Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre gave a homily to the schoolchildren, staff and visitors at St. James School’s Mass at St. James Church on Jan. 13. The Mass formally opened the Jubilee Year of Hope for the Archdiocese of Louisville. (Record Photo by Olivia Castlen) 
Archbishop Fabre gave a blessing to two St. James schoolchildren during the presentation of the gifts on Jan. 13. The Mass formally opened the Jubilee Year of Hope for the Archdiocese of Louisville. (Record Photo by Olivia Castlen) 
Returning to school after an extended winter break due to inclement weather, students and staff at St. James School in Louisville gathered for a school Mass at St. James Church on Jan. 13. Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre celebrated the Mass which launched the Archdiocese of Louisville’s celebration of the Jubilee Year of Hope.
The Catholic Church typically has a jubilee every 25 years, Archbishop Fabre explained to the congregation of schoolchildren, staff and visitors. Although Pope Francis decreed an Extraordinary Year of Mercy in 2015, the last ordinary jubilee was in 2000.
During his homily, Archbishop Fabre told his listeners, that the Jubilee Year is an opportunity to deepen in friendship with Jesus Christ, who is “our hope.”
“Pope Francis has named this the Jubilee of Hope,” he told the schoolchildren.
He explained the way the church uses the word “hope” may be unfamiliar to them. “You might say, ‘I hope we have hamburgers for lunch,’” he said. But, the church uses the word differently, he noted.
“Hope points us to our goal” and is the “object of our longing,” the archbishop said. “Yes, we might say, ‘I hope for this, hope for that,’ but, in the end, we know our only hope is in Jesus Christ,” he said. The Jubilee Year is an invitation to “make Christ the goal of your future.”
Now, as in past jubilees, God gives his people another chance, said Archbishop Fabre.
One of the ways to seize the “new chance that God is giving” is by undertaking a pilgrimage, which invites the faithful into a deeper relationship with Jesus, he said. In simple language for the children to understand, he explained the process of a local pilgrimage.
During the Jubilee Year of Hope, Archbishop Fabre has designated six archdiocesan pilgrimage sites — the Cathedral of the Assumption and the Shrine of St. Martin of Tours in Louisville, the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral in Bardstown, Ky., the Church of St. Augustine in Lebanon, Ky., the Church of St. Helen in Glasgow, Ky. and the Church of the Holy Cross in Loretto, Ky.
As a pilgrim, one can ask God for “another chance” in the sacrament of reconciliation, said Archbishop Fabre. Then, the pilgrim receives the Eucharist at Mass and prays for “a stronger relationship with Jesus Christ,” he explained. “Doing those things in a church recognized as a pilgrimage site in the Jubilee Year gives us God’s grace and his blessings in a very special way,” he said.
He concluded the Mass by encouraging the schoolchildren to live their lives as the “best friend to Jesus Christ.”
To learn more about the celebration of the Jubilee Year of Hope, click here.
