FINDING A HOME
The cross is also the anchor of our hope as it appears in the Jubilee logo embedded onto the lit candle. The lower part of the cross is elongated and turned into the shape of an anchor, which is lowered into the waves and stabilizes the ship amidst the storms.
In addition, the cross is bent down backwards towards the four human figures. This indicates God’s act of compassion, seeking us out and offering surety of hope.
VOCATION PAGE
BEACONS OF HOPE BY FR RAUL
BY FR RAUL TABARANZA MCCJ
WE HAVE just launched the Jubilee 2025 at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Pretoria, with its theme: “Pilgrims of Hope.” The focus of the Jubilee is that hope and kindness touch the heart of the Gospel. Two Jubilee celebrations planned for this year have caught my attention: The Jubilee of the Youth and the Jubilee of the Seminarians, considering the relevance of these young people’s roles in the Catholic Church and what the Church can learn from them.
The theme: “Jubilee of Young People: Pilgrims of Hope,” focuses on the hope of young people and how this can affect others. Pope Francis has invited the youth to be a light of hope in a world suffering from war, violence, and despair. “When you feel surrounded by the clouds of fear, doubt, and anxiety and no longer see the sun, take the path of prayer,” he said, recalling Benedict XVI’s words in the encyclical Spe Salvi: “For ‘when no one listens to me anymore, God still listens to me.’” This past December, I visited two Comboni Parishes (Waterval and Acornhoek) to attend their youth camps, and I witnessed the thirst of young people for God.
Since some of these young people also desire to become priests and religious, we pray for vocations, the gift of God’s call to priesthood and religious life. We also remember young men and women, who desire a missionary life after the heart of the Good Shepherd, particularly in our Comboni Institute, and pray that they may respond generously to the call of Christ. We need seminarians to be formed into dedicated missionaries, to proclaim the Gospel with love and commitment.
Challenged to be a light of hope, may our young people and candidates recognize the importance of vocation in the life of the Church. May they continue to grow in wisdom, in listening to God’s call, and to remain zealous as they prepare for a special mission. We also challenge our own Church and parishes, to awaken their missionary eagerness, to help promote vocations and to encourage their young men and women who are ready to sacrifice for others in the name of Christ. The harvest is vast indeed, and we need workers for the harvest.
THE HOME OF A MISSIONARY
T HAS been almost three years now that I have been doing Vocation Promotion here in South Africa. When I have one-on-one encounters with candidates, I always find two or three who question me about leaving their homes and leaving South Africa and about what would happen to them on a mission far from home.