This year, 2025, is a Jubilee Year, a time of grace and trust, of penitence and forgiveness, of journey and pilgrimage. The opening of the “Holy Doors” in designated cathedrals and places of pilgrimage around the world symbolises opening our minds and hearts. The welcome and hospitality we receive draw us in, inviting us to come closer to God, each other, and our world.
The theme of the 2025 Jubilee Year is “Pilgrims of Hope”. In a world where there is hatred, conflict, violence and war, this theme invites us to hope that forgiveness, mercy, and healing are possible, that truth, justice, and peace will prevail, and that, even if for a time, things seem to get worse, God is nonetheless at work, so we can be confident that God will bring about a transformation of ourselves and our world beyond anything we could ask or imagine.
Pilgrimage is about letting go, not settling down, but moving on, and despite missteps, constantly going forward. This drive is fuelled by the expectation of a deep and lasting peace, of a justice that rightly reckons all things. It hungers and thirsts for a fulfilment that the present cannot give, for what is beyond the horizon, for what will satisfy our deepest yearnings.
A point worth reflecting on is that we are not alone on this pilgrimage.
We are pilgrims with other Catholics. Based on our common ecclesial affiliation, we support our fellow Catholics by showing love and kindness and by participating in and contributing to the life and mission of our local, diocesan, and international Catholic community.
We are pilgrims with other Christians. Based on our common baptism, which makes us members of the body of Christ, temples of the Holy Spirit, and sons and daughters of the Father, together we witness to Christ, who has claimed us for Himself, and with Him, and in Him, and through Him, we show forth the love of God made known in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
We are pilgrims with believers of other religions. Based on our common respect for the Transcendent, however named, we share our life journey with people of all faiths, building fraternity among all peoples, being enriched by the different ways God has called us, and encouraging one another on the pilgrim path of life.
We are pilgrims with holders of secular world-views. Based on our common humanity and the many values we share, we participate in civil society and work together for peace, justice, and the common good.
We are pilgrims with all creatures. Based on our common origin in God, we share this Earth with all other creatures in myriad ecosystems of interconnection and mutual dependence, which make life possible and without which there would be death and extinction.
We are pilgrims with all those who have gone before us, including our ancestors in the faith and our family and friends who have died and are now in God’s presence. We pray for them in gratitude for their part in our lives and ask them to intercede for us in God’s presence.
However, the most important point about pilgrimage is not whom we accompany on the pilgrim path of life but who accompanies us!
Jesus Christ is Emmanuel, “God-with-us” (Mt 1:23), who accompanies us on our pilgrim journey, encouraging and sustaining us, feeding us with the Eucharist, and leading us through suffering towards the fullness of life, truth, and grace. The Holy Spirit, poured into our hearts (Rom 5:5), is God-within-us, who also accompanies us on our pilgrim journey, inspiring and empowering us, present in the people and circumstances of our lives, drawing us out of ourselves and into ever deeper communion with others, with Jesus, and with the Father.
Rev Dr Patrick McInerney
Regional Director of Oceania
directoroceania@columban.org.au
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