The Anchor of Hope

Dec. 1, 2024

A jubilee year is a grace-filled time in which we are invited to place our unreserved trust in God

By Supreme Knight Patrick E. Kelly

Dec. 1, 2024

Supreme Knight Patrick E. Kelly (Photo by Michael Collopy)

On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis will open the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica to mark the official start of the Jubilee 2025. In the Catholic tradition, a jubilee year, also called a holy year, is celebrated every 25 years. It’s an ancient practice, dating back to 1300. The Church teaches that a jubilee year is a special time of reconciliation and conversion — an opportunity to look back on our lives, to ask the Lord for forgiveness and to seek his help as we strive to lead lives of greater holiness. Pilgrimage is also a fundamental aspect of a holy year. Most especially, it’s a year to encounter Christ through the grace of the sacraments — particularly, the Eucharist and reconciliation.

The opening of the Holy Door is also an ancient practice that is rich in symbolism. It recalls the words of Christ: “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture” (Jn 10:9). By walking through the Holy Door, pilgrims affirm that Jesus is the Good Shepherd, the gatekeeper, and make an intentional decision to be guided by Christ.

Pope Francis has made hope the central theme of the Jubilee 2025. An estimated 35 million “pilgrims of hope” will travel to Rome during the holy year. As they pass through the Holy Door and enter St. Peter’s Basilica, they will see two 17th-century masterpieces of sacred art — both by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and recently restored to their original splendor with the support of the Knights of Columbus: the baldacchino above the main altar and the Chair of St. Peter monument in the apse of the basilica. The baldacchino is the nearly 10-story canopy that rises over the papal altar and the tomb of St. Peter. The Chair of St. Peter monument contains the ancient wooden throne held by tradition to be the cathedra, or seat, of St. Peter, the first pope.

By sponsoring these restorations, the Order is doing more than assisting in the preservation of historic works of art. We are helping to inspire millions of pilgrims whose faith and hope will be renewed by their journey to the Eternal City. And with those pilgrims, we will once again renew our profession of faith in Christ and in his promise to entrust the keys of the kingdom to St. Peter and his successors.

Writing about the jubilee year, the Holy Father reminds us that hope is the virtue that gives our lives “inward direction and purpose” (Spes Non Confundit, 18).

Hope is an essential virtue, but it can be elusive in our day-to-day lives. The Scriptures remind us that, as Christians, hope is our inheritance.

The Christian symbol of hope is the anchor, Pope Francis explains, because it “helps us to recognize the stability and security that is ours amid the troubled waters of this life.” He then adds, “The storms that buffet us will never prevail, for we are firmly anchored in the hope born of grace, which enables us to live in Christ and to overcome sin, fear and death. This hope … makes us rise above our trials and difficulties, and inspires us to keep pressing forward, never losing sight of the grandeur of the heavenly goal to which we have been called” (25).

Hope is an essential virtue, but it can be elusive in our day-to-day lives. The Scriptures remind us that, as Christians, hope is our inheritance. The author of the Letter to Hebrews tells us that God has made us a promise so that “we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to hold fast to the hope that lies before us. This we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm, which reaches into the interior behind the veil, where Jesus has entered on our behalf as forerunner” (6:18-20).

Let’s take these words to heart. And in this coming Jubilee Year of Hope, let’s pray to have greater confidence in the hope that is truly ours through Jesus Christ.

Vivat Jesus!

The Anchor of Hope

Related Articles

From the Supreme Knight

Hardwired for Communion

Hardwired for Communion

From the Supreme Knight

‘Witnesses of God’s Tenderness’

‘Witnesses of God’s Tenderness’

From the Supreme Knight

The Grace of Gratitude

The Grace of Gratitude

From the Supreme Knight

2025 Annual Report of the Supreme Knight

2025 Annual Report of the Supreme Knight

From the Supreme Knight

Walking Together in Charity

Walking Together in Charity

From the Supreme Knight

In Solidarity With Peter

In Solidarity With Peter

From the Supreme Knight

Making Room for Grace

Making Room for Grace

From the Supreme Knight

Our Patriotic Duty

Our Patriotic Duty