Editor’s note: With the approaching Jubilee Year – Pilgrims of Hope, Bishop John Noonan responds to questions posed by Florida Catholic in this second of a two-part interview.
FC: Pope Francis has announced a Jubilee Year beginning Dec. 29, 2024. What connections do you see with the National Eucharistic Congress leading into the Jubilee Year and its theme, Pilgrims of Hope?
Bishop Noonan: “I think it’s a natural progression. It’s the message of the Gospel. Live the Gospel. Love the Lord and He will show you the way, teach you the truth, and give you life. The people who live with that in their hearts don’t have perfect lives, but there’s a lot of meaning in their lives because they haven’t given up hope. Hope can be the glue for everything.
FC: Jubilee Years go back to the Old Testament. Traditionally, during a Jubilee Year, forgiveness and mercy are central. The Eucharist is among many realities, a symbol of redemption, forgiveness, reconciliation, and hope. How do you see the revival playing out in the Jubilee Year?
Bishop Noonan: It’s hard to translate forgiveness of debt and some of the traditional ways the Jubilee Year was celebrated to the world we live in today, but we can think about what do we need to unload – fear, anger, frustration, vengeance, violence. To what do we want to commit ourselves? Sometimes we’re living with all of this and by osmosis it’s penetrated our lives and become part of who we are. Now it’s time to empty ourselves of it. But then, with what are we going to fill ourselves? It’s an inviting of Christ into your life, through the Eucharist, bringing hope into your life and following Christ.
FC: How important is this Jubilee Year for people who are fearful of the future – elections, AI, cost of living, etcetera – and giving up hope?
Bishop Noonan: I think it’s vital. The more you believe, the more you’re going to be affected by what you believe. If you truly believe in Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist, it’s going to affect your life. I am hopeful it is a grace people can receive.
There is good news in the world. There is hope and there is salvation. There is Christ and there is the Gospel. We have dimensions of our life, and many don’t know about their spiritual dimension, and that is the glue that keeps it together, that brings hope.
We have to understand that politics and other issues are not going to provide salvation and they’re not going to give us peace. Some people have very deep challenges, but they can deal with them because they have a very deep sense of faith. They have a very deep sense of who God is, of the Eucharist, that fulfills them. I think the mystery of the Eucharist is going to bring people calm, peace and hope.
The Real Presence brings us close to what reality is when we try to focus on who we are in relationship with God. It’s in a relationship with God where we become more real, (more authentically ourselves). It’s when we try to relate to the world and make ourselves happy that we get lost and afraid because everything then becomes empty.
FC: The Papal Bull for the Jubilee Year states, “All the baptized, with their respective charisms and ministries, are co-responsible for ensuring that manifold signs of hope bear witness to God’s presence in the world.” How can we be bearers of hope?
Bishop Noonan: We need to enlighten people there is hope out there. When you have a sense of relationship with the Lord, it changes the dynamic. Your focal point changes.
You must take life day by day. We see challenges and difficulties, but we can’t let them overwhelm us and we can’t let them be the only reasons we live. We try to deal with them, and sometimes we can’t, and we just have to surrender and say, ‘Lord, I can’t do it.’ We must surrender and trust in God. It’s trying to be realistic without being fatalistic; without being too pious or idealistic. Can you be real to yourself, to others, and hopefully to God?
Jesus invites us to His table and places hope upon our heart. When we are docile to God, then we also open His heart (through ours) to one another. Simple acts of hope, like a phone call to a friend, or purchasing food for the pantry, praying for someone who is troubled—there are so many ways to be hope in our world.
FC: The Papal Bull for the Jubilee Year states, “All the baptized, with their respective charisms and ministries, are co-responsible for ensuring that manifold signs of hope bear witness to God’s presence in the world.” How can we be bearers of hope?
Bishop Noonan: We need to enlighten people there is hope out there. When you have a sense of relationship with the Lord, it changes the dynamic. Your focal point changes.
You must take life day by day. We see challenges and difficulties, but we can’t let them overwhelm us and we can’t let them be the only reasons we live. We try to deal with them, and sometimes we can’t, and we just have to surrender and say, ‘Lord, I can’t do it.’ We must surrender and trust in God. It’s trying to be realistic without being fatalistic; without being too pious or idealistic. Can you be real to yourself, to others, and hopefully to God?
Jesus invites us to His table and places hope upon our heart. When we are docile to God, then we also open His heart (through ours) to one another. Simple acts of hope, like a phone call to a friend, or purchasing food for the pantry, praying for someone who is troubled—there are so many ways to be hope in our world.