Many thought that it might be The End. Computers would fail. Planes would fall from the sky. There would be ensuing chaos and confusion accompanied by terror and violence. It seemed that it would likely be the time for the Lord to finally appear in all His Glory. All would gaze in awe and many would tremble in fear as a New Jerusalem descended from the Heavens. I remember attending a midnight prayer service at the seminary. It was voluntary, but I thought that hey if it really is The End, then what better place to be. Well, twenty-five years later - here we are looking up at the sky not beholding our Universal King, but swarms of drones mysteriously flying about as a whole world seems to be revolving upon the axis of an upcoming inauguration. No one is talking about “The End” at the moment, but there is talk of “Jubilee.” The New Year is traditionally a time of celebration, hope, and promise. It is a traditional milestone and marker in the life of individuals and peoples. It is a time of resolution renewed determination. This New Year is, on the one hand, no different than any other. Yet on the other, because of the inherent fact that it is “new” – it is indeed different from all others that have been and those that will yet be. Hence, this New Year of Jubilee is unique. There will never be another 2025. The uniqueness of this New Year is in a Jubilee celebrated by the Universal Church. It is the 2,025th anniversary of the Incarnation of Our Lord. The Holy Father has declared this a Jubilee Year with a central theme of Hope, so that this year might be for all a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the “door” (cf. Jn 10:7.9) of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere and to all as “our hope” (1 Tim 1:1) (from the Papal Bull of Indiction). In the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, this New Year means a more intense focus on Missionary Outreach and planning for our future as God’s People in the Delaware Valley Area. The Archbishop will soon issue a Pastoral Letter inviting all of us to consider and re-consider our roles as Missionary Disciples preparing and praying for a future filled with hope and new opportunities to encounter Christ. I, too, celebrate a milestone of sorts in this New Year with a Jubilee of my own. Well, not really my own, but one which I share with all of you. Priesthood is never a one-man journey and is not celebrated in isolation. Too many beautiful individuals living and quite a number already gone home to God give testimony to that. This Jubilee may find me with some friends celebrating atop a mountain in a lovely little chapel named after our own dear archdiocesan patron or it might even find me for a time on the Dark Continent making some new friends. Wherever it takes me, I will be encountering Christ anew, because that’s what a Jubilee is all about – whether that Jubilee is universal, local, or very personal. That’s what Jubilee Year –yours and mine – is all about as together we, perhaps, bang some pots (it’s a Philly thing!), make some noise, watch a ball drop in Times Square or a Peep in Bethlehem, give a loved one a little smooch, and celebrate with Hope the New Year of 2025. May yours be blessed and may you this New Year especially, encounter Christ anew!
Peace!
Fr. Wilson