Finding a treasure
Announcing a new podcast for the Jubilee Year
Announcing a new podcast for the Jubilee Year
Last issue, I shared a bit about a writing project I have been working on: a series of reflections on the Catechism of the Catholic Church titled Finding and Burying Again. These are also going to be presented through a podcast beginning on Ash Wednesday, March 5. Four episodes, each ranging from approximately 10 to 15 minutes, will be released each week for 40 weeks for a total of 160. This will take us to near the end of the Jubilee Year of Hope. I invite you to join me on this journey!
Last issue, I shared a bit about a writing project I have been working on: a series of reflections on the Catechism of the Catholic Church titled Finding and Burying Again. These are also going to be presented through a podcast beginning on Ash Wednesday, March 5. Four episodes, each ranging from approximately 10 to 15 minutes, will be released each week for 40 weeks for a total of 160. This will take us to near the end of the Jubilee Year of Hope. I invite you to join me on this journey!
Our faith is a treasure, but it is a buried treasure for many. The goal is to find it anew and then bury it deep in one’s heart. In the Gospel of Luke, we are told that Mary “kept all these things in her heart.” (Lk. 2:51) Mary’s heart is like a baby book where she keeps the precious memories of Jesus, his words, his actions and the things people say about him. All are recorded in her heart. This is one way in which Mary is a model disciple. We, too, are to keep the things of Jesus in our heart.
This project has been a way for me to imitate her example, pondering the things of Jesus in my heart as she did.
We are in this jubilee year with the theme “Pilgrims of Hope.” The Lord wishes to fill us with hope throughout this holy year.
Don’t we all need to be filled up with hope? Don’t we all look at the world and think that things are falling apart? We look at our lives often and think the same. It becomes all too easy to give into discouragement or sluggishness when it comes to faith. Sometimes we can think the best is behind us when it comes to the world, to the Church, to our lives.
Pope Francis’ bull of indiction announcing the jubilee year is called Spes Non Confundit, translated ‘hope does not disappoint’. This comes from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans: “hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Rom. 5:5)
Why does hope not disappoint? Because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Spirit given to us. God pours his love; he is not stingy. He does not just give us a drop. He does not hold back, afraid he won’t have anything left for himself. He pours himself out. Our hope does not disappoint because the Lord is never going to run out of his love, and he is never going to hold it back from us.
Why do we have hope? Because we know that God is absolutely determined to bless us. He is leading us to eternal life with him in heaven. He is with us as we walk together the path of discipleship. We are pilgrims, heeding Jesus’ invitation in our daily lives, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28)
Please join me in praying that this jubilee year and Lenten season might be a time of renewal for our local Church. Know that the Lord wishes to draw you close to his Sacred Heart. Be a pilgrim of hope. Journey to his Sacred Heart. Give him your trust and your love every day.
Father Andy Laframboise is pastor of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish in Reese and St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Parish in Vassar and director of priestly vocations. He holds a licentiate in Sacred Theology in Marriage and Family Studies from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family.
