On the Feast of the Holy Family, we gathered at St. Joseph Cathedral in Fort Smith to mark the closing of the Jubilee Year of Hope. The theme of this solemnity could not have been more fitting. The Feast of the Holy Family roots hope not in grand gestures, but in the quiet faithfulness of daily life. In Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, we see that hope is formed in ordinary homes—shaped by trust in God, patience with one another, and love that endures through uncertainty.
One year ago, we opened the Jubilee with the blessing of the Holy Door and a solemn procession carrying a beautiful gold cross, which was placed in the sanctuary to remain there throughout the year. The Holy Door invited pilgrims to pass through it as a sign of renewal and conversion, and to receive the gift of a plenary indulgence. Yet for many, it was the cross that spoke most powerfully.
Throughout the Jubilee, the cross stood as a visible and prayerful center. It reminded us that Christian hope is not born from comfort, but from the Paschal Mystery—Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection. In a Jubilee dedicated to hope, the cross proclaimed that hope does not deny hardship, but trusts that God is present within it. Placed openly in the sanctuary, it pointed beyond itself to resurrection, declaring that hope endures even when answers are incomplete and the road is long.
As we gathered at the close of this sacred year, surrounded by the faithful of the parish, we looked back with gratitude. God had opened a door for us—a door of renewal, healing, and deeper trust. Yet a door opened is only the beginning. While God opens the door, it is we who must choose to walk through it.
The Feast of the Holy Family shows us what that step looks like. Mary and Joseph trusted God again and again, even when the path ahead was unclear—journeying to Bethlehem, fleeing into Egypt, and building a life for Jesus in Nazareth. Their hope was not passive; it was lived through action, courage, and fidelity.
Now, as the Jubilee Year of Hope draws to a close, the hope we have received is entrusted to us. The door God opened must remain open through the way we live—in our families, our parish life, and our relationships with one another. Walking through that door means choosing compassion over indifference, faith over fear, and perseverance over discouragement. It means carrying hope into the ordinary moments of life, trusting that God continues to dwell with us and to guide our steps, just as he did with the Holy Family of Nazareth.
Mackenzie-Fort Smith 