Jubilee: Filipinos urged to journey together in hope

By Lisa Zengarini

As the Church begins the Jubilee Year of 2025, the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan has encouraged Filipino Catholics to remain steadfast in hope, faithful to their innate resilience and optimism, and to walk together in a spirit of synodality, as called for by Pope Francis.

Filipino's innate resilience is rooted in their deep faith in God

In a Pastoral Letter issued at the opening of the Jubilee in the Philippines, Cardinal David noted that Filipinos seem to have a “natural disposition” to hope rather than fear, as consistently evidenced by surveys spanning decades. He cited the findings of a research firm that regularly conducts a year-end survey showing that  more than 90 per cent of Filipinos have a positive outlook to the future. Experts relate this optimism to Filipino’s deep religiosity and faith in God.

“Our lofty sense of hope is connected with the conviction that ‘while there is life, there is hope’ (‘habang may buhay, may pag-asa) Cardinal David observed. “Despite our struggles and frustrations, we will always hold on to the belief that  ‘God has mercy’ (‘may awa ang Diyos’) or ‘God will take care,” (‘Diyos na ang bahala’).

On the other hand, he acknowledged that that some stark realities, such as poverty, the devastating impact of climate change, mental health challenges and political discord can make hope “elusive and scarce” for many people.

The Jubilee of Hope challenges us to be obstinate in our faith

In this context, the Jubilee Year of 2025 becomes a call to deepen faith and anchor hope in the love of God: it “challenges us to be obstinate in our faith,” Cardinal David remarked.

Pope Francis, he explained, chose the theme of hope “to help everyone gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision.”

The head of the Filipino bishops called on  Filipino Catholics to embrace the Jubilee Year as an opportunity for spiritual renewal and structural reform within the Church highlighting the importance of walking together in faith as a community. “Let us not waste the grace of the Jubilee. Let us not lose the impetus to spiritual renewal and structural reform initiated by the Synod on Synodality, “ he urged.

We journey together in hope

As pilgrims of hope, “we are summoned to move forward together, in synodality,” Cardinal David wrote recalling that the logo of Jubilee Year depicting God's people in a boat, sailing on the turbulent sea, with the cross as their anchor , is a powerful reminder that we “are on the same boat called to conversion of relationships.”

“The Ordinary Jubilee Year of 2025 is the best opportunity for us to start our formation in synodality in our basic ecclesial communities, parishes and dioceses”, he concluded. “We journey together in hope. We walk together in love”