Follow Me Jubilee 2025: ‘Look for hints of hope’ By Bishop Terry R. LaValley

January 8, 2025

Editor’s note: The following is Bishop Terry R. LaValley’s homily from the Mass opening the Jubilee Year on Dec. 29 at St. Mary’s Cathedral.

It is fitting that we begin the Jubilee Year of Hope during the Christmas Season. Pope Francis wrote, “We must pray that each day God may give us hope and give it to everyone, that hope which arises when we see God in the crib in Bethlehem.”

You see, hope came into the world with that birth, the Incarnation of the Son of God. And what is this hope? Eternal life. God, Himself, comes into the world and gives us the strength to walk with Him into eternity. WOW!
This Feast of the Holy Family reminds you and me that God walks with us in Jesus as a family of faith. Walking with Him gives us the strength to live in the present times in a new way. For sure, sometimes it’s a very challenging journey, but with it comes a vision of a new heavens and a new earth. For Christians, to hope means the certainty of being on a journey with Christ as a family of faith heading towards the Father who awaits us all. In his letter on hope, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote that “Hope never stands still, it is always journeying.” (15-16) And so, we can never get too comfortable and stop growing in our relationship to Jesus. We get nowhere travelling in neutral or park. A couch potato Catholic is a contradiction.

I’d like to point out two elements of my Episcopal Coat of Arms: my Episcopal Motto, Jesus’ words: “Follow Me” and the symbol of an anchor. Both are evident in the Jubilee Logo on display in the Cathedral vestibule.

You’ll notice that the figures on the Logo are supporting each other as they move forward, indicating the solidarity and fraternity which should unite all peoples. The figure in the front is clinging to the cross. It is not only the sign of the faith which this lead figure embraces, but also of hope, which can never be abandoned because we are always in need of hope. We, also, see the rough waves under the figures, symbolizing the fact that life’s pilgrimage of following Jesus does not always go smoothly in calm waters. We have only to consider how today Jesus’ teachings are so often ignored or rejected. The world knows Him not. Especially today, on this Feast of the Holy Family, we are keenly aware that, for example, marriage, family and gender have no meaning today. The rougher the waters, the more determined we must be to get closer to Jesus.

Often the circumstances of daily living and events in the wider world require a greater call to hope. That’s why in the LOGO we should pay special attention to the bottom part of the cross which has been stretched and turned into the shape of an anchor which is lowered into the waves. The anchor is a symbol of hope. Such hope gives stability to voyagers in turbulent times. In maritime jargon the anchor of hope refers to the “reserve anchor” used by vessels involved in emergency maneuvers to stabilize the ship during storms.

The Holy Father writes, “the image of the anchor is eloquent; it helps us to recognize the stability and security that is ours amid the troubled waters of this life, provided we entrust ourselves to the Lord Jesus. The storms that buffet us will never prevail, for we are firmly anchored in the hope born of grace, which enables us to live in Christ and to overcome sin, fear and death.”

It is worth noting that the Jubilee of Hope LOGO illustrates that the cross bends down towards humanity, not leaving human beings alone, but stretching out to them to offer the certainty of its presence and the security of hope. Members of the local councils of our Knights of Columbus have been on a journey with our Jubilee Cross. This one doesn’t bend, but it has traveled here from several parishes, reminding us of its profound importance in each of our lives and of our need to embrace it.

In the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee of the Year 2025 entitled, Hope Does Not Disappoint, the Holy Father writes, “For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the “door” of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere and to all as “our hope (1 Tim 1:1). The celebrated Opening of the Holy Doors of our Cathedral Church calls to mind the opening of the door to heaven. We believe it’s a narrow gate, but one that widens when Jesus accompanies us and we follow His teaching.

This Jubilee Year of Hope provides you and me with many opportunities to strengthen our relationships with Jesus Christ and capture the hope that such closeness promises.

We are setting out with a new determination to embrace the graces that will flow. Journeying through life with one another we will grow ever closer to Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

I was so encouraged when I started reflecting on the number of hints of hope here in the Church of the North Country. I was reading recent Advent issues of our North Country Catholic and found so many indications of vibrancy of faith in our Diocese, signs of real hope. For instance, the section on parish life, entitled “Around the Diocese” included notices of events involving: Book Clubs, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Parish Dinners, Devotion & Holy Hours, Sacred Songs Christmas Concert, parish Advent Retreats, Organ Recitals, Rosary with Devotions, Holy Hour & Divine Mercy Chaplet, Divine Renovation, Foster Grandparent programs, Men’s Prayer Groups, Gabriel Projects and Project Rachel, Priesthood Discernment Gatherings, First Saturday Rosary Devotion, Rosary For Life, Knights of Columbus Monthly Brunch, Holy Hour for Vocations, Benefit Spaghetti meal & Silent Auction by a local K of C Council, Parish Anniversary celebrations, and Christmas seminarian and parents gatherings. So many faith-filled groups including: the lay associates of the Sisters of St. Joseph, the Living Flame of Love group, “Alpha” and “Renovation” groups, the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, local Knights of Columbus councils, Legion of Mary, Parish Altar & Rosary Societies, our Catholic Schools, Commissioned Lay Ministers, and Cursillo, to mention just a few. We are blessed with such faith-filled Consecrated Religious, Deacons, Consecrated Virgins, brother Priests, among many others. We don’t need to look very far to see hints of faith in action which clearly speak of the reason for hope today.

As we launch the Year of Hope in this Diocese of Ogdensburg, I encourage us all to look for hints of hope around us. Particularly during those times of discouragement, loneliness, fear or confusion, look for hints of hope that will boost your response to the call to holiness. This Jubilee Year you will find special events and occasions to heighten our awareness of the signs of hope in our midst. Please participate in these opportunities for special graces. The more we recognize and embrace such signs of hope, the more we can become signs of hope for others, enroute to the Father’s House. As Pope Francis wrote, “This hope, which transcends life’s fleeting pleasures and the achievement of our immediate goals, makes us rise above our trials and difficulties, and inspires us to keep pressing forward, never losing sight of the grandeur of the heavenly goal to which we have been called.” With the Psalmist, “I am sure I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Hope in Him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord.” (Psalm 27:13-14). My sisters and brothers, we are Christ-led and Christ-fed, so we are Hope-filled and so through the journey May God be praised…forever may God be praised!