[EasyDNNnews:IfExists:GalleryBackLink] [EasyDNNnewsLocalizedText:ViewInGallery] [EasyDNNnews:EndIf:GalleryBackLink]

THE BISHOP'S CROZIER: Unity of Life in the Jubilee Year of Hope

By Bishop James R. Golka

As we begin the month of July, we are at the halfway point of the Jubilee Year of Hope. I have been very encouraged by seeing many signs of renewal and hope throughout the diocese, and the Jubilee Year has already been a great moment of grace for our local Church.

As we move into the second half of the Year of Hope, I would like to reflect upon how each of us are called to be witnesses of hope in the Church and the world.  

In my pastoral letter “Christ Our Hope,” I stated that the call to missionary discipleship is the overarching pastoral priority in the Diocese of Colorado Springs. At the heart of being a missionary disciple is that we are called to live out and witness what we believe in our daily lives. In other words, it is not enough to just believe in Jesus and all that the Church teaches (orthodoxy) but to also put our faith in action through our lives (orthopraxis).   

St. John Paul II insists on this point when he says, “It is useless to play off orthopraxis against orthodoxy: Christianity is inseparably both. Firm and well-thought-out convictions lead to courageous and upright action.” (Catechesi tradendae, 22) St. John Paul II is warning us to resist one of the great temptations of our age, which is to separate the faith we profess from our daily life. The Second Vatican Council rightly calls this temptation to which all too many succumb “to be counted among the more serious errors of our age.” (Gaudium et spes, 43) We need to remember that in this time of the New Evangelization, how we live our lives and how we treat people is just as important as being faithful to all that the Church teaches and believes, and it is our conviction of faith that inspires how we live. With this in mind, I would like to reflect on some important ways that we are called to live out our faith today as witnesses of hope.

Promoting Unity
With the election of Pope Leo XIV, one of the main themes that is already emerging in his pontificate is the theme of unity. We are all too aware that there is much disunity and strife in both the Church and the world.  In fact, the pope has reminded us that one of his titles, that of pontiff, means “bridge builder” in that one of the main roles of the pope is preserve and build up the unity of the Church. While the pope is the supreme pontiff of the Church, we are all called as Catholics to be bridge builders and to do all we can in how we treat others to bring about healing and unity in the Church and the world. Pope Leo XIV calls us all to this important work in his inaugural homily: “In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest. For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles! Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: in the one Christ, we are one.” 

Reconciliation and Forgiveness
Our work as bridge builders is very closely and necessarily related to another important theme — reconciliation and forgiveness.  Every day we are faced with division and animosity, whether it might be from family members, co-workers, division in politics, and even from some within the Church. The question is, how do we respond? The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives us the answer. “Christ died out of love for us, while we were still ‘enemies.’  The Lord asks us to love as he does, even our enemies, to make ourselves the neighbor of those farthest away, and to love children and the poor as Christ himself.” (CCC, No. 1825) 
We are only able to be witnesses of hope and agents of change when we love others as Christ loves, even those who are against us and who have hurt or offended us. Resentment and unforgiveness are two of the main tools of the evil one that not only stop us from loving as Christ loves but act as poison within us, pulling us further and further away from the love and mercy of Christ.  
As Pope Francis warns us,  “Each of us should realize that ‘even the harsh judgment I hold in my heart against my brother or my sister, the open wound that was never cured, the offense that was never forgiven, the rancor that is only going to hurt me, are all instances of a struggle that I carry within me, a little flame deep in my heart that needs to be extinguished before it turns into a great blaze.’” (Fratelli tutti, 243) While forgiving others can be at times very difficult, when we look to Christ and ask him to help us to love and forgive as he does, nothing is impossible for God! 

Proclaiming the Truth with Love
Finally, it is very important that, as witnesses of hope in our world, we must always proclaim the truth with love. Love separated from truth is empty sentimentalism, while truth separated from love — as St. Paul tells us — will never convert hearts because it sounds like “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” (1 Cor 13:1) Human persons are created for love, but sin has greatly diminished our true understanding of love as a gift of self and willing the good of the other.  True love “creates bonds and expands existence, for it draws people out of themselves and towards others.” (Fratelli tutti, 88) Therefore, the truth must always be revealed through love by the witness of our Christian faith and by offering ourselves as a gift to others. 
Pope Leo XIV reminds us that this is at the very heart of the mission of the Church. “For her part, the Church can never be exempted from speaking the truth about humanity and the world . . . yet truth can never be separated from charity, which always has at its root a concern for the life and well-being of every man and woman.” (Address to the members of the Diplomatic Corps, May 16, 2025) This witness and proclamation of the truth with love is expressed most profoundly in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy where the encounter with the truth and love of Christ through us reveals the infinite dignity of each and every person.  

So, as we begin the second half of the Jubilee Year of Hope, may we all recommit to being convincing witnesses of hope by not only believing in Christ, but putting our Catholic faith into practice in our daily lives, especially in how we treat others.