"Pilgrims of hope". is the motto that frames the Jubilee of the year 2025, for which the Church has already begun to prepare. In his Letter to the responsible Dicastery, Pope Francis asks God that we may come to make of the prayer taught to us by Jesus Christ "the program of life of each of his disciples"..
For its part, the prayer for the Jubilee Year asks God the Father that hope may spring from the faith received in Jesus Christ and from the charity infused by the Holy Spirit. And the Synthesis Report that gathers the conclusions of the first Roman stage of the Synod on synodality points to the "encounter with Jesus Christ, who offers us the gift of a new life." as a substance of the kerygma and center of the ad.
In our times, various proposals centered on the figure of Jesus have sprung up. Many of them are evangelizing and formative, supported by the means and technologies available today, and not simply commercial products.
A few years ago, a landmark film was made about The Passionfor example, and these days, the series The Chosen about the life of the first disciples with Jesus, also of great quality.
Obviously, the invitation to approach Jesus Christ is as old as the very presence of the Lord on earth; and it is as permanent as the Church. One door of access is Sacred Scripture (the Bible), in a place distinct from any other attempt. This is explained by divine inspiration (together with the editorial work of the author of each book) and the fact that it is guarded, lived and proposed in and by the Church for every time.
In it, everything "is evident" in the New Testament (as St. Augustine expresses it), but everything is prepared and germinally contained in the Old Testament, whose center is also the Lord towards whom it is oriented. It is understandable that Pope Francis so insistently encourages the reading of the Gospels, sometimes gives a copy to those present, or underlines the dignity of the Word of God, for example by instituting an annual day dedicated to it.
On another level, catechesis has always made use of various iconographic elements to explain the faith and facilitate knowledge of Christ, and Christian art has also depicted the truest truths in an accessible way.
It also facilitates access to Jesus by allowing us to see the places where his life on earth took place and to learn about the archaeological testimonies. These are some of the elements mentioned in this issue, but only as examples. And, although this occasion does not allow us to dwell on this aspect, at least a brief reference to recent spiritual or theological publications centered on Jesus may be missing. Among them, a necessary reference is constituted by the three volumes on Jesus of Nazareth written by Benedict XVI, useful for both theologians and less expert readers.
