(This short article was intended for my blog which is mainly in Chinese, but, for fear that zealous people will make some less faithful translation, as has often happened, I hasten to provide this personal translation of mine)
I have seen a lot of criticism against the mascot of the Jubilee Year, mainly because the company that produced it has the reputation of having several products that we Catholics would call less than decent.
But what is a mascot? Something that is considered a “fortune bringer” (a “lucky charm”). Now doesn’t this imply something superstitious? (Perhaps general usage has diluted this superstitious sense a lot and so we should not give it too much importance.)
But isn’t the Jubilee already a great fortune in itself? It commemorates the birth of the Savior. In order for the fruits of this year of grace to be more abundant, wouldn’t it have been better to choose a heavenly Patron?
This year 2025 is the 1700th Anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325-2025 A.D.). This Council, which has always been recognized and accepted by all Christian Churches, declared the doctrine of Arius heretical and affirmed that the person of Jesus of the Gospel is true God and true man, the Son of God incarnate to bring us salvation.
The Council of Nicaea did not immediately eradicate Arianism. In the long battle to defend the truth of the faith, the Holy Bishop Athanasius suffered heavy persecution. Thanks to his perseverance and the support of the Christia people, today we, in reciting or singing the Creed, can loudly proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God, consubstantial with the Father. In defense of this “homoousios”, Athanasius and many of the faithful paid a high price. Would it not be fitting for us to take Saint Athanasius as our Patron of this Jubilee Year?
This year is also the 60th anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council (1965-2025 A.D.). This Council, for its grandeur, for its seriousness and for its happy conclusion, is a milestone in the history of the Church. Unfortunately, there are those who, putting aside the truly precious fruit of the Council, and proclaiming instead a so-called “spirit of the Council”, have tried to tamper with the Sacred Tradition of the Church: renewal becomes reform, updating becomes conversion to the “spirit of the times”.
I think that a good start to the Jubilee Year should be a serious study of the Documents of the Second Vatican Council, especially the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen gentium) and the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et spes) with absolute respect for the hermeneutic of continuity, emphasized so many times by Pope Benedict XVI. I insist that these Documents must be understood in the continuity of the authentic Magisterium.
For my brothers and sisters in Hong Kong, I plan to organize some opportunities to study these precious Documents together.