Embracing hope: A jubilee journey

KNEADING FAITH
By Fran Lavelle
Pope Francis has declared 2025 to be a Jubilee Year of Hope. In his February 2022 letter announcing the Jubilee 2025, he stated: “We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision. The forthcoming Jubilee can contribute greatly to restoring a climate of hope and trust as a prelude to the renewal and rebirth that we so urgently desire…”

One can clearly see the need for greater hope in the world, but it also can feel like an overwhelming ask. It is easy to lose hope in our current political climate. It is easy to lose hope in the midst of the divisions within the church. It is easy to lose hope when we see the result of despair in the news every day. To call for hope can seem quite Pollyanna-ish. We clutch pearls, shrug shoulders, and sigh emphatically as if it’s too late to restore hope in anything. But Pope Francis is not operating out of naiveté. Rather he is responding to what he knows to be true, right, and just. “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you – oracle of the Lord – plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

In reflecting on his vision of hope, I have found myself asking how we as the people of God in the Diocese of Jackson reflect hope. I was quickly and swiftly reminded of the Synod on Synodality process in 2021 and the pastoral reimagining process that began in 2023. Both processes put our resolve to the test. They both offered the people of God to reflect on what type of church we want to be. For me, I have been reminded time and again that the institution and the church are not one in the same. The institution is the governing structure. And as with all governing bodies can make mistakes. The church, however, is the Body of Christ. It is all of us. It is, for me, easy to put my faith in us. All of us. Institutions and bureaucracies can fail and disappoint us, but the Body of Christ is compelled by its very nature to work toward a fulfillment of the Gospel. This, friends, gives me great hope.

So, we turn to the implementation phase of the pastoral reimagining process. As it is with any process, one of the biggest concerns at the onset of pastoral reimagining was a fear that the end product would end up filling space on a bookshelf. From the early stages of development we knew this had to be an organic process.

The formal process was completed at Pentecost 2024 with the publication of a pastoral letter from Bishop Kopacz. The letter summarizes the reimagining process and encourages all parishes to begin implementation of what they developed and have refined through the overall pastoral reimagining process.

For that vision to flourish the diocese recognizes the need to:

  • Oversee the pastoral planning aspects of pastoral reimagining.
  • Provide resources to assist parish leaders in creating and implementing pastoral plans in their family of parishes.
  • Serve deanery and parish leaders directly through liaisons and other services.

Further, we recognize that the success of implementation will come down to having someone dedicated to helping parishes succeed at the local level. To that end, I have accepted the responsibility for the implementation phase of pastoral reimagining beginning this month. I will be responsible for the various aspects assisting in developing and implementing pastoral plans at the parish, mission, deanery and diocesan level.

I am ready to get to work assisting our parish leaders bring their pastoral plans to fruition. The church, the Body of Christ, needs us to fulfill the vision of the Gospel. It will not happen overnight, but it can be achieved. Our hope anchored in the Gospel will continue to fuel the reimagining process. It clearly is not over. We have just begun. Let us be inspired by part of Pope Francis’ prayer for the Jubilee of Hope, “… May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel. May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth, when, with the powers of Evil vanquished, your glory will shine eternally …”

(Fran Lavelle is the Director of Faith Formation for the Diocese of Jackson.)