Holy year is an opportunity for pilgrimage of faith

This new calendar year of 2025 is a most important year for the Catholic Church. It marks the traditional holy year which the Church has celebrated since the first holy year established by Pope Boniface VIII in 1300 A.D. This tradition of a universal holy year as established is to be celebrated by the entire Church every 25 years. Of course, a pope can call for an extraordinary holy year at any time and that, too, has been done several times.
 
Nevertheless, this is the first holy year since the turn of the third Millenium in the year 2000, and our Holy Father Francis is calling all Catholics to observe it according to the theme he has chosen, to be “Pilgrims of Hope.” Let us look more closely at this theme. To be a pilgrim means that we are moving on a journey, a pilgrimage. For us, we should be very familiar with this idea since the very course of our lives from conception to natural death is a pilgrimage of faith during which we strive to fulfill our baptismal vocation to be holy and virtuous within the particular vocation we have received from the Lord.
 
During this holy year, Pope Francis is calling us to not just continue our pilgrimage of faith but to bring others with us and to do so with renewed hope that living the Christ-like life, we shall reach that for which we live and hope, heaven. There is no greater act of love for another than to introduce him or her to Jesus, Whom we love and then to accompany them on their pilgrimage of faith following Jesus.
 
As the bishop, I will open the holy year of 2025 on the Feast of the Holy Family at our Cathedral, and I invite all in our diocese to take the time to make a pilgrimage of faith to our Cathedral during the course of this holy year. Come and receive the sacrament of penance, come and spend some time in Adoration of the Lord, come a make a visit to Him in the Blessed Sacrament even if you have just a few moments. Most especially, be resolved in this holy year to continue to be faithful to Holy Mass every Sunday and holy days. Be diligent in setting that daily good example for others of what it means to follow Jesus, Who is our Way, our Truth and our Life, now and for eternity.
 
I wish each of you a very Happy and Holy Year of 2025. Let us always pray for one another!