Lent, Carlo Acutis, & Jubilee 2025
To be honest, it is rather hard to believe that Ash Wednesday is yet again upon us. This year, the day that marks the beginning of the Lenten season will fall on March 15. As we all know, Lent is a time to prepare for the Lord’s resurrection, striving, through fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, to undergo a change of heart and more faithfully follow the will of Christ. With barren altars and Catholics focused on abstaining from luxuries, the penitential season is not exactly a time many look to with great anticipation, yet, in light of Jubilee 2025, this Lent, in particular, can provide an ideal opportunity to truly become a pilgrim of hope.
To be honest, it is rather hard to believe that Ash Wednesday is yet again upon us. This year, the day that marks the beginning of the Lenten season will fall on March 15. As we all know, Lent is a time to prepare for the Lord’s resurrection, striving, through fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, to undergo a change of heart and more faithfully follow the will of Christ. With barren altars and Catholics focused on abstaining from luxuries, the penitential season is not exactly a time many look to with great anticipation, yet, in light of Jubilee 2025, this Lent, in particular, can provide an ideal opportunity to truly become a pilgrim of hope.
One such young man who lived his life as an earthly pilgrim hopeful for Heaven was Carlo Acutis, who the pope will canonize on April 27 during the Vatican’s Jubilee of Teenagers. The soon-to-be first millennial saint died at the age of 15 from acute leukemia. Although his life was brief, he used his affinity for technology not only to counsel his peers against its trappings but also to evangelize and spread the Good News.
Acutis’ life mission is paralleled by that of the Catholic schools in the Diocese of Birmingham. Helping young people to understand, accept, and strive for what God wants for us is, undoubtedly, the mission of every faculty and staff member in every school throughout the diocese. The cover story of this issue highlights one such individual, Michael Fisher, who from a young age witnessed his parents’ selfless efforts to build strong faith and academic foundations for Catholic school students. As a teenager, Fisher began his own journey of spreading the Good News, which ultimately led him to continue his parents’ legacy of guiding youth to Heaven as the principal of the new St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic School in Montevallo.
In addition to the Jubilee of Teenagers, during the months of March and April, Pope Francis will mark the Jubilee of the World of Volunteering, March 8-9; the Jubilee of the Missionaries of Mercy, March 28-30; the Jubilee of the Sick and the World of Health, April 5-6; and the Jubilee of People with Disabilities, April 28-29.
While every jubilee being marked by the Holy Father in Rome over the next two months is not reflected in this issue, the jubilee in late March is of note. The diocese is blessed with a few Missionaries of Mercy; one being Father Bryan Jerabek, pastor and rector of the Cathedral of St. Paul in Birmingham. In this issue, Father Jerabek, through the lens of being a Missionary of Mercy, shares his insight into Jubilee 2025 and its theme of hope.
As we prepare for Lent and the ultimate joy of Easter, I pray that these stories, and all the articles included in this issue, will offer a gentle reminder to use each day as a hopeful, and joyful, step through this world to our intended home: Heaven.