The Pope Video: For pilgrims of hope
In the Pope Video for December 2024 produced by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, Pope Francis asks that we pray that this Jubilee will help us to strengthen our faith and renew our hope for the future by recognizing the risen Christ in the midst of our lives.
Pope Francis tells us that “Christian hope is a gift from God that fills our lives with joy, something the world really needs today. Hope is an anchor that you cast over with a rope to be moored on the shore. We have to hold on tight to the rope of hope. Let us fill our lives with the gift of hope that works in us through God, let us allow it to reach everyone who is looking for it. Hope never disappoints. Let us pray that this upcoming Jubilee strengthen us in our faith.”
The theme for Jubilee 2025 is “Pilgrims of hope”. Pope Francis highlighted in his letter to the Pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, that the pandemic has weakened hope in society, and that “We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us.” In this sense, the Jubilee is presented as an opportunity to strengthen hope and to share it in a world that urgently needs it.
Father Cristóbal Fones, S.J., International Director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, comments “With the opening of the Holy Door at the beginning of the Jubilee 2025, the Pope symbolically reminds us of the doors that need to be opened in our own lives. This opening allows us to meet others and welcome them into our lives. As disciples of the Risen Jesus, we are not adrift on our pilgrim journey, we are firmly anchored to Him. This Jubilee is a tremendous opportunity to open ourselves courageously and share the light of hope that our faith gives us, especially with those that are suffering and have lost the ability to dream.”