the late Pope Francis announced the theme of the jubilee year, it was February 11, 2022, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. The world was still emerging from the pandemic experience, and it was most understandable that the trauma and grief from the pandemic would require healing (spiritual, emotional, relational, financial, and otherwise). Thus, the theme of hope was most appropriate and even necessary. While the pandemic experience is now more distant in our memory, its effects still linger with us. But so does hope: enduring and unwavering.

In that 2022 letter, Pope Francis stated: “We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision.” What a beautiful and hope-filled vision for the Church and for the world!

Closer to the actual jubilee, in May of 2024, Pope Francis issued the official bull of indiction, Spes Non Confundit (SNC), “Hope Does Not Disappoint,” opening with that reassuring quotation from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans (5:5). The full quotation from Romans 5 reads, “Hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” We see then that the foundation of Christian hope is God’s love, already given to us through the Holy Spirit.

Pope Francis writes, “Hope is born of love and based on the love springing from the pierced heart of Jesus upon the cross” (SNC, 3). He moreover states, “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.” Francis continues, quoting Saint Paul again, ‘“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-39).

This powerful, almost all-encompassing description by Saint Paul underscores the conviction of the Apostle that indeed nothing has the power to separate us from God’s love. This is why hope perseveres through trials: “[F]ounded on faith and nurtured by charity [love], it enables us to press forward in life.” Even when our faith is tested and discouraged, and love is enfeebled, hope carries us, weary and wounded, through tribulation, making us resilient and strong.

It was revealed well after her death that Saint Teresa of Kolkata for years did not feel God’s presence or God’s consolation in much of her life. Through even this spiritual darkness in her life, she pressed forward in hope, confident that God would not let her down. She was patient with God in His silence because of her confidence and hope in God. May we exercise a portion of Saint Teresa’s patience! May God bestow on us patience in this sometimes-frenetic world of ours. Saint Teresa now enjoys, sees, and feels God’s loving and glorious presence in eternity. Her patience and hope have come to fruition in God’s glory and joy!

While the pandemic of a few years ago may not occupy our minds so much, perhaps the distress of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza troubles our conscience — and rightly so.  Or perhaps the divisions in our country, between our families, or within our communities keep us awake at night. Whatever the darkness that weighs on our minds and hearts, hope does not disappoint! Let us hold on to hope, for nothing can separate us from God’s love!

What is next for us, you might ask, as we wind down this Jubilee Year? I place a couple of dates on our calendars and hearts: the years 2031 and 2033.

In 2031, the Diocese of San José will celebrate its 50th Jubilee. It also coincides with the 500th anniversary of the apparitions of Mary in Mexico City. In his conclusion to Spes Non Confundit Francis notes the fifth centennial of Mary’s apparitions. He states, “Through Juan Diego, the Mother of God brought a revolutionary message of hope that she continues to bring to every pilgrim and all the faithful: ‘Am I not here, who am your Mother?’ That message continues to touch our hearts…” (SNC 24). To this end, I plan to personally lead a series of pilgrimages to Mexico in the coming years for those interested. More information will be forthcoming.

Finally, the year 2033 will mark the 2000th year of our Lord’s Resurrection, the definitive reason for our hope! “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live” (Jn 11:25 NABRE).

These milestones are not just dates on a calendar, but opportunities for us to come together and celebrate our faith and hope. Now, with our newly elected Pope Leo, our universal shepherd, and with all the faithful, let us “rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, and persevere in prayer” (Romans 12:12)!