THE FIRST ACTS OF POPE FRANCIS – Hope, the key word of the Holy Year 2025

Joaquim Magalhães de Castro

In his usual Sunday Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square, on the occasion of the feast of the Baptism of the Lord which, according to the liturgical calendar currently in force in the Catholic Church, marks the end of the Christmas season, Pope Francis made the following statement: “the face and voice of God are revealed through the human side of Jesus”.

The feast of the Baptism of the Lord commemorates the moment when Christ went to receive the baptism of penance preached and administered by John the Baptist in the Jordan. And what happened on the banks of that river two thousand years ago “makes us think of many things”, the Supreme Pontiff highlights, “including our own baptism”.

Jesus joins his people who are going to receive baptism with a view to the forgiveness of their sins. “With naked soul and bare feet”, added the Bishop of Rome, quoting a liturgical hymn characteristic of today’s feast, “Jesus is baptized by John like an ordinary mortal”.

And in receiving this sacrament, the first of all, the Holy Spirit manifests himself in Jesus and the Epiphany of God occurs, revealing his face in the Son and making his voice heard. And it is precisely on this question that the Pope focused his speech. He said: “By revealing himself as Father through his Son, God institutes a special space that allows him to enter into dialogue and communion with humanity. He is thus the face of his beloved Son”. Hence the relevance of the invitation to reflection that the Holy Father offers us: Are we capable of recognizing the face of God in Jesus and in our brothers and sisters? Are we accustomed to hearing his voice?

During the ceremony, the Supreme Pontiff asked all the faithful several times to remember the date of their respective baptisms. “This is very important!” he said, taking the opportunity to ask that they celebrate the feast of the Baptism of the Lord as if it were a new anniversary: ​​“the anniversary of our birth in the Spirit of God”. After the usual Sunday blessing, the thoughts of the Supreme Pontiff were with the inhabitants of Los Angeles County, California, where in recent days devastating fires have caused monumental damage. “I pray for all of you”, were the words of the Pope, who shortly before had celebrated the baptism of 21 newborn babies in the Sistine Chapel, children of employees of the Holy See and the Swiss Guard. “Let us pray for these innocent children, and also for their families”. He took the opportunity to ask the Lord to enlighten all young couples, “so that they may have the joy of welcoming the gift of children and bringing them to baptism”. The day before, on 11 January, when inaugurating the “Jubilee Saturday Audiences”, similar in structure to the General Audiences of 16 January, which will mark the coming months and allow the Bishop of Rome “to welcome and embrace all those who come from all over the world in search of a new beginning”, Pope Francis repeated what the Fathers of the Church, such as Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, affirmed in the distant first century: “in the pilgrimage of Christian life, a new beginning is always possible. It is always possible to begin anew”.

In fact, the Jubilee is a new beginning, the possibility for everyone to begin anew with God. In a playful way, Pope Francis invited the crowd gathered in the Paul VI Hall several times during the Audience to sing together the motto “Begin anew!”

The guiding theme of the special cycle of Jubilee Audiences will be Hope, the key word of the Holy Year of 2025. Hope – the Pope explained, repeating what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches – is “a theological virtue”, that is, a strength that comes from God. Hope, therefore, “is not a habit or a character trait – which one either has or does not have – but a strength that must be requested. This is why we become pilgrims: we have come to ask for a gift, to begin the journey of life anew”.

Drawing inspiration from the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Pope Francis recalled the figure of “that great prophet of hope who was John the Baptist”. Many people sought him out, wanting a new beginning, wanting to start over. Jesus himself – the Successor of Peter continued, quoting the words recorded in the Gospel of Luke – said that “among those born of a woman, no one is greater than John”. But he also added that “the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he”. And here is the surprise: “welcoming the Kingdom of God takes us to a new order of greatness.”

Like John the Baptist, who in prison, before being beheaded by order of Herod, was “full of questions,” we too are constantly questioning throughout our pilgrimage, because there are many ‘Herods’ who still oppose the Kingdom of God. However, Jesus shows us the new path, the path of the Beatitudes, the surprising law of the Gospel. And we can always start anew. “And here,” the Pontiff concluded, “is the new beginning, our Jubilee. And therefore we must…” And then the crowd, at the request of Pope Francisco, I repeated once more, all together, the word “Start over!”.