Session 2: The Jubilee leads us on a journey of hope

In this session, we will see Pope Francis reveal one of his deepest desires: that this Jubilee may help us have a personal encounter with Jesus and an intense experience of God’s love, which will awaken hope in our hearts.  We will further explore Pope Francis’s discussion of why Jesus is our hope and then move into the second section of Spes Non Confundit, where he explains the concept of a Jubilee Year, how the Jubilee Year has been celebrated in the past and will be celebrated this year.  He will also explore the meaning and value of a pilgrimage.

Our study guide questions will help us explore how we have experienced a personal encounter with Jesus and how we can experience the love of God more fully.  We will explore our own possible participation in the Jubilee Year, how our faith can be thought of as a pilgrimage or journey of hope, and how the light we shine might communicate the love of God to others. 

Read paragraphs 1, 5, and 6 in preparation for this session.

Paragraph 1 (one more insight)

Let’s look at one more part of paragraph 1 before we move forward.  At the end of paragraph 1, Pope Francis quotes from Paul’s first letter to Timothy and from the Gospel of John – passages of Scripture that refer to Jesus as our hope and as the door to eternal life.

Read 1 Timothy 1:1

Why is Christ Jesus our hope?

Read John 10:7-10

Some translations say Jesus is the “door” and some say He is the “gate” (different possible translations of the same Greek word).  How is Jesus a door (or gate) for us?

How does Jesus’s role as the door to salvation and abundant life give you hope?

Pope Francis connects the role of Jesus as the door of our salvation to the Holy Year of Jubilee, where special doors of grace are opened in Rome.  He says: “For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus” (par. 1).  What does he mean by a personal encounter with Jesus?

How have you experienced a personal encounter with Jesus, and how does it give you hope?

Suggested Activity: 

• How well do you know the life and teachings of Jesus?  Have you ever read His whole story?  If you like to read novels, read one of the Gospels.  If you prefer podcasts, listen to an audio reading of a Gospel.  (If you think you don’t have time, consider how long it takes to read a novel.  You can read or listen to an entire Gospel in 3 hours.)  Some suggestions for where to start: the Gospel of Mark (the shortest), the Gospel of Matthew (the most practical), the Gospel of John (the most “spiritual”).

(Section 2) A journey of hope

In this section, Pope Francis discusses the practice of the Jubilee Year.

Paragraph 5 (the Christian life as a journey, and the role of Jubilee Years)

In paragraph 5, what are some of the examples Pope Francis offers for how God was at work in the Church prior to the first Jubilee in the year 1300?

In the second part of paragraph 5, what are some of the benefits of going on a pilgrimage?

Have you ever experienced the benefits of a pilgrimage (near or far away)?  Explain.

The title of this section is “A journey of hope.”  How is your faith life like a journey, with many stops and intersections along the way?

How do you find hope on your journey of faith?

Suggested Activity: 

• If you are unable to take a pilgrimage to Rome, contact your diocesan office and ask how you might take a Jubilee Year pilgrimage to the Jubilee Year site designated by your bishop (which may be your local cathedral).  As you avail yourself of this opportunity, allow the love of God to permeate you and purify you from all that is not of Christ.

In the third part of paragraph 5, Pope Francis refers to the Eastern (Catholic) Churches, which are a group of churches that are autonomous and have distinct practices from those in the Roman Catholic Church but operate within the worldwide Catholic Church and are in full communion with the Pope.  Pope Francis’s mention of “their Orthodox brothers and sisters” refers to the Eastern Orthodox Church, an independent communion of churches that, like the Catholic Church, traces its roots to the apostles but has been separated from the Roman Catholic Church since 1054.  He says they have endured violence and instability because many of these churches are located in areas of Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa that are currently torn by war.

In the third part of paragraph 5, why does Pope Francis invite members of the Eastern Churches to participate in this Jubilee, and why does he especially extend an “embrace” to all those who currently “endure their own Way of the Cross”?

How might the Church’s concern for them give them “hope”?

Why is it important to extend a hand of friendship to others in Christ’s divided Body?

Paragraph 6 (this Jubilee Year)

In paragraph 6, Pope Francis places this Holy Year in the context of a series of Holy Years that are being celebrated from 2000 to 2033.  What are the milestones that make these years especially important to be celebrated?

Pope Francis says that the purpose of the Jubilee Year of 2025 is to “invite everyone to an intense experience of the love of God that awakens in hearts the sure hope of salvation in Christ” (par. 6).  Unpack this sentence:

• What does “an intense experience” mean?  What is Pope Francis hoping will happen in 2025?

• What does he mean by people experiencing “the love of God”?  What specifically is he hoping they will experience?

• What is “the sure hope of salvation in Christ”?

• In what ways can our hope of salvation be “sure”?

• What does it mean when he says that our hope is to be “awakened”?  In what ways might it need to be awakened in a fresh way?

• Why is it important that through this celebration we are “inviting” people?

• Why is it important that we are inviting “everyone”?

Re-read the full sentence: “Now the time has come for a new Jubilee, when once more the Holy Door will be flung open to invite everyone to an intense experience of the love of God that awakens in hearts the sure hope of salvation in Christ” (par. 6).

When have you had this experience of the love of God in the past?

In what areas of your life do you need a renewal of this experience?  What can you do to enter more fully into the experience of the love of God in your heart?

The second part of paragraph 6 describes how the Jubilee Year begins in Rome.  What happens there?

Note: The third part of paragraph 6 describes what is to happen in every diocese.  A Mass is celebrated in each diocese’s cathedral to open the Jubilee Year, and local bishops are expected to provide a way for people to make a pilgrimage journey there throughout the Holy Year. 

Do you think you will participate, or have you participated, in some way in the Jubilee Year in your diocese?  Why or why not?

What do you hope to experience, or have you experienced, by your participation?

At the end of the last part of paragraph 6, Pope Francis expresses his hope for what will happen during this Jubilee Year.

How might you participate in shining “the light of Christian hope” as “a message of God’s love addressed to all” (par. 6)?

Where might you be hiding or blocking the light of God’s hope and love?  How can you “bear faithful witness” to the message of God’s love more effectively in your life?

Suggested Activities: 

• Invite someone to come to church with you.

• Share with a friend or neighbor, in a low-key way, how God has made a difference in your life and see where the conversation goes.