The following reflection was written by Kayla Jacobs, the Youth Mobilization Program Manager at Catholic Climate Covenant.
“New year, new me!”
Recently, I was blessed with some quality time with great friends for a New Year’s rock climbing trip in Chattanooga, TN. Whenever we would successfully complete a climb, we shouted “New year, new me!” just to be silly.
Shortly after I returned from the trip, I watched a video of the closing of the Vatican’s Jubilee of Hope’s holy doors. It brought me to tears — not because the jubilee is over but because the jubilee was so highly impactful for so many people, myself included. While the past year has been rough, especially in regards to climate and other Catholic Social Teaching-related issues, and we had to say goodbye to our dear Pope Francis, the jubilee was a bright shining spot in the world and truly brought hope to many people. From our POV, 2025 gave a lot of hope. Some highlights:
- Thousands of Catholics across the country participated in pilgrimages of hope for creation.
- The 148 Catholic Members of Congress were hand-delivered blessed copies of Laudato Si’; to our knowledge, it was the first time an encyclical has been delivered to Congress on such a scale
- 100s of religious sisters marched on the streets of Atlanta, GA, to raise their voices for the poor, vulnerable, and creation at the Leadership Conference of Women Religious gathering.
- Our friends at Laudato Si’ Movement hosted the Raising Hope conference, where Pope Leo gave his first official address on climate change. Among the many amazing attendees was a group of young adults from the U.S. who engaged in a 10-day pilgrimage focused on climate change, mission, and migration with Catholic Climate Covenant and Maryknoll.
- There were countless parish initiatives, youth summits, legislative visits, young adult and university events, and many more.
As I reflect on my trip and the end of the jubilee, I ask myself: What now? We’re in a new year. We’ve been filled with hope but also deep concern. To me, the world feels like we’re on the precipice of something big. As we persevere, pray, and continuously bring our Catholic faith to the public sphere, we can have hope that the pendulum will swing and that the precipice is on the verge of something better.
The sentiment behind “new year, new me” can actually be narrowed down to hope, and as Catholics, we don’t have to wait for a new year. Because of the Incarnation, which we just celebrated, and the Paschal Mystery, which we’re about to celebrate, our hope is continual and can tangibly be experienced, daily, in the sacraments and our love for each other.
