by Angela Powell, CAFOD Community Participation Coordinator for the diocese of Leeds and the diocese of Hallam
A Jubilee Year, starting and ending with Christ
At the start of this holy year, we were inspired by Pope Francis calling us to act as tangible signs of hope for those of our brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind. We reflected and discerned ways in which we might journey together as pilgrims of hope.
Notwithstanding the challenges we all face in our lives today, we leant into our faith and broke open scripture, to take positive steps to enrichen our lives and that of others. Our Jubilee prayer has led to compassionate acts of kindness and is enabling us to become more visible to others, particularly those looking for ways to be closer to God. As Catholic communities we are living out our faith values and improving the lives of many of our sisters and brothers around the world who suffer because they are denied the freedom that comes with peace and the justice and safety of being able to share in the gifts of creation intended for all.
CAFOD is most grateful for all your prayerful and generous responses from more than 50 parishes around the diocese, to Fast Day and emergency appeals. To see how these donations are bringing hope in current times see the news section of the news section of CAFOD’s website https://cafod.org.uk/news is regularly updated. A post on 2 November explains our partner’s response to the current crisis in Sudan and one on 30 October explains the vital role the Catholic church has played in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the cuts in global aid. You can also read about people featured in past Fast Day appeals, on 14 October we published an update on Abdella from Ethiopia, whose story we featured during the Lent 2021 appeal.
Hope starts with Christ, and this hope ripples out towards us and, through our lives, to others, as well as creation itself. As we come towards the end of the holy year, we will enter a time to prepare for a new way of the Lord. With thanks we can draw on knowledge of our enriched experience of Jubilee Year 2025. During Advent, our prayer can help us discern what is important to bring forward in a living hope, actively recognising Christ is at work in the world and we can all join in this work, participating in the creation of a better world for all people as God intended.
For more information about CAFOD’s work contact Angela Powell, CAFOD Community Participation Co-ordinator, apowell@cafod.org.uk