Hope Never Ends

The Holy Year 2025 is soon coming to an end. In whichever way we have participated in the Jubilee, it has truly been a year of grace, anchoring us in hope; for this we give thanks to the Lord!

We set out together on this journey as pilgrims of hope with the late Pontiff, Pope Francis, on Christmas Eve last year, when he opened the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, marking the start of the 25th Jubilee in the history of the Church since the year 1300; it is a special year of forgiveness and grace. Little did we know that shortly afterwards he would take ill, an illness which would become his final journey to the "holy door" of heaven. And because the Lord never abandons his Church, he quickly gave us Pope Leo XIV, who will the close of the Jubilee of Hope on the Feast of the Epiphany. 

Vatican Nativity Scene 2025

Though Jubilee Years occur every 25 years, the Pope will most likely declare the year 2033 as an extraordinary Jubilee Year to celebrate 2000 years since the resurrection of the Lord, our true hope!

So, there is something we have all learnt about Christian hope – it endures, never coming to an end. It is among the three things that remain, that is, faith, hope and love (cf. 1 Cor 13:13). The fact that the Holy Year started in 2024, continued throughout 2025, and will officially conclude on 6 January 2026, should be a testimony to hope, which has become like a light shining in a dark place (cf. Jn 1:5) in this moment of world histroy.

In the last of the Saturday Jubilee Audiences, already anticipating the mystery of Our Lord’s Nativity, Pope Leo XIV expressed it this way:

‘The Jubilee is coming to an end; however, the hope that this Year has given us does not finish: we will continue to be pilgrims of hope! We heard from Saint Paul: “For in this hope we were saved” (Rm 8:24). Without hope, we are dead; with hope, we come to the light. Hope is generative. Indeed, it is a theological virtue, that is, a strength of God, and as such it does not kill, but gives birth and rebirth. This is true strength. What threatens and kills is not strength: it is arrogance, it is aggressive fear, it is evil that does not generate anything. The strength of God gives birth. This is why I would like to say to you, finally: to hope is to generate’.

Perhaps, for whatever reason, we may feel disheartened as we approach the Christmas festivities and the New Year. Things may not seem to have improved much in the world of politics and economics leaving a certain imbalance on the scales of justice. Ignoring the appeals for peace which resounded throughout the Jubilee, many powerful people, as Pope Leo XIV puts it, still do not hear the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. The Holy Father laments the fact that the wealth of the earth is in the hands of a few whereas God has destined the goods of the earth to be shared by everyone. The Pope believes that the task which the Holy Year has set before us is to turn to the creator God, who generates, so that we can generate with him, in hope.

Is not this the newness which Christmas brings us each year? The Lord Jesus Christ, born to set us free, is the door of faith and the hope of salvation. Now that the Holy Doors are being closed until the next Jubilee, we must make sure that we open the doors of our hearts to his mercy (cf. Rev 3:20). Let us pray that many will find in him their true and lasting peace!

Throughout the Jubilee Year I have shared some highlights on this platform, especially from the those events which I experienced first-hand in Rome. I count this as an immense privilege! I am sure that you have your own memorable moments which you will cherish. The image which will remain with me is the “way of the pilgrim”. Watching hundreds of thousands of people making their way on pilgrimage to the Holy Door has been a sign of hope. Our baptismal calling is to be missionary disciples – pursuing holiness by walking daily with Christ as pilgrims of hope on mission in the world today.

In this spirit, holding on to that hope which does not disappoint (cf. Rm 5:5), I conclude this series of Jubilee reflections by turning, once again with the words of Pope Leo XIV, to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the true “holy door” through which Christ entered into the world and into the fragility of our lives:

‘To hope is to generate. To hope is to see this world become God's world: the world in which God, human beings and all creatures walk together again, in the garden city, the new Jerusalem. May Mary, our hope, always accompany our pilgrimage of faith and hope’.

Wishing you all a holy Christmas and a peaceful New Year!

The Pilgrim,

Fr Runaine James Radine

Christmas Eve 2025

Education: a Door to Hope and Holiness

 For some in the world of education, a new academic year takes off, while for others it is exam season. The Church recently celebrated the Jubilee of Education in the context of the Holy Year of Hope. Education enables one to broaden one's vision with hope.

To open the celebrations, Pope Leo XIV presided over a Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit with Pontifical Universities in Rome. About 1300 professors and students concelebrated the Mass. In his homily, speaking about the grace of an overarching vision which can touch the life of a student, a researcher and a scholar, the Holy Father likened the educative experience to the gospel of the day - that of the healing of the bent-over woman (Lk 13:10-17) - in which is seen the grace of moving from ignorance, self-absorption, spiritual and intellectual restlessness to being "lifted up" and "looking up" toward God, others and the mystery of life and "looking beyond" with a broader vision for the future.

"Heart Speaks to Heart"
(Motto of St John Henry Newman)

The Holy Father cautioned against being experts in the smallest details of reality while losing the capability of an overarching vision that integrates things through a deeper and greater meaning. The current Jubilee of Hope, slowly moving to its close, has shown us that the Christian experience, and indeed, the Easter experience, wishes to teach us to look at life and reality with a unified gaze, capable of embracing everything while rejecting merely partial ways of thinking. In this way, the educative community learns to integrate research into their lives and spiritual journey. 

Our intellectual development, a search for the truth, can never be separated from our lived experience. That is why all that happens in university classrooms and educational environments of all kinds does not remain an abstract intellectual exercise. This, the Pope believes, makes integrated learning and study capable of transforming lives, and, more importantly, it helps us to deepen our relationship with Christ, to understand better the mystery of the Church, and makes us bold witnesses of the Gospel in society.

The educational experience is a responsibility that cannot be taken lightly. Educators, like Jesus in the gospel, must lift people up, helping them become themselves and able to develop informed consciences and the capacity for critical thinking. To educate is an "act of love". Ultimately, the educational journey helps us to know how to speak, narrate, deepen and proclaim the reasons for the hope that is in us (cf. 1 Pet 3:15). 

The Jubilee of Education ended on All Saints Day (1 November) when the Holy Father declared St John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Universal Church and co-patron of education alongside St Thomas Aquinas. Through their philosophical and theological work – a constant search for the truth and the practice of virtue – they have shown us how a sound and integrated education in Christian doctrine can open to us the treasures of hope and holiness. The Pope has since declared Newman patron of our Urbaniana University here, if you like, the Pope's Missionary Institute in Rome; it has an association with the newest Doctor of the Church and has prepared seminarians and priests from the so-called mission countries to preach the good news and so  make disciples of all the nations for nearly 400 years. 

Jubilee of the World of Education
St Peter's Basilica, 27 October 2025
(Screenshot from the Pope's Official IG handle)

'The Jubilee', as Pope Leo XVI said in his concluding message, 'is a pilgrimage of hope, and all of you, in the great field of education, know well how much hope is an indispensable seed! When I reflect on schools and universities, I think of them as laboratories of prophecy [in the service of love, justice, and peace], where hope is lived, and constantly discussed and encouraged'. The goal of the Church's educational mission, therefore, despite the darkness that surrounds us, is to create saints, who, by the hope they carry within them, shine as bright stars in the world as they offer it the word of life (cf. Phil 2:15-16).

The Pilgrim

Fr Runaine James Radine

15 November 2025

Memorial of St Albert the Great, patron of scientists, philosphers and students

Seeds of Peace and Hope

Dear pilgrims of hope, we pick up our reflections for the Jubilee Year in this month of September which is the Season of Creation. The late Holy Father Pope Francis, who inaugurated the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation ten years ago, chose the theme for this year's observance – “Sowing Seeds of Peace and Hope”. How fitting for the current Jubilee!

The last couple of months have been an intense time of pilgrimage for me – I had the joy of welcoming my family and some friends to Rome where they could pass through the Holy Doors and obtain the Jubilee Indulgence. Thank the God of hope for such a blessing! It was customary during Jubilee Years in biblical times to return to one's homeland - I was fortunate enough to return to my diocese for a short visit before taking up some supply work in parishes around the UK and Ireland until I go back to the books in Rome at the end of this month. I’d like to think of these opportunities as a time of sowing seeds of peace and hope and I am grateful to all those who continue to sow such seeds in my own life. This also gave me a chance to experience some of the great Jubilee events away from Rome like many of those who read this blog. I was particularly touched by the Jubilee of Youth and the much-anticipated canonization of Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint to be formally raised to the altars for the veneration of the faithful.

Some pilgrims outside St John Lateran
The Cathedral of Rome

Young people have been flocking to the Eternal City this year. In fact, the canonization of Acutis was originally scheduled for April and had to be put on hold for the funeral of Pope Francis, an event, given its context, sowed seeds of peace and hope. In July they were back in Rome, this time more than a million of them, for the Jubilee of Youth. It was by far the largest gathering presided over by our new Holy Father Pope Leo XIV.

It has become customary for Pope Leo to make a spontaneous appearance whenever the youth are gathered in large numbers. After all, the youth have always brought out the best in the popes; there was even a “good morning” message before his first canonization Mass today. These short greetings certainly sowed seeds of peace and hope in the hearts of those young people. At the opening Mass of the Jubilee of Youth, moved by the enthusiasm of the youth, the Pope reminded them that they were the salt of the earth and the light of the world and that their cries for Jesus would resound throughout the earth, cries for peace, so as to become messages of hope to the world.

What better example to the youth of today than that of St Pier Giorgio Frassati and St Carlo Acutis! Both of them died from illness at a young age, leaving behind a model of holiness, one at the beginning and another at the end of the last century. They were known for their love of Jesus in the Eucharist and the poor. In their desire to please God in all things, they brought joy to the families and peers. They join other young saints who were canonized during a Holy Year, like St Therese of Lisieux, canonized in the Jubilee Year 1925, and St Maria Goretti, canonized in the Jubilee Year 1950. Incidentally, the mothers of Acutis and Goretti are the only two mothers in the history of the Church who have attended the canonization of their chidren in St Peter's Square. These "saints of the Jubilees" show us that ‘in Christ, we too are seeds, and indeed, “seeds of peace and hope”’ (Pope Leo XVI).

St Carlo Acutis and St Pier Giorgio Frassati
(Image: Jubilee 2025 Website)

As the Jubilee Year slowly moves to a close we would do well to reflect on the seeds of peace and hope that it has sown in our hearts so far, as we continue our journey together with the Lord Jesus and with one another through this our common home by the highway of the Eucharist to our true homeland in heaven.

The Pilgrim,

Fr Runaine James Radine

Food for the Pilgrimage of Hope

We are now half-way through the Holy Year 2025. In this month of June, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we give thanks for the graces and blessings we have received through our participation in the various Jubilee events so far. Today, being the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, we rejoice in the nourishment we receive from the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus. Devotion to the Eucharist and the Heart of Christ is intimately connected. The Lord’s Body and Blood is food for our journey as pilgrims of hope on mission in the world.

Pope Leo XIV took up the Petrine Ministry just over a month ago. With that, the Holy Father has continued to lead the Church in this Jubilee of Hope, appealing for peace in the world, so that we could live this time of grace in unity and love.

The Eucharist - Food for the Journey

One of the most moving events so far was the Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents and the Elderly earlier this month. In his message of unity, unity born of the Eucharist, the Pope reminded us that 'in the family, faith is handed on together with life, generation after generation. It is shared like food at the family table and like the love in our hearts. In this way, families become privileged places in which to encounter Jesus, who loves us and desires our good, always'.

Vocations to the priesthood and religious life grow within the family. On a personal note, I recall my first Holy Communion twenty-five years ago during the Great Jubilee Year 2000 on the feast of Corpus Christi. I give thanks to God for my family, especially my mother and grandmother, who led me to the Altar on that day. I think of Fr Sean Tucker, now retired in Ireland, from whose consecrated hands I received the Blessed Sacrament for the first time. I see this moment as one of the major sign-posts along my vocational journey.

Like all priests, borrowing the words of St Monica to her son, St Augustine, I can now remember my loved ones at the Altar of God wherever I am, especially those who have died. The "theologian of Corpus Christi", St Thomas Aquinas, in the Office composed specially for this feast, says that the Eucharist '...is offered in the Church for the living and the dead, so that what was instituted for the salvation of all may be for the benefit of all'.

And so I am looking forward to the Jubilee of Priests which will take place this Friday, 27 June, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This will be a wonderful opportunity to renew our Eucharistic faith, so that united in the Lord Jesus, we may continue to offer ourselves for the mission that has been entrusted to each one of us.

A couple of days ago, the Vatican announced the much-anticipated news about the Canonisation of Blessed Carlo Acutis. This teenage cyber-apostle of the Eucharist, and the soon-to-be first millennial saint, was very much in touch with the reality of our Christian journey – it leads to heaven. In fact, he said that the Eucharist is the highway to heaven. Without the strength of this heavenly food, we cannot live as pilgrims of hope. Jesus, truly present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, is our hope.

Since we now are moving into the Roman summertime, many pilgrims will be descending on the Eternal City. I am looking forward to welcoming a special group from home. Our universities will be closed for three months here. So, those of us who, as St John Paul II wrote in his Spiritual Testament, carry out the pastoral work of academics, will spend the holidays guiding pilgrims, doing theological research and assisting in parishes. Perhaps this blog will also take a little "summer break", unless something really exciting happens - it is the Jubilee after all! 

Happy Feast Day!

The Pilgrim

Fr Runaine James Radine

Corpus Christi 2025

The Journey of Hope Continues

We are still getting used to having a new pope so much so that it has taken me nearly a week to gather my thoughts about this special time in Rome – a moment of grace for the whole Church. I think I share the sentiments of many of those gathered in St Peter’s Square last Thursday when I say that it was like love at first sight when Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost walked out onto the central loggia of the Papal Basilica as the newly elected Pope, taking the name Leo XIV.

Many images have since surfaced on social media platforms telling the story of a seemingly unnoticed prelate, with pastoral and curial experience, from his time as an Augustinian friar, missionary and bishop in Peru, who has travelled around the world including South Africa. This is perhaps a signal that the Lord has been quietly preparing the 69-year-old Pope Leo XIV for his new ministry as universal shepherd of the Church, beginning providentially in this Jubilee Year of Hope, when we will continue to offer prayers and sacrifices for the intentions of the Holy Father.

8 May 2025
First Appearance of Pope Leo XIV
Credit: Vatican Media

There is already a great deal of excitement around what kind of leader the new Pope would be (not that that really matters, afterall the Church belongs to Christ, and as St John XXIII once quipped, Pope Leo could also go to bed at night without much trouble). One thing is sure, the Holy Father has taken up the baton of peace from his predecessor, and indeed, from the Risen Christ, greeting the admiring crowd – peace be with all of you – a message filled with Easter promise!

As he stood on that balcony, visibly moved yet portraying inner strength, he soon resembled the vigour with which the young St John Paul II started his papacy; he even sounded like JPII when he told young people on Vocations Sunday, do not be afraid! Like Karol Wojtyla, he is an alumnus of the Dominican Angelicum University in Rome, where he completed his doctorate on the role of a prior as a servant-leader in an Augustinian community, a hint as to how he would later carry out his own ministry as prior general of the same Order. Pope Leo has already shown that, like the beloved Polish Pope, he has a deep devotion to Our Lady, having already invoked her intercession for the miracle of peace.

Our new Holy Father demonstrates an intellectual affinity with Benedict XVI, as a cooperator of the Truth which Pope Leo will proclaim in love (cf. Eph 4:15). Both would be well-versed in Augustinian thought, which is steeped in contemplation of the Scriptures, the mystery of the Eucharist and the primacy of grace. Like the Theologian Pope, and as a true son of St Augustine, Pope Leo has already been speaking about truth, unity, and charity, attested to in his papal motto, “in the One Christ, we are one”.

Official Portrait and Coat of Arms
Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Leo certainly uses the language of inclusion so dear to Pope Francis. Prevost served as a missionary in Latin-America, in the manner of Bergoglio, with the smell of the sheep. He is aware, like Pope Francis, that he has been chosen in mercy; the papacy is a grace from God through which Leo would build bridges in the whole Church and in our divided world - unity in diversity.

Though I see some connection between Pope Leo and the three popes of the "New Millenium" (whom Prevost met in his different capacities), I don't think that he'll be a mere “copy” of any of them. Rather, continuing along the path of his predecessors, he will bring the Church into dialogue with the modern world, addressing the present-day social ills, just as the last Pope Leo did at the turn of the twentieth century. But he will do so as Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV. Given his unassuming nature, deep faith and commitment to Christ and his Church, it feels good to watch his papacy unfold, even though it is still early days. I must admit, it’s refreshing that our first North American Pope uses English at the best of times! But we would do well to get to know Pope Leo XIV on his own terms.

Breaking somewhat with the spontaneity of the first papal addresses of his predecessors, Pope Leo had a prepared text for his first “Urbi et Orbi” blessing to the City of Rome and the World. More like a lamb than a leone, he spoke about the missionary dimension of the Church; as followers of Christ, we will continue walking together, fearlessly proclaiming the Good News, so that peace and justice may prevail in all corners of the globe.

In his homily for the Mass with the Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel, offered "For the Church", Pope Leo developed what he had said the previous evening. He spoke about the content and the context of the Church's announcement of the gospel. This proclamation is centred on Jesus, he who is the Christ, the Son of the living God. The one Saviour of the world, revealing the face of the Father, says Pope Leo, is 'a model of human holiness that we can all imitate, together with the promise of an eternal destiny that transcends all our limits and abilities'. Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, is the content of the Church’s proclamation.

The Pope went on to admit that 'even today, there are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent. Settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure'. Pope Leo sees such situations as the 'contexts where it is not easy to preach the Gospel and bear witness to its truth, where believers are mocked, opposed, despised or at best tolerated and pitied. Yet, precisely for this reason, they are the places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed. A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family and so many other wounds that afflict our society'. And so, continuing the unbroken chain of apostolic tradition, the message will reach the ends of the earth (cf. Acts 1:8).

It does feel good to be Catholic in this moment in history. I will never forget the experience of witnessing that white smoke and the thrill of being in that cheering crowd. The whole world has been focussed on “Vatican Hill”, with the experience of the death of one pope and the election of another. But, Pope Leo (in a meeting with the Cardinals in the days following his election), underlined the fact that the Church is an ark of salvation for many and a beacon of light for all; it is not the grandeur of her monuments but the holiness of her members which makes the proclamation of the gospel credible. 

This is very much in keeping with the Church's emphasis on the universal call to holiness by the Second Vatican Council (cf. Lumen Gentium chapter 5) and the renewed call to announce the gospel proposed by Pope Francis in his first Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel, 24 November 2013). From this document, Pope Leo highlighted the following priorities for the Church's commitment to the gospel: the return to the primacy of Christ in proclamation (cf. No. 11); the missionary conversion of the entire Christian community (cf. No. 9); growth in collegiality and synodality (cf. No. 33); attention to the sensus fidei (cf. Nos. 119-120), especially in its most authentic and inclusive forms, such as popular piety (cf. No. 123); loving care for the least and the rejected (cf. No. 53); courageous and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world in its various components and realities (cf. No. 84; Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 1-2). 'These', Pope Leo stresses, 'are evangelical principles that have always inspired and guided the life and activity of God’s Family'.

With a word of peace on our lips, then, we will continue to live as pilgrims of hope in communion with Leo our Pope in this Jubilee Year. This hope is alive with the desire for justice and peace in our times. It is a pilgrimage together from the earthly city to the city of God, to that place of everlasting peace!

Viva il Papa!

The Pilgrim

Fr Runaine James Radine

15 May 2025

Feast of St Matthias, Apostle

The Final Journey of a Pilgrim of Hope

Last Christmas Eve, Pope Francis became the first pilgrim to pass through the Holy Door of St Peter's Basilica. From the central balcony of that same Basilica, he imparted his blessing "to the city and the world" on Easter Sunday. In the joy of Easter, he returned to the Father's house the following morning, thus completing his pilgrimage of hope in this world. A journey of hope from the crib to the cross - hope in the Risen Lord! 

Pope Francis, who died in the hope of the resurrection, now awaits the resurrection of the body, entombed in the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome. He wanted his tomb to be made with material from the land of his ancestors in the Italian region of Liguria. Just before the burial, the pallbearers stopped in front of the icon of Our Lady, Salus Popoli Romani (Health of the Roman People), where Pope Francis prayed on numerous occasions since the beginning of his papacy. In this Holy Year, in which we fulfil the requirements for the Jubilee Indulgence by praying for the intentions of the Holy Father, we can offer prayers and sacrifices for the eternal repose of the soul of Pope Francis.

Among the concelebrating priests
at the Funeral Mass on 26 April 2025
"With Peter and under Peter"
Photo: Vatican Media

The days leading up to the funeral had everyone reflecting on the life and witness of Jorge Mario Bergoglio whose papacy lasted 12 years. From the start when he greeted the world wearing only the white cassock, we knew that things were going to be done a little differently. A pope of firsts, his words and gestures, like that of the humble poverello of Assisi, have been often misunderstood. But there was no stopping to this pope of surprises. Francis the merciful carried out his petrine ministry like one who had a clear mandate - bringing about a revolution of love and compassion. Back home we'd say that Pope Francis embodied ubuntu. We could all take a leaf out of his book to live better the gospel of the Lord Jesus, the face of the Father's mercy.

To understand the late Holy Father's modus operandi, one must consider the context in which the Pope's theological ideas grew and where his understanding of the church matured, rooted in the popular religiosity of the Latin-American people and his own Jesuit formation. The Argentine Pope (who never returned to his homeland after being elected bishop of Rome) embraced a theology of the people of God (of the Second Vatican Council), seeing the church as a community of missionary disciples. Coming from the peripheries, Francis sought to embrace and listen to those on the margins of society, advocating for justice and peace in the whole world. The various Jubilee celebrations throughout this year, including one for the poor, bear testimony to this. 

One could only imagine that the Magisterium of Pope Francis will have a major impact on the theological work of those of us currently studying in Rome. The funeral homily of Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re made for a fitting tribute to an intense papacy, inviting us to take up the baton of hope from Papa Francesco in this Jubilee Year. Even after his death, we should remember that "they that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles' wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint" (Is 40:31).

The nine days of mourning from the day of the Pope's burial also serves as a novena in preparation for the Conclave (set to begin on 7 May). At least 18 cardinals from Africa, including South Africa's Stephen Brislin, will be part of the 135 trusted men (exceeding the usual number of 120) from around the world who will, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, elect the 266th successor of the Apostle Peter. Christ, the Chief Shepherd, does not abandon his church. We might never have another Franciscus but we will certainly have another Pope with whom we will continue our journey together as the people of God on mission in the world.

The Pilgrim

Fr Runaine James Radine

28 April 2025

Christ our Hope is Risen. Alleluia.

As the world mourns the passing on of Pope Francis, I share with you my Easter Sunday reflection in which I referred to the Holy Father’s words about the effect of the Resurrection of the Lord on our journey of faith:

Our annual Lenten Pilgrimage has culminated once again in the solemn celebration of the Sacred Paschal Triduum. Renewed by the Spirit, we are now able to sing joyfully our alleluias. ‘We are an Easter people, and alleluia is our song’ (St John Paul II). Christ our Hope is risen! ‘Through him you now have faith in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory for that very reason – so that you would have faith and hope in God’ (1 Pet 1:21).

The Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, that tomb given to Jesus on loan, is still empty. We cannot find him among the dead for he is risen in the flesh and lives forever. Providentially, in this Jubilee Year of Hope, in the Lord’s City, the Resurrection of Christ is observed on the same day by Catholic and Orthodox Christians. One great “alleluia” resounds throughout the world, leaving reverberations of hope in its sway.

Pope Francis, pointing us to the Risen Christ, the hope which does not disappoint, says: ‘Hope is born of love and based on the love springing from the pierced heart of Jesus upon the cross: “For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life” (Rom 5:19). That life becomes manifest in our own life of faith, which begins with Baptism, develops in openness to God’s grace and is enlivened by a hope constantly renewed and confirmed by the working of the Holy Spirit…The death and resurrection of Jesus is the heart of our faith and the basis of our hope’ (Spes non confundit, nn. 3, 20).

As pilgrims of hope, we were led into our darkened churches last by the light of the Paschal Candle during the Easter Vigil; we followed that flame of hope as if following the Lord Jesus himself, the conqueror of sin and death. He has opened for us the way to eternal life.

Just as the pilgrimage through the Holy Doors of the Eternal City ends with the Profession of Faith, our experience of forgiveness and conversion in these days, prepares us for the Profession of Faith holding lighted candles with little flames from the Easter Candle, proclaiming the one faith of all the baptised, who then celebrate together the Easter Eucharist, the banquet of unity and peace.

On Easter night, when Holy Mother Church rejoices in the re-birth of her children, modelling the ancient practice of Rome, the liturgy of baptism includes a dialogue by which we boldly profess with a three-fold assent - I believe – I believe in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sin, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. With this profession of faith comes a three-fold renunciation of Satan, sin, and the works of darkness.

Faith in the Risen Christ thus has a very real and life-changing effect on my life and the way in which I see the world. I give myself over to God and to the Church. Faith ‘is not something thought up by myself; it is something said to me [hence the question, do you believe], which hits me as something that has not been thought out [by myself] and could not be thought out and lays an obligation on me’ (Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, Introduction to Christianity). That is why my own I believe becomes the we believe of the Church.

Our faith in the Risen Lord prompts us, who have been raised with Christ in baptism, ‘to seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at God’s right hand’ (cf. Col 3:1-4). The hope which we carry within us then helps us to confront the tombs which we encounter along the journey of faith. We cannot help but tremble before the senselessness of violence and war in our world today. Indifference in the face of such suffering would be like living among the "tombs". So, even in towns and villages which have been reduced to ruins, the celebration of the resurrection of the Lord brings healing and hope to the destitute – where Easter joy bursts through the rubble!

We have all faced some dead end at one point or another. But, as witnesses of the resurrection, we face these challenges bearing the cross, a symbol of victory, singing in our hearts the Jubilee refrain: ‘Like a flame my hope is burning, may my song arise to you: Source of life that has no ending, on life’s path I trust in you.’ Jesus, I trust in you!

The Pilgrim

Fr Runaine James Radine

Easter 2025