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Hope breaks out in a new song. A hymn of joy, gratitude and desire to announce the wonder of a salvation within everyone’s reach on their journey of life. It is the song of a Jubilee which for the Cremonese Church ended on the afternoon of 28 December, with the solemn Mass presided over in the Cathedral by Bishop Napolioni.
A year of reflections, celebrations, community moments in the sign of renewed trust in humanity, in the future, in the world with the gaze of God made man. «We have had our fill of hope, communion and mercy which becomes a song that flourishes. It is a jubilation that reopens the path, projects itself onto history, commits us to bearing witness. Let us give thanks to the Lord, the one who fills us with the profound reasons for our hope which does not disappoint.”
In a Cathedral packed well beyond the number of seats, the Holy Mass of the conclusion of the 2025 Jubilee, concelebrated together with the bishop emeritus Dante Lafranconi, Msgr. Carmelo Scampa and Msgr. Eliseo Ariotti, the Cathedral Chapter and the priests of the diocesan territory, was animated and embellished by the songs sung in unison by 16 choirs, with 273 singers coming from all over the diocesan territory for their Jubilee and led in liturgical singing by Don Graziano Ghisolfi.
A new song is the first tangible result of a Holy Year; a song of gratitude, of joy, of awareness of a living presence in everyday life. «We really have to sing a lot, sing in many, always sing because it is an image of the Church, not so much because of how many we are but because we are a choir of choirs, a church of churches, a people of peoples. Where unity does not erase the originality, the stories, but enjoying the chorality more than the skill of the soloists” added the bishop.
The reading of the Gospel on Sunday by the family of Nazareth invited Monsignor Napolioni to experience the conclusion of the Jubilee not as a “take stock” but as a renewed impetus to his own vocation as pilgrims. «Recognizing this hidden, humble growth of God in us – continued Mgr. Napolioni – a growth made of experiences and relationships with the Lord.” Hence the bishop’s invitation to the Cremonese church to «enjoy the synodality that has matured as a harmony of gifts and ministries, of different vocations, of different stories, from the faithful to the latest arrivals, of reconciled and enriching diversities that make us discover the revolutionary force of the singing of the poor and the martyrs». Capture the extraordinary beauty of a time and bring it into the ordinary rhythm. To «take care of the little Jesus who is in our hearts, in our existence of the crumb of faith that we cherish. In the homily a year ago I said how good it is to already think about how the Jubilee will end. “He went down with them and came to live in Nazareth and was subject to them.” It was already foreseen that after the extraordinary time, the presence of Jesus enters the hidden life in the carpenter’s shop, where wisdom and grace grew in age. The Gospel has repeated to us four times the same firm invitation, “arise, take the child and his mother with you”. Joseph does it. Let’s do it too, if we can’t do it like Joseph, let’s at least do it like a donkey brother, even when he gets old, to the joy of being with Jesus and with his church.”
Pilgrims of hope, therefore. From Rome to the sanctuaries to the Cathedral. From prison to places of suffering, to next door. «And now let’s continue this journey. Not just beggars of hope, but full of hope, restored to the hope that is Jesus risen and alive.” If we have received so much indulgence from God, “now it is our turn to share it” said the bishop. «Benevolence, less anger, less hostility. Less harshness, more kindness, more availability. Paul shows us how to make the safe method of our communities. May the word of God live in us, become flesh again, by reading it, praying it alone and together. Thus, clothed in charity, the habit of the new man that comes from baptism and from every Eucharist capable of the love received, ensures that peace reigns in our hearts and spreads.”
At the end of the celebration, concluded by the singing of the Magnificat sung by the choirs of the entire diocese, the bishop carried the Jubilee cross, a sign of the journey experienced in this Holy Year by the church of Cremona, towards the door of the Cathedral to bless the city. A final gesture representing the invitation to continue in daily life what the faithful experienced during the Jubilee. «Through the sacraments, the pilgrimage, the prayer, we have had an intense experience of God’s mercy – concluded Monsignor Napolioni –. We have communicated in faith and charity to the mystery of Christ throughout the liturgical seasons. Now refreshed by this conversion experience, we return to the daily rhythm of our lives. And like the disciples who saw the face of the Lord, let us cherish the joy and maintain without wavering the profession of our hope, because he who promised is faithful.”
The full video of the celebration
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Jacopo Orlo
Source:
TeleRadio Cremona Cittanova
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