January 2025: Making the Journey in This Jubilee Year of Hope

In his Papal Bull delivered on May, 9, 2024, Pope Francis decreed the year 2025 as a Jubilee Year of Hope. In the Catholic Church, a Jubilee Year traditionally occurs every twenty-five years, and it is a time of prayer, repentance, forgiveness, and renewal of our spiritual lives. (Spes non confundit - Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025 (9 May 2024) | Francis) 

Within the document, the Pope speaks about journeys. He writes, “ . . . the Christian life is a journey calling for moments of greater intensity to encourage and sustain hope as the constant companion that guides our steps towards the goal of our encounter with the Lord Jesus.” (Section 5. p. 3) He goes on to say, “Setting out on a journey is traditionally associated with our human quest for meaning in life.” (p. 6) He shares the idea of making a journey during this Jubilee Year of Hope, because “making” pilgrimages has always been an integral part of celebrating jubilee years. 

I have always been drawn to the idea of making a pilgrimage, following el Camino de Santiago - The Way of Saint James - an early Christian pilgrimage route in Northern Spain. More than one thousand years old, people made their way on foot from their homes to Santiago de Compostela, where the remains of Saint James, the apostle, are buried in the cathedral there. It is quite possible that Saint Norbert would have made such a journey in his days of itinerant preaching.

On Pentecost, when the apostles received the Holy Spirit, they were sent two-by-two to preach the Gospel. James was sent to the Iberian Peninsula to preach and teach the Good News. When he returned to Jerusalem, in the year 44 AD he was beheaded by Herod Agrippa I. (Acts 12: 1-2). His followers took his body and put it in a boat, sailing across the Mediterranean Sea to the coast of Spain. His remains were buried with two of his followers in a small tomb, untouched and forgotten for centuries. It was not until the 9th century that the tomb was rediscovered and the remains identified as those of Saint James. In the years that followed, pilgrimages to the basilica church and burial place were encouraged by the Church. Through many political regimes in Spain, the pilgrimage routes remained intact and grew even more popular. 

I am a bit tentative about adding el camino to my bucket list because of the physical conditioning required for the journey; however, I believe that mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, I would enjoy making the pilgrimage. As Pope Francis describes, “ . . . passing from one city to another in contemplating the beauty of creation and masterpieces of art, we learn to treasure the richness of different experiences and cultures, and are inspired to lift up that beauty, in prayer, to God, in thanksgiving for his wondrous works.” (p. 4) 

Understanding that making the journey may not be a realistic option for me this Jubilee Year, I can still make the spiritual journey without having to travel to Spain. Setting aside time to meditate, pray, and appreciate creation around us begins a journey of the mind and soul that can lead us to better decisions and assured actions that make more clear our life’s purpose. As we go deeper into the journey, we begin to realize that the mental and spiritual path never ends, unlike el camino. Pilgrims who have travelled to Santiago de Compostela have created social groups that work together to “keep the camino alive” after they have returned home. It is the spiritual journey accompanying the physical one that continues, and becomes an ever-present part of the lives of those who entered the journey.

It seems appropriate to ask the question of ourselves at the end of the first month of the calendar year, with eleven more months in it, “Are we ready to make the journey in this Jubilee Year of Hope?” If so, can we make the time to do so in our scheduled, busy lives? Instead of a backpack, maybe we pick up a Bible to read daily. Rather than hiking or walking shoes and socks, we put on a smile each day when we interact with people. Truly resting each evening in our homes and not hostels, we take some time to reflect on the day with gratitude. In the most recent issue of The Dialog, the newspaper of the Diocese of Wilmington, a front-page article outlines all of the churches in the Diocese designated by Bishop Koenig as places of pilgrimage. I am sure the Bishops of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and Diocese of Camden have identified sacred places, as well, for those who wish to make pilgrimages in those locales. 

In the end, the journey renews our “hope of good things to come, not knowing what the future will bring,” and it may take us to a place in our hearts and minds that rivals the magnificence of the Catedral Basílica de Santiago de Compostela.

(Enter the Journey, Words and Music: Mark Friedman & Janet Vogt, 2006)

Enjoy your personal journeys this year!

Michael A. Marinelli, Ed.D. ‘76

Head of School