Jubilee of Hope celebrated at Little Rock event June 28
The halfway mark of the Jubilee year was celebrated with a series of speakers discussing different aspects of hope, pilgrimages and Jubilee years for a crowd of 300 at Christ the King Church in Little Rock June 28.
The day began with a period of prayer and music at 8 a.m., and ended with Mass at 4 p.m.
Father Juan Guido, event organizer and pastor of Christ the King Church in Little Rock, said another Jubilee celebration was held June 14 at St. Raphael Church in Springdale for more than 600 people.
“These events are part of our diocesan celebration of the Jubilee of Hope,” he said. “The primary purpose of these gatherings is to come together around our bishop to celebrate the Jubilee and to reflect on how the virtue of hope is transforming our diocese. During the events, diocesan priests, deacons and religious will offer testimonies of hope from their various areas of ministry. Each will share how hope sustains and inspires their service to the People of God.”
Many talks explored the pilgrim-like legacy of the Bible, from the Old Testament to the New Testament, which is carried on in the universal Church today.
Father Daniel Velasco, pastor of Our Lady of the Holy Souls Church in Little Rock, gave one of keynote speeches in Spanish.
“My plan for this talk is I’m going to start with what it means to be a pilgrim, then go through the Scripture, starting with Abraham and the Israelites and how they were pilgrims from the very beginning,” Father Velasco told Arkansas Catholic as he prepared for his talk. “Then I’ll move to the New Testament, and how the disciples were pilgrims transformed by the power of Christ. The Church tells us that we’re all pilgrims.”
Hope was a popular theme tying all of the day’s talks and celebration together.
In his keynote talk, “Hope is a Promise & Delta Blues,” Father Joseph Friend, pastor of Holy Cross Church in Crossett, Holy Spirit Church in Hamburg and Our Lady of the Lake Church in Lake Village, compared the evolution of music to the challenging situations impacting the Delta.
“Hope is a promise. It is not a prediction. Placing our trust in Christ’s promises helps us focus on the known. … Hope shines in the Delta blues. We can confess our hope without wavering. … Hope is for the poor and humble. … Hope makes you a protagonist,” he said. “Hope is not a mere act of optimism. … Hope is an expectation that’s already here. For the Christian, to hope means the certainty of being on the journey with Christ toward the Father who awaits us. Our salvation history has never been about wishful predictions or desires of what might be. Rather, our faith is a story about what is — something we should have great hope for.”
Shorter presentations were also given by various priests in English and Spanish.
In his talk, Father John Paul Hartnedy, associate pastor of St. Theresa Church in Little Rock, said that he has experienced hope by working, living and serving his flock throughout his young priesthood. He recounted when, earlier this spring, his parishioners — many of whose homes and neighborhoods were devastated by fires — immediately began hauling buckets of water to keep the fires from spreading to the neighborhood on the other side of the treeline. Hope, he said, motivated them to act selflessly for others in spite of their own suffering.
“Hope is a thing of dreamers. … If you’re not a dreamer, you’re lacking some aspect of hope. In the positive sense, hope inspires a different way of seeing reality,” Father Hartnedy said. “Hope says, ‘Where are we right now? What resources do I have to work with? Who are the people…? … Hope, after acknowledging the present and bringing us through the past and enlightening us, points to the future.”
“We must remember that ‘hope does not disappoint’ (Romans 5:5),” Father Guido told Arkansas Catholic. “Hope draws us closer to Christ and deepens our love for one another. These events are an opportunity for us to gather as one Catholic family, united in faith, to celebrate this special Jubilee and renew our commitment to live as witnesses of hope.”
Mark Ives, a member of Sacred Heart Church in Morrilton, said the talks were “exceptional.”
“I loved Father Michael Johns’ talk on Acts and the importance of St. Peter and St. Paul and how they complement each other. I also loved Father Joseph de Orbegozo’s message on confession. I wish more people would take advantage of this special jubilee year.”