This year as the Catholic Church begins a new Jubilee, so we the Apostles of the Interior Life (AVI) begin a new journey of hope with all of you. The first Jubilee began in ancient Israel as early as the time of Moses, when by divine decree several religious feasts were instituted. Moses prescribed, among them, a holiday, which recurred every 50 years and represented a time of grace in which all debts were forgiven, and slaves were set free. In the twenty-fifth chapter of Leviticus, it says: “You shall treat this fiftieth year as sacred. You shall proclaim liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to your own property, each of you to your own family. This fiftieth year is your year of jubilee” (Lv 25:10-11a). A Jubilee is a time to return to our roots, to ask God for grace, to relish the sacred liberty we have been given.
In Jesus’ time a Jubilee was celebrated every fifty years, but we now have the immense blessing of having one every twenty-five years (with the occasional extraordinary Jubilee sprinkled in between). The very words Jesus proclaimed in the temple from the sixty-first chapter of the prophet Isaiah attest to the plethora of gifts God desires to bestow on his beloved children.
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
release to the prisoners,
To announce a year of favor from the Lord
and a day of vindication by our God;
To comfort all who mourn;
to place on those who mourn in Zion
a diadem instead of ashes,
To give them oil of gladness instead of mourning,
a glorious mantle instead of a faint spirit.
If only we could read this passage of scripture and truly apply it to ourselves. God has come to proclaim this to us: to you and to me. Could we take just a minute and re-read this passage a few times in silence? While you let these words sink in, where do you see God bringing the good news in your life?
Through the Bull of Indiction titled Spes Non Confundit given May 9th, 2024, on the Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, Pope Francis indicted a Jubilee of Hope.
Brothers and sisters, this is a year of favor from the Lord.
Called to the One Hope
The AVI who currently reside in Rome had the chance to meet with representatives of upwards of twelve different communities that all desire to collaborate in creating monthly prayer/formation meetings for young people for the Jubilee. Coming together, we noticed the gifts and strengths of each charism and how working together could bring forth such beautiful fruit. After three very prayerful and inspired meetings, we all agreed to map out a spiritual itinerary with twelve passages of scripture that speak of Hope. Every month during the Jubilee year there are “jubilees” where diverse groups or categories of the faithful will be called to gather, pray, and celebrate God’s infinite love and mercy. We desired that the scripture passages lend themselves to meaningful reflection for said groups, and the Spirit who inspires all good things was very generous with us indeed.
Each month each community will take this passage and weave it into their ordinary apostolate culminating with one Thursday evening a month where together we help the young residents and/or pilgrims in Rome to pray. Our AVI community decided to make each scripture passage the center of reflection (or the inspiration) for our Spring of Water meditations this year. In doing so we hope to provide a resource not only to those of you who receive the meditations digitally, but to all who come to the monthly prayer meetings or who happen across the Vatican’s Jubilee website.
The main Jubilee in January is dedicated to the “World of communication.” Nowadays this could of course relate far and wide to any source of printed or digital media…or perhaps even to those of us who humbly share the Good News in our daily lives. Take a few minutes to read the passage here below from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians:
Jubilee: World of Communication
Ephesians 1:15-19a
Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love for all the holy ones, do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of [your] hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe…
First and foremost, pray that we can all give thanks to God for the “holy ones” (our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ) that support us on our journey. May this Jubilee be lived together with the whole Body of Christ, and not in isolation! Let us all pray for one another as we come into contact with where we are in our own journeys – recognizing that to some this might not feel like a season of “thanks.” Re-read the passage from Isaiah and intercede for all who are in great need.
Whether it be in this very moment or when circumstances permit, make a list of all the hopes and/or dreams that you have for 2025. Bring all of these to the Lord in a moment of silent prayer starting with an invocation to the Holy Spirit, then pausing to reflect on each hope/dream, and one-by-one offer them to Jesus. Ask the Father for “a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him” so that “the eyes of [your] hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe.”
Together, let us proclaim a year of favor while basking in the hope that belongs to the gift of life that God has called each of us to.
Resources: SPES NON CONFUNDIT – Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025 (https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/bulls/documents/20240509_spes-non-confundit_bolla-giubileo2025.html)
This month’s meditation is by Sr. Briana, AVI.
