Papal Bull“Spes Non Confundit"
"(Hope does not disappoint)”
Some excerpts from Paragraph 1
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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”.
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In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring.
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May the Jubilee be an opportunity to be renewed in hope. God’s wordhelps us find reasons for that hope.
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Hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
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The Church of Rome was not founded by Paul, yet he felt impelled to hasten there in order to bring to everyone the Gospel of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead, a message of hope that fulfils the ancient promises, leads to glory and, grounded in love, does not disappoint.
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Hope is born of love and based on the love springing from the pierced heart of Jesus upon the cross.
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The Holy Spirit illumines all believers with the light of hope. He keeps that light burning, like an ever-burning lamp, to sustain and invigorate our lives. Christian hope does not deceive or disappoint because it is grounded in the certainty that nothing and no one may ever separate us from God’s love.
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As Saint Augustine observes: “Whatever our state in life, we cannot live without these three dispositions of the soul, namely, to believe, to hope and to love.”
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Saint Paul is a realist. He knows that life has its joys and sorrows, that love is tested amid trials, and that hope can falter in the face of suffering. Even so, he can write: “We boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3-4).
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Beyond the darkness, we glimpse a light: we come to realize that evangelization is sustained by the power flowing from Christ’s cross and resurrection. In this way, we learn to practice a virtue closely linked to hope, namely patience.
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A renewed appreciation of the value of patience could only prove beneficial for ourselves and for others. Saint Paul often speaks of patience in the context of our need for perseverance and confident trust in God’s promises.
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The Christian life is a journey calling for moments of greater intensity to encourage and sustain hope as the constant companion that guides our steps towards the goal of our encounter with the Lord Jesus.
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Pilgrimage is of course a fundamental element of every Jubilee event. Setting out on a journey is traditionally associated with our human quest for meaning in life. A pilgrimage on foot is a great aid for rediscovering the value of silence, effort and simplicity of life.
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The Holy Year of 2025 is itself in continuity with preceding celebrations of grace….when once more the Holy Door will be flung open to invite everyone to an intense experience of the love of God that awakens in hearts the sure hope of salvation in Christ.
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The Holy Year will also guide our steps towards yet another fundamental celebration for all Christians: 2033 will mark the two thousandth anniversary of the redemption won by the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
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During the Holy Year, may the light of Christian hope illumine every man and woman, as a message of God’s love addressed to all! And may the Church bear faithful witness to this message in every part of the world!
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In addition to finding hope in God’s grace, we are also called to discover hope in the signs of the times that the Lord gives us. In every age, the Church has the responsibility of reading the signs of the times and interpreting them in the light of the Gospel.
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We need to recognize the immense goodness present in our world, lest we be tempted to think ourselves overwhelmed by evil and violence.
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The signs of the times, which include the yearning of human hearts in need of God’s saving presence, ought to become signs of hope.
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The first sign of hope should be the desire for peace in our world, which once more finds itself immersed in the tragedy of war.
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May the Jubilee remind us that those who are peacemakers will be called “children of God” (Matthew 5:9).
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Looking to the future with hope also entails having enthusiasm for life and a readiness to share it. Sadly, in many situations this is lacking. A first effect of this is the loss of the desire to transmit life.
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Openness to life and responsible parenthood is the design that the Creator has implanted in the hearts and bodies of men and women, a mission that the Lord has entrusted to spouses and to their love.
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During the Holy Year, we are called to be tangible signs of hope for those of our brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind.
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“The Lord has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed…to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour” (Isaiah 61:1-2). Jesus made those words his own at the beginning of his ministry, presenting himself as the fulfilment of the “year of the Lord’s favour” (Luke 4:18-19).
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Signs of hope should also be shown to the sick, at home or in hospital. Their sufferings can be allayed by the closeness and affection of those who visit them.
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Works of mercy are also works of hope that give rise to immense gratitude.
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Care given…is a hymn to human dignity, a song of hope that calls for the choral participation of society as a whole.
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Signs of hope are also needed by those who are the very embodiment of hope, namely the young….We must not disappoint them, for the future depends on their enthusiasm.
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The Jubilee should inspire the Church to make greater efforts to reach out to [the young].
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With renewed passion, let us demonstrate care and concern for adolescents, students and young couples, the rising generation.
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Signs of hope should also be present for migrants who leave their homelands behind in search of a better life for themselves and for their families.
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A spirit of welcome, which embraces everyone with respect for his or her dignity, should be accompanied by a sense of responsibility, lest anyone be denied the right to a dignified existence.
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May the Lord’s words in the great parable of the Last Judgement always find an echo in our hearts: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” for “just as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me” (Mt 25:35, 40).
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The elderly, who frequently feel lonely and abandoned, also deserve signs of hope.
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Here I would also mention grandparents, who represent the passing on of faith and wisdom to the younger generation. May they find support in the gratitude of their children and the love of their grandchildren, who discover in them their roots and a source of understanding and encouragement.
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I ask with all my heart that hope be granted to the billions of the poor, who often lack the essentials of life.
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Each day we meet people who are poor or impoverished; they may even be our next-door neighbours.
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Let us not forget: the poor are almost always the victims, not the ones to blame.