Pope Francis pauses in prayer before knocking on the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Dec. 24, 2024, to open it and inaugurate the Holy Year 2025. CNS PHOTO/VATICAN MEDIA
Pilgrims of Hope: Surprised by Hope
Editor’s note: In celebration of the Jubilee of Hope, The Western Kentucky Catholic has launched Pilgrims of Hope, a yearlong blog series inspired by Pope Francis’ Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025: “My thoughts turn to all those pilgrims of hope who will travel to Rome in order to experience the Holy Year and to all those others who, though unable to visit the City of the Apostles Peter and Paul, will celebrate it in their local Churches.” Blog reflections will be written by individuals from across the Diocese of Owensboro, sharing their unique perspectives on the virtue of hope in a world that so greatly needs it.
BY NEENA GAYNOR
“Whatever is behind this door,” she seemed to brace herself as she inserted the key into the lock, “Don’t let anything surprise you.”
Those were ominous words from my grandmother as we cautiously entered her farmhouse in the isolated hills of Eastern Kentucky. To this day, I have never known what potential curveballs awaited us beyond that turned knob. A messy kitchen? A flooded basement? Break-ins were frequent in the rural area, did she think someone was in there? I prepared my 7-year-old self as I had seen her do: a deep breath and tiny, tightened fists. Behind me, the steep hill and the giant pines bent in anxious curiosity.
If someone was reading my story, my Appalachian roots make my adult conversion to the Catholic Faith somewhat of a surprise. For almost a decade, I’ve been learning about the Church’s rich traditions. For instance, 2025 is the “Year of Jubilee.” The practice of a regular jubilee is deeply biblical. In Leviticus 25, God commanded the Israelites to observe a sacred year every 50 years, when debts were forgiven, land was returned, and captives were set free. As the Catholic Church enters the Jubilee Year under the theme “Pilgrims of Hope,” we are invited to reflect deeply on this essential virtue.
Every Jubilee Year in the Church begins with a profound symbol: the opening of the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica. This great bronze door, normally sealed shut, is opened by the pope as a sign of God’s mercy poured upon the world.
I’m sure I’m the only hillbilly who watched as Pope Francis approached the ceremonial doors and thought, “Don’t let anything surprise ya, Papa.” Then again, like those coal-streaked hills behind me those thirty-some years ago, I feel the collective curiosity of the world waiting, wondering what the future holds.
Mentions of doors abound in scripture. God shut the door of Noah’s ark, a sign of protection and judgment. Before the final plague in Egypt, God commanded the Israelites to mark their doorposts with the blood of a lamb so the Angel of Death would pass over them. Jesus told the Parable of the Ten Virgins waiting for the bridegroom, and how the door was shut before the foolish and unprepared five could make it to the wedding feast. Then there’s the most important door: Jesus.
In his Good Shepherd discourse, Christ declares, “I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved,” (John 10:9).
And there’s our Hope. Our faith and love must move us, our hearts, through the Door of Christ. Jesus did not come for those who had everything figured out – He came for the lost, the burdened, and the broken. He’s the door to eternal peace and joy, but who has the key?
Remember in the Gospel of St. Matthew when Christ gave Peter the keys to the kingdom. It’s a foundational passage for Catholic teachings on the papacy (making Peter the first pope) and apostolic tradition (the passing down of Jesus’ teachings through the apostles and their successors, guided by the Holy Spirit).
Jesus is the Door to Life Abundant, held open wide with an invitation for everyone. Now, as I approach the Door, I’m breathing prayers of thanks, and my hands are unclenched and open, ready to receive His grace.
Here I am, continually surprised by Hope.
Neena Gaynor is a Kentucky wife, mother, and beekeeper. Find out more at www.wordslikehoney.com.
To learn more about the Diocese of Owensboro’s celebration of the Jubilee Year of Hope 2025 visit https://owensborodiocese.org/jubilee-year-pilgrims-of-hope/.
