“A Year of Hope“
By Krystal Montgomery & Roland Flasch
As we begin a new calendar year and the Christmas Season comes to a close, we look back on 2024. Many in our Four Parish family welcomed a new family member with the birth of a child or grandchild. Some grew their families in the Sacrament of Marriage and others came home through the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. For some of us though, looking back on the year can be difficult.
Many of us in the Four Parish family have lost a loved one this year or have had to deal with some difficult situations. It can be hard to look ahead at the year to come during a time of sadness. This year (2025) is a Jubilee Year in the Catholic Church! Often the circumstances of daily life and events in the world require a greater call to hope!
Quoting the Prophet Isaiah, the Gospel of Luke describes Jesus’ mission in this way: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord,” (Luke 4:18-19; cf. Isaiah 61:1-2).
Jesus lives out these words in his daily life, in his encounters with others, and in his relationships, all of which bring about liberation and conversion. This Jubilee Year is being called a “Year of Hope”.
Are you ready? Perhaps this next year is the perfect time to go deeper in your relationship with the Lord and to share the Good News with others. Perhaps this Year of Hope comes at the most perfect time!
See the Diocese of Superior website for more information on the Jubilee Year and events happening around the area!
https://catholicdos.org/2025-jubilee-year