Jubilee of Catechists

The Jubilee of Catechists is to be marked during the days 26th-28th September 2025. The Institution of new catechists is due to take place during Mass celebrated by the Holy Father on Sunday 28th September 2025. 

In the Motu Proprio Antiquum Ministerium , Pope Francis established the lay ministry of catechist for the universal Church. 

The role played by catechists is one specific form of service among others within the Christian community. Catechists are called first to be expert in the pastoral service of transmitting the faith as it develops through its different stages from the initial proclamation of the kerygma to the instruction that presents our new life in Christ and prepares for the sacraments of Christian initiation, and then to the ongoing formation that can allow each person to give an accounting of the hope within them (cf. 1 Pet 3:15). At the same time, every catechist must be a witness to the faith, a teacher and mystagogue, a companion and pedagogue, who teaches for the Church. Only through prayer, study, and direct participation in the life of the community can they grow in this identity and the integrity and responsibility that it entails (cf. Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, Directory for Catechesis, 113). ...

Referring more specifically to the stable ministry envisioned by the Motu Proprio, Pope Francis continued: 

This ministry has a definite vocational aspect, as evidenced by the Rite of Institution, and consequently calls for due discernment on the part of the Bishop. It is in fact a stable form of service rendered to the local Church in accordance with pastoral needs identified by the local Ordinary, yet one carried out as a work of the laity, as demanded by the very nature of the ministry. It is fitting that those called to the instituted ministry of Catechist be men and women of deep faith and human maturity, active participants in the life of the Christian community, capable of welcoming others, being generous and living a life of fraternal communion. They should also receive suitable biblical, theological, pastoral and pedagogical formation to be competent communicators of the truth of the faith and they should have some prior experience of catechesis (cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops in the Church Christus Dominus, 14; CIC can. 231 §1; CCEO can. 409 §1). It is essential that they be faithful co-workers with priests and deacons, prepared to exercise their ministry wherever it may prove necessary, and motivated by true apostolic enthusiasm. 

 In most parishes in Britain, catechists are likely to be involved in particular programmes - preparing children for First Communion or Confirmation, or preparing adults to be received into the Church at Easter - so they may not experience the full range of the catechetical role outlined in the first paragraph above. It is unlikely that they will be familiar with the Directory for Catechesis, to which Pope Francis referred, and they may not have a good knowledge of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The focus of catechetical activity only on these specific moments also has, in my view, a weakness of its own making. If the parish is a locus in which to experience the universal call to holiness, it is also a locus in which there is a need to experience a specificity in how that universal call is lived out by the individual Catholic. In other words, it needs to be a locus to experience a specific charism, and it is this need that is missed out by a catechetical strategy that focuses only on three specific moments. A formation within a specific charism is also needed, which is why I sometimes think that the formational structures of a new movement such as the age based groups of the Focolare can form a model for parish catechesis, into which the specific moments of First Communion and Confirmation can fit. 

The situation of catechists in less developed nations can be very different. At the Third International Congress on Catechesis, held at the Vatican in September 2022, the Bishop of Lolo in the Democratic Republic of Congo presented the work of the Mobokoli Catechetical Formation Centre. In a one year programme, the centre trains married couples to then return to their parishes as catechists. A combination of religious and practical training enables couples to proclaim the Gospel and promote an integral human development:

The spouses are formed in basic theology, spirituality, sacred scripture, catechetics, and pedagogy.  They are also schooled in matters of agriculture, animal husbandry in both theoretically and practically, cultivating model rice and manioc corn fields, practicing various methods of raising poultry, sheep and goats, etc.   Spouses are formed in basic language skills (reading/writing), sewing, life education, catechesis of children, young girls and women.

Catechists might make their own the words of the Jubilee Prayer:

May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth. 

Jubilee of Justice

 It is interesting to see that those invited to take part in the event of the  Jubilee of Justice in St Peter's Square on 20th September 2025 are those persons who are involved in the world of law. This suggests that the protagonists of justice are primarily lawyers, judges and other legal practitioners. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (n.1807), however, identifies justice as a moral virtue, and so indicates that we are all called to the practice of justice:

 Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor. Justice toward God is called the "virtue of religion." Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good. The just man, often mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures, is distinguished by habitual right thinking and the uprightness of his conduct toward his neighbor. "You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor." (Lev. 19:15) "Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven." (Col. 4:1)

The definition of law that St Thomas Aquinas offers (S. Th. I-II Q. 90 a. 4) allows us to make a connection, by way of their common orientation towards the common good, between justice seen as a virtue and justice as a practice of law (my italics added). Justice in the latter sense is at the service of justice in the former sense.

As stated above (Article 1), a law is imposed on others by way of a rule and measure. ... Thus from the four preceding articles, the definition of law may be gathered; and it is nothing else than an ordinance of reason for the common good, made by him who has care of the community, and promulgated.

Each October, at the beginning of the new legal year in England, a votive Mass of the Holy Spirit is celebrated in Westminster Cathedral with the participation of members of the legal profession. A service in Westminster Abbey follows. Bishop James Curry, auxiliary of the diocese of Westminster, celebrated the votive Mass in October 2024:

Every person lives and dies with a certain sense of an insatiable hunger for justice. This hunger reflects a deeper yearning for divine justice, which ultimately finds fulfilment in God. The legal community is called to be a mirror of justice, reflecting God's own justice in their dealings and decisions. 

The beginning of the legal year, marked by this Red Mass, and the service in the Abbey with their invitation to prayer and plea for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, serves as a profound moment for reflection on the interplay of law, justice, and faith. This occasion invites you here present to renew your commitment to the principles of truth and justice, which are foundational to your vocation. ...

Justice is not merely a human convention but is innately connected to the dignity and rights of each person, which are inherent and God-given.

Justice is a multifaceted virtue that governs interpersonal relations, ensuring that individuals receive what is rightfully theirs while promoting the common good and the dignity of all persons. 

You, as advocates and judges, give a voice to those who seek justice, truth and right. Sometimes you are the only voice a person has.  

In the Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee (n.16), Pope Francis draws attention to a particular cause of injustice:

Another heartfelt appeal that I would make in light of the coming Jubilee is directed to the more affluent nations. I ask that they acknowledge the gravity of so many of their past decisions and determine to forgive the debts of countries that will never be able to repay them. More than a question of generosity, this is a matter of justice. It is made all the more serious today by a new form of injustice which we increasingly recognize, namely, that “a true ‘ecological debt’ exists, particularly between the global North and South, connected to commercial imbalances with effects on the environment and the disproportionate use of natural resources by certain countries over long periods of time”.  As sacred Scripture teaches, the earth is the Lord’s and all of us dwell in it as “aliens and tenants” ( Lev 25:23). If we really wish to prepare a path to peace in our world, let us commit ourselves to remedying the remote causes of injustice, settling unjust and unpayable debts, and feeding the hungry.

Jubilee of Consolation

The Jubilee of Consolation is being marked on 15th September 2025.

All those who are experiencing a time of pain and affliction, due to illness, bereavement, violence or abuse, are especially invited to this jubilee event, together with their families and friends. 

The recent canonisations of Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis bring to mind the life of another young person who lived her Catholic faith to an heroic extent, Blessed Chiara "Luce" Badano. In the story of her life and of her illness there are countless moments that might be characterised as being acts of consolation. In some instances these moments are offered by Chiara to people she encounters; in others they are offered to her by her friends, particularly those in the Focolare. The following stories are told in Michele Zanzucchi's account of Chiara's life (I have an early French language edition - I think there is an updated English edition available). The first occurs during a hospital stay early in the course of Chiara's illness; the second occurs during a hospital stay during what was Chiara's last Christmas before she died. 

Her father, Ruggero, says: "At the hospital Pietra Ligura, despite the suffering and the fever, she did not stop. She concerned herself with a young girl suffering from depression in the next room. She accompanied her everywhere, for very long walks in the corridors, even if she needed to rest. Before our suggestions to take more care, she replied: 'I will have plenty of time to sleep later'."

[That day], a hospital volunteer fell into a deep existential crisis: how can a God exist if in this hospital children are dying of cancer? While Maria Teresa [Chiara's mother] went down to the bar, this woman sat with Chiara. I do not know what they said to each other, but this woman confirmed, having recovered all her courage, that this Christmas was the most beautiful of her life. "For us too, it was the same thing", insists Ruggero. 

The Bull of  Indiction for the Jubilee 2025 includes the following paragraphs:

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. Works of mercy are also works of hope that give rise to immense gratitude. Gratitude should likewise be shown to all those healthcare workers who, often in precarious conditions, carry out their mission with constant care and concern for the sick and for those who are most vulnerable.

Inclusive attention should also be given to all those in particularly difficult situations, who experience their own weaknesses and limitations, especially those affected by illnesses or disabilities that severely restrict their personal independence and freedom. Care given to them is a hymn to human dignity, a song of hope that calls for the choral participation of society as a whole.

Film: Young Mothers (Jeunes Meres)

 Young Mothers has just gone on release in the United Kingdom, though, as might be expected for a foreign language film, it will probably only be shown in selected cinemas. The film premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival where it gained the award for best screenplay. It was also awarded the prize of the Ecumenical Jury at that festival. The press pack from the Cannes Festival, and the video of the press conference on the Cannes Festival website are both informative about the background to the making of the film. It is interesting to reflect that two brothers, now in their seventies, should turn their attention to a film about young, single mothers.

The film is well worth seeing. It holds the attention in the way in which it interleaves the stories of the five young mothers, including as each situation moves towards their respective outcomes. There is a certain frankness in the way in which, at different points in the film, you realise that a particular experience is being portrayed -and with five stories the questions raised in the experience of each of the young mothers are very different and very challenging. The supportive manner of the life of the home, both in terms of how the young people are shown helping each other out, and in the way in which the staff work alongside the young women to develop their skills, is something that is well portrayed and which attracted the Dardenne brothers as they made the film.