The theme of the 2025 Jubilee Year is ‘Pilgrims of hope’—a theme that according to Pope Francis reflects the life of every Christian: ‘The Christian, like Mary, is a pilgrim of hope.’ To prepare for the jubilee, the Holy Father has called for a Year of Prayer, a time of ‘rediscovering the great value and absolute need for prayer, prayer in personal life, in the life of the Church, prayer in the world’.
Archbishop Peter A Comensoli, who was recently in Rome, recorded a special message for the local church of Melbourne, in which he suggests three simple prayers to help us enter into this time of preparation.
‘Our Father … Hail Mary … Glory Be … three simple prayers that can open up our lives. Just to say those three prayers each day would be a lovely thing.’
He encourages viewers to turn to the Bible and spend time reading the gospels and exploring the psalms, which he says ‘share the life of faith through all of the human emotions’ of needs, joys and hopes. Archbishop Comensoli also challenges the community to pray for those within our own neighbourhoods.
A number of prayer resources have been edited by the Dicastery for Evangelization and will be made available throughout the year. These resources are aimed at rediscovering simple ways to pray, especially in an age of digital culture.
‘Our time manifests a profound need for spirituality,’ said Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization. ‘The louder the cry of technology that seems to correspond to all our desires, the deeper we discern the search for a true spirituality that brings each person back to encounter themselves in the truth of their existence and therefore in a coherent relationship with God.’
