Faith, hope and love in the Year of Jubilee
Jenny, from our Fundraising Team, reflects on the virtues of faith, hope and love as we begin the Year of Jubilee.
On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis launched the Year of Jubilee for the Universal Church with the theme, “Pilgrims of hope”, opening the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Pope Francis later delivered the Thought for the Day on the BBC, inviting us to “practice kindness as a form of love to help others” because “a world full of hope and kindness is a more beautiful world.”
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Called to be pilgrims of hope
This Jubilee arrives when we need it most —amid conflict, injustice, climate change, and financial struggles. We are called to recommit to our mission; restore right relationships with God, one another, and creation; and be tangible signs of hope for others.
We will be hearing much about hope this year. But in our broken world, it’s challenging to find hope, let alone share it.
I’ve been reflecting for some months on how we can respond to Pope Francis’ call for us to be pilgrims of hope if we struggle to find it ourselves?
I wished the Pope had chosen love as the theme of Jubilee. Jesus commanded us to love one another as He loved us. Love, I understand. Hope is more complicated.
The supernatural virtues
Then I remembered something fundamental from the Catechism I learned as a child – the three supernatural (or theological) virtues.
St Paul explains them beautifully in 1 Corinthians 13:13:
“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13
These supernatural virtues – faith, hope and love (or charity) – are gifts bestowed on us by God that allow us to live in relationship with the Holy Trinity. They form the foundation of our moral lives, animating everything we do.
The virtues are a practical guide to my life:
- Faith gets me off the sofa – to start my journey.
- Love feeds me – when I get hungry along the way.
- Hope carries me forward, when the path gets rocky.
In his Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee Year, “Spes non confundit” (Hope does not disappoint), Pope Francis draws from St Paul’s letter to the Romans, encouraging us to “abound in hope” (Romans 15:13) so our faith becomes joyful, our charity enthusiastic, and our good deeds become rich seeds of hope for others (Romans 12:12).
Pray with us in this Jubilee Year
Founded, guided and connected by faith, hope and love
Faith, hope, and love are the foundations on which CAFOD and the global Caritas network are built. I learned this as a young child in Sydney, putting my ten cent coins in my family’s Project Compassion Box – the Caritas Australia version of CAFOD’s Fast Day envelope – every day in Lent – the beginning of my lifelong support for the Caritas movement.
These virtues guide every aspect of CAFOD’s mission:
Faith unites us – we are rooted in Catholic Social Teaching; connected globally through our work with Caritas and other Church partners; engaged in England and Wales with the Catholic Church – with parishes, schools, and volunteers and our supporters; and committed to caring for our common home.
Love manifests in action – as we support communities to be artisans of their own destiny and encouraging our supporters to open their hearts through donations, skills, prayers, and advocacy.
Leading to Hope – the theologian Norman Wirzba, in his new book, “Love’s Braided Dance: Hope in a Time of Crisis”, says hope isn’t something we have but something we do. It’s not a security blanket but the courage to immerse ourselves in the world’s troubles, working to heal and reconcile.
A better world needs all of us
CAFOD partners such as Sister Ngozi Uti in Nigeria, Tetiana Stawnychy in Ukraine, and Isacko Jirma in Kenya, immerse themselves in troubles and sow the seeds of hope of which Pope Francis spoke. They work to empower women, heal trauma, and address climate change, affirming that caring for our global family is worth the effort.
Faith, hope, and love connect us to each other and to God.
When we act in love for our sisters and brothers, we inspire others to do the same – to give of themselves in concrete tangible ways.
With donations made in parishes or individually, with volunteering, with advocacy and with prayer – we become signs of hope for others and restore right relationships. When more and more of us take these actions, together, we help to build a better world.
Let’s embrace Pope Francis’ call to be pilgrims of hope in 2025. Hope doesn’t disappoint – it sustains us, just as faith motivates us and love feeds us.
And let’s hold fast to St. Paul’s timeless lesson: “The greatest of these is love.”