World Day of Peace, the Jubilee Year Begins and Happy New Year!

On this first day of the new year, I wish you all the best as we begin this Jubilee Year. Let this be a year of hope and renewal for us all as we pray to enter into a deeper relationship with Christ and our faith.

Promoting Justice: World Day of Peace

As the calendar turns to a new year, this annual observance again occurs amid the wars in the Middle East, Ukraine and other parts of the world. Each year, the Holy Father Pope Francis releases a message on World Day of Peace that reflects on current pressing challenges. This year, the Holy Father shared in his message:

The Jubilee is an event that inspires us to seek to establish the liberating justice of God in our world. In place of the ram’s horn, at the start of this Year of Grace we wish to hear the “desperate plea for help” [1] that, like the cry of the blood of Abel (cf. Gen 4:10), rises up from so many parts of our world – a plea that God never fails to hear. We for our part feel bound to cry out and denounce the many situations in which the earth is exploited and our neighbours oppressed. [2] These injustices can appear at times in the form of what Saint John Paul II called “structures of sin”, [3] that arise not only from injustice on the part of some but are also consolidated and maintained by a network of complicity.

In addition to the wars that ravage countries inhabited by those in the greatest need, the Holy Father also reminds us of “the present state of injustice and inequality by reminding ourselves that the goods of the earth are meant not for a privileged few, but for everyone.” We cannot continue to destroy what God created for the good of all just because we want to increase our profit. The Holy Father also calls attention to foreign and ecological debt and “namely the mindset of exploitation that has culminated in the debt crisis.” Amid the hope of this Jubilee Year, the Holy Father has called for the elimination or reduction of foreign debt that exploits poorer countries and for using funds earmarked for war costs to promote “sustainable development and combating climate change.”

I pray that the global community will heed the Holy Father’s call on this World Day of Peace to ease pain and suffering throughout the world.

Our Pilgrimage Begins

In the Diocese of Fall River, we opened the Jubilee Year with a Mass at the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary last Sunday, just days after His Holiness Pope Francis opened the Holy Doors at St. Peter’s at the Vatican. The Mass began in the Cathedral chapel with a reading of the Papal Bull that announced the Jubilee Year, Spes Non Confundit, or, Hope does not disappoint (Rom 5:5) and was followed by a procession into the main church as the Litany of the Saints was sung. As we begin this Jubilee Year as Pilgrims of Hope, we did so by asking the saints to pray for us as this journey of renewal and hope commences. 

In my homily, I shared how we are invited to embrace the profound theme of hope—a hope rooted in God’s mercy, forgiveness, and transformative love. This special year is a spiritual pilgrimage, an opportunity to step out of ourselves and encounter God where His love shines most brightly. 

In this sense, hope frees us from self-centeredness and despair. It anchors us in God’s love and calls us to trust, even when circumstances seem bleak. As St. Paul reminds us, nothing—neither hardship, persecution, nor even death—can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Pope Francis pushes open the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Dec. 24, inaugurating the Jubilee Year 2025. (CNS photo by Cristian Gennari, pool)

The Jubilee Year offers us the chance to rediscover this hope through a renewed relationship with God. Hope, grounded in Christ’s resurrection, assures us that God will bring good out of every challenge. As Pope Francis urges, we are called to bring hope to the weary, the brokenhearted, and the oppressed. In our woundedness, we can become sources of life – hope –  for others in the greatest of need. This year is an opportunity to grow in hope and share it as light amid the world’s darkness.

Let us journey together as pilgrims of hope, trusting in God’s promise and allowing this virtue to shape how we live, work, and love. In doing so, we make the Jubilee Year a celebration and renewal of faith.

Solemnities of Mary, Mother of God and the Epiphany of the Lord

The celebration of the birth of Christ begins on Christmas Eve but does not end until January 12 when we observe the Baptism of the Lord. During this time, there are two solemnities  through which we  continue our celebration of when ‘word became flesh.’

Today, January 1, one week after the celebration of Christmas, is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

The angel said to [Mary], “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” Luke 1:35

Today, we reflect upon the great sacrifice, courage, and faith demonstrated by Mary. It is through Mary that we also find the foundations of our beliefs as Catholics. For example, the Catechism states:

 “What the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illumines in turn its faith in Christ” (CCC 487)

On January 6, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. This day recalls the arrival of the magi for the adoration of Jesus and to reveal Him to all people of the world. As the Catechism shares:

The Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and Savior of the world. In the magi, representatives of the neighboring pagan religions, the Gospel sees the first-fruits of the nations, who welcome the good news of salvation through the Incarnation. The magi’s coming to Jerusalem in order to pay homage to the king of the Jews shows that they seek in Israel, in the messianic light of the star of David, the one who will be king of the nations. Their coming means that pagans can discover Jesus and worship him as Son of God and Savior of the world only by turning towards the Jews and receiving from them the messianic promise as contained in the Old Testament.

As we continue to celebrate the Christmas season amid this Jubilee Year, I invite you to open your hearts and minds to the love and hope found in Jesus Christ. 

Sincerely,

Bishop da Cunha