Holy Year shines headlight on journey of life, faith, pope says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Whether one needs a fresh start or simply time for "recalculating the route," the Holy Year 2025 is an opportunity for all Christians to set off on a pilgrimage, Pope Francis said.

"The destination is not just any goal, but a place of as much sharing, fraternity and joy as possible in this world with its lights and its trials," and where people are "open to the ultimate happiness in the company of Jesus, Mary and all the saints," the pope told members of the Italian Automobile Club.

Pope Francis focused on the meaning of jubilee pilgrimages in his meeting with the club members Jan. 23 and in audiences that day with the Italian police who patrol the area around the Vatican and with leaders of the foundation that supports the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network.

On the pilgrimage through life, he told the auto club, people do risk "taking the wrong road -- it's true -- or of finding oneself in difficulty or feeling lost."

Especially in those situations, he said, "the Jubilee can be an opportunity to start again, to recalculate the route of one's life, identifying the landmarks that should not be missed and those that might instead become obstacles to reaching the goal."

Even worse than getting lost, though, is not moving at all, he said. "We were not made to stand still."

"Do not get discouraged, but always start again," the pope told them.

In his meeting with the Italian national police unit responsible for the area around the Vatican, Pope Francis thanked them for guaranteeing his safety and that of his collaborators and the pilgrims and tourists who visit the Vatican.

But he also encouraged them to take advantage of the Jubilee and the holy doors opened in St. Peter's Basilica and the basilicas of St. Mary Major, St. John Lateran and St. Paul Outside the Walls.

"Going through the Holy Door is not a magical act -- no, it is not -- it is a symbol, a Christian symbol; Jesus himself says, 'I am the door,'" the pope told them, quoting the Gospel of John.

Making a pilgrimage and crossing the threshold of the Holy Door is "a sign that expresses the desire to begin again," the pope said. A wise person recognizes the need "to begin again. Always going one step forward. The desire to be renewed, and to let God find you."

Pope Francis prayed that even "those who may not recognize that they have the gift of faith, let them equally take advantage of this Jubilee Year to go forward."

The Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network, a longtime Jesuit ministry that shares the pope's monthly prayer intentions, has a more obvious Jubilee connection since pilgrims must pray for the pope's intentions, go to confession and receive the Eucharist to receive a Holy Year indulgence.

The pope told the group that the network also can contribute to the Jubilee by "helping individuals and communities to live the spirit of the Holy Year as a journey in which prayer and compassion, prayer and closeness to the least among us, prayer and works of mercy are inseparably combined."