By Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing, OFM
How should the Year of Jubilee be celebrated at the diocesan level and at the parish level? The Council of Priests and the Diocesan Pastoral Council have discussed the topic twice, and I think it is worthwhile to share some of their views with you.
First of all, I notice that most of the views expressed are not directed at specific activities, but at the attitude of organising the activities.
Many participants have expressed the hope that the activities to be organised in the Jubilee will be sustainable, instead of being like fireworks or a one-off event with a lot of fanfare and excitement, as such activities are not meaningful but a waste of effort and money.
A Jubilee event must be able to show its meaning, that is, its theme, so that participants become pilgrims of hope, bringing hope to the underprivileged. Awareness formation before the event and explanation after the event are important, but the design of the event itself must also have a spiritual element, because true hope can only come from God. Therefore, the programme must be able to bring the participants closer to God and, in him, to their brothers and sisters in need.
The brothers and sisters who took part in the discussion, both priests and laypeople, all very much agreed with the direction pointed out by the Holy Father, that the Jubilee must have a reaching-out component. The Church should not celebrate behind closed doors, but go out to the people, and at the same time open the doors and let people in. The richness of the Jubilee is lived out in interaction. With such interaction, it is not surprising that we all think of making good use of our local networks, especially in cooperation with Caritas, which is already a member of the Church.
If we can collaborate with other charitable organisations in the community in visiting single elders, hosting single-parent families, organising grassroots dinners, and so on, I believe our actions will surely be more effective.
Following the above line of thought, several opinions coincide in suggesting that, in organising activities, we should not only cooperate with organisations outside the Church, but also try to work across pious associations and parishes within the Church, that is to say, to break down the divisions between pious associations and parishes. Although it is only natural for people with similar goals to gather together, over time there is the danger of the formation of territories among groups. If In a parish, each pious association is a separate organisation, or in a diocese parishes go their own way, how can we live out the unity of the Church? The pope’s proposal of synodality is an invitation to break down barriers, to listen to each other, and to listen to the Holy Spirit together, so that we can become, in him, a sign of hope for the world.
Finally, I would like to share with you a very challenging idea: the opening up of parishes in the Year of Jubilee. This refers to parishes with independent premises. Can they be more open to the community? For example, during the very hot days of this year, there was an appeal to shops to open up part of their premises so that street cleaners could eat and rest more comfortably.
I wonder if our parishes took part in this. Or they were worried that the cleaning workers might soil the place and thus refused to open it? It is true that the opening of churches requires corresponding measures and manpower. However, have we at least thought about this?
It turns out that the answer to the question of how to celebrate the Jubilee Year is not at all simple! Let us make the most of this year, let it be a year of hope for our brothers and sisters as we draw near to God!
