HOMILY FOR JUBILEE PILGRIMAGE TO ST ALOYSIUS CHURCH, SEVENHILL

Saturday 28th June, 2025

1. Introduction

My dear sisters and brothers in Christ, we stand on holy ground. Sevenhill is rich in faith, history, and sacred memory. Founded by Jesuits in 1851, St Aloysius Church has for generations been a beacon of Gospel service, missionary outreach, and prayerful presence in South Australia. Today, as one of the designated Jubilee Churches, it welcomes us with open arms as a place where pilgrims can receive a plenary indulgence—a concrete sign of God’s abundant mercy, offered through the ministry of the Church. What a joy it is to be with you today, for we are gathered in this holy place during the Jubilee Year of Hope, to pray, to walk, and to receive the grace of a plenary indulgence, a sign of God’s lavish mercy.

Our journey here is more than a scenic walk through the vineyards of Clare Valley. We have come today as pilgrims—people on the move. It is a spiritual pilgrimage, a movement of the heart, a sign that we are a pilgrim Church, always on the way, always in need of grace, always returning to the Lord who is rich in mercy. We journey with hearts open to the grace of this Jubilee Year, journeying in hope.

2. The Jubilee Year of Hope

This year, proclaimed by the the late Pope Francis as a Jubilee of Hope, is grounded in the biblical notion of Jubilee—a year of release, restoration, and return. As Leviticus teaches, every 50th year, the land was to rest, slaves were to be freed, debts forgiven, and families restored to their inheritance. It was a great rebalancing of society, a fresh start for the people of God.

So too for us: this Jubilee is a time to rediscover hope—not wishful thinking, not naïve optimism, but Christian hope: the confident trust that God is faithful, that Christ is risen, and that the Holy Spirit is at work, even now, even here, in us.

3. Why Come on Pilgrimage?

When we undertake a pilgrimage, we say with our feet what our heart is longing to express. We say, “Lord, I’m seeking you.” Pilgrimage helps us remember, reorient, and receive. In this Jubilee Year, walking through the doors of a designated Jubilee Church such as this one, we may receive the plenary indulgence—a total renewal of our hearts, through the ordinary yet extraordinary channels of grace: Confession, Communion, prayer for the Holy Father, and detachment from sin.

But let us not reduce indulgence to a transaction. It is a gesture of God’s parental tenderness, an embrace from a Father who delights in giving second chances. It is the Jubilee promise: “You are not your sins. You are not your failures. Come home.”

4. Isaiah 61: The Spirit of the Lord Is Upon Me

Our first reading from the prophet Isaiah is like the overture to a symphony of salvation:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me… he has sent me to bring good news to the poor… to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives…”

This is the heart of God. This is the mission of the Messiah. This is the promise of Jubilee. And this, remarkably, is also the mission of the Church—and your mission and mine.

Notice how Isaiah speaks directly to the broken: the poor, the imprisoned, the mourners. Jubilee is not for the powerful and self-sufficient. It is for those who know they need mercy.

And who among us is not poor in some way? Who among us does not need binding up? Is there anyone here not carrying some grief?

5. Psalm 89: I Have Found David My Servant

Our responsorial psalm reminds us of God's faithfulness:

“I have found David my servant… my faithfulness and love shall be with him.”

The psalm echoes across this landscape: just as God remained faithful to David despite his failings, so too does He remain faithful to us.

There is story told about Fr Kranewitter, and early Jesuit here. When asked why he stayed, even when resources were few and the work hard, he simply replied, “Because God is faithful.” That is the quiet heroism of hope. His example reminds us that God's love endures and hope grows slowly but surely.

6. What Next? Carry the Jubilee Home

Dear friends, this pilgrimage is not the end. It is a beginning. Jubilee does not stay in the sanctuary—it must go home with us.

Bring Jubilee into your families: speak words of reconciliation. Bring Jubilee into your workplaces: lead with justice and kindness. Bring Jubilee to your parishes: become instruments of mercy.

As Isaiah says:

“You shall be called priests of the Lord… ministers of our God… their descendants shall be renowned among the nations.”

You are anointed. You are chosen. You are sent.

There’s another story about Fr Kranewitter. After days of riding across rugged terrain to bring sacraments to settlers, someone once asked him if he ever got tired. He replied, “Not if I remember who I am riding for.” What a powerful witness for us today. You too have made this journey. And if your feet are sore or your heart is heavy — remember who you are walking for.

You are walking for Christ. And more importantly: He walks with you.

7. Conclusion: Hope Has a Name

In this Jubilee Year of Hope, let us remember that 

• Hope has a name—and that name is Jesus.
• Hope has a home—and that home is the Church.
• Hope has a mission—and that mission is yours.

So dear pilgrims walk boldly. Walk joyfully. Walk mercifully. And when you go, bring someone else back here—to this hill, to this Church, to the heart of God. 

• St Aloysius, pray for us.
• Mary, Mother of Mercy, guide our steps.
• Holy Spirit, renew us and the face of the earth. 
• For God is Good, Good indeed.