Feast of the Holy Family
Solemn Opening of the Jubilee Year 2025 in the Archdiocese of Edmonton
Homily
[1Samuel 1:20-22, 24-28; Psalm 84; 1John 3:1-2, 21-24; Luke 2:41-52]
On Christmas Eve, the Holy Father Pope Francis solemnly inaugurated the Jubilee Year of 2025 by opening the Holy Doors of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. He has directed that today, in this mass celebrated in honour of the Holy Family, the Jubilee be opened in each Diocese throughout the world. We are privileged to be participants in this important historical moment, which ushers in what the Pope is calling a year of hope. He realizes, as do we all, that hope is currently in short supply across the world, and so is calling upon the whole Church to announce with conviction and joy the good news of Jesus Christ as the one sure and real hope for humanity.
Providentially, the Jubilee of Hope coincides with the establishment in this Archdiocese of our three pastoral priorities. Rooted in the call of the people, the priorities are dedicated to formation in the faith regarding the three pillars of Christian life, namely, worship, witness and service. How shall we grow in our understanding and celebration of Eucharistic worship; what formation is needed to be confident witnesses to Jesus Christ in our day; and how shall we be better equipped to serve marriage and family? Reflection upon the biblical texts for this mass helps us appreciate that our pursuit of these priorities will lend itself well to our participation in the Jubilee year dedicated to announcing hope in Christ.
Saint Luke records the story of finding Jesus in the Temple. Dedicated to prayer and the worship of God, the Temple was central to the life of Jesus. Indeed, he called it his “Father’s house” (John 2:16). In the coming year, as we develop our first priority, let us all commit to being found frequently in the temple we now call the Church, where worship is offered to the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit. The Eucharistic mystery is the Church’s greatest proclamation of hope, because here the heavenly and earthly liturgies unite in praise of God’s definitive victory over all evil through the death and resurrection of his Son made flesh.
The reason for hope is developed further in the passage from Saint John’s first letter. There he teaches that God, by uniting us to Jesus, has made us His children. If we believe in Jesus as Son of God and obey his commandments, all that we ask of God our Father will be ours. This loving providence of God casts out all fear and anxiety and fills our hearts with expectant hope. The Jubilee Year provides strong encouragement to embrace our call to be confident witnesses to the hope Christ alone brings to the world. May our embrace of the second priority deepen our grateful awareness that we are God’s beloved children, and thus motivate us to share with all people the reason for our hope (cf. 1Peter 3:15).
As our third priority, we have chosen service to marriage and family because, in our day, these are under great strain and in particularly urgent need of hope. This brings me to the Holy Family, whom the Church honours today, and what they teach us about hope in family life. They knew only too well the pressures and challenges of being a family. In the Gospel text, Mary and Joseph are experiencing the panic felt by any parent whose child goes missing. Moreover, they became refugees in a foreign land as they fled from the murderous King Herod, and later looked on as their son endured mockery and rejection. Both Jesus and Mary knew the pain of grief at Joseph’s death, and Mary herself, in great anguish, had to look on helplessly as her only son was crucified. The hope that united and sustained them through it all arose from their unshakeable trust in the fidelity of God the Father, working through the events that marked the life of Jesus to accomplish His saving plan for the world. Taking our lead today from Mary and Joseph, whose every thought and concern was focused upon their son, we can offer no greater service to married couples and their families than by encouraging them to make Jesus the centre of their attention, and in him to find hope from the assurance of God’s faithful love.
In Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God who took flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, light and life have exploded into history to overcome all darkness and death. It is our joyful duty as his disciples to make him known. May the grace of this Jubilee Year, and our pursuit of the pastoral priorities, animate us anew for a bold proclamation of the Gospel as we invite others to find in Jesus, as we have, the reason for real hope.
Most Reverend Richard W. Smith
Saint Joseph Basilica
December 29th, 2024