Every pilgrimage demands pauses. These are times when we halt the journey to give our tired feet a rest and a chance to restore our energy. We are now about midpoint in our Holy Year of Hope proclaimed by Pope Francis. This is a good time to pause and reflect on what we are about on this pilgrimage in light of the Church’s call to live as people filled with hope.

We might be tempted to limit the Holy Year of Hope to the calendar limits proposed by Pope Francis when he promulgated 2025 as the first regular Holy Year since that of the third Christian millennium in 2000. We should, however, take a longer view that will be instructive.

For the modern era, the ecclesial orientation toward the theme of hope is rooted in the Second Vatican Council, which concluded 60 years ago, on Dec. 8, 1965. The day before its closing, on Dec. 7, participants approved one of the most novel and striking documents of the council, which then was immediately promulgated by Pope St. Paul VI. I speak of Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World.

The document’s very title provides the proper orientation. The first three Latin words of the text — Gaudium et spes — mean “joy and hope.” The opening paragraph of the preface from the Vatican’s English translation (with minor adjustments for inclusivity) is worth quoting:

The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts. For theirs is a community composed of human beings. United in Christ, they are led by the Holy Spirit in their journey to the Kingdom of their Father and they have welcomed the news of salvation which is meant for every human.

This preface speaks eloquently of the council’s desire to speak to the modern world on its own terms. Everyone has joys and hopes, griefs and anxieties. Disciples of Christ are not immune from these human realities. As the 21st century has moved on, we see increasingly the fragility of not only our lives, but our very world. Wars, conflict, hatred and disputes of all kinds have marred what should be a time of joy and hope. Some problems — think of the Middle East, poverty, natural calamities, climate change, hatred, racism, antisemitism, the specter of nuclear war — seem intractable. Nevertheless, the Christian approach to such human situations is to maintain hope. We believe the Holy Spirit accompanies us on our pilgrimage toward God’s kingdom.

Why Gaudium et Spes Matters

For younger people today, even younger seminarians and priests, this conciliar document may seem like ancient history. Sixty years is a long time ago, and the world has indeed changed dramatically. Yet it is helpful to recall the significance of this unique teaching. At least three elements stand out.

First, it is labeled a “pastoral constitution.” Vatican II contained four constitutions among the 16 documents. A constitution — as compared to a decree or a declaration — has the highest authority of an ecumenical council. Two constitutions of Vatican II were called “dogmatic” (Lumen Gentium on the Church, and Dei Verbum on divine revelation) and thus possess the highest doctrinal authority. One (Sacrosanctum Concilium on the liturgy) was simply called a “constitution” with no other descriptive. Only Gaudium et Spes was called a “pastoral constitution.” In some ways, this is because it represents the ultimate desire of Pope St. John XXIII, who convened the council in 1962, to answer an important question: What does the Church offer the modern world? This document tried to explain why faith is still essential in the modern world, and what people of faith can bring to the intractable anxieties and difficulties that are encountered daily.

A second aspect is found in the overarching outline of Gaudium et Spes. After the preface and introduction, it is divided into two main sections. The first part addresses the theoretical underpinnings of human existence in the world, expounding on the Church and the dignity of the human person. Significantly, the document is not based only upon theological reflections but on human experience. This gives it a unique flavor among Church teachings. It is rooted in common humanity and tries to discern the Church’s role in promoting the growth and dignity of that humanity moving forward.

This orientation is fleshed out in the second part of the document, which focuses on a remarkable range of contemporary human challenges: marriage and family life; the development of culture; socioeconomic concerns; the challenges of political life; and the need to promote peace and encourage international cooperation. In each of these instances, realities and difficulties are not downplayed or overlooked. At the same time, the document points to paths that can be taken to make progress in each of these areas, if humans would but lay aside individual differences and put their best efforts forward.

Interestingly, although Vatican II contained no formal anathemas — condemnations of errors — Gaudium et Spes is the only document to denounce a modern development, namely, the nuclear arms race and its role in fostering ongoing wars and conflicts. Its language is forceful: “the arms race is an utterly treacherous trap for humanity, and one which ensnares the poor to an intolerable degree” (No. 81).

A third aspect of the pastoral constitution is its realistic stance in the midst of earth’s present challenges. In discussing the elusive prospect of peace, for instance, it says:

But we should not let false hope deceive us. For unless enmities and hatred are put away and firm, honest agreements concerning world peace are reached in the future, humanity, which already is in the middle of a grave crisis, even though it is endowed with remarkable knowledge, will perhaps be brought to that dismal hour in which it will experience no peace other than the dreadful peace of death. But, while we say this, the Church of Christ, present in the midst of the anxiety of this age, does not cease to hope most firmly. She intends to propose to our age over and over again, in season and out of season, this apostolic message: “Behold, now is the acceptable time for a change of heart; behold! now is the day of salvation” (No. 82).

A Synodal Perspective

When the second session of the Synod on Synodality ended Oct. 28, 2024, and then issued its final synthesized report, one surprise was that Pope Francis immediately promulgated it as part of his official magisterium. He decided not to compose a separate post-synodal apostolic exhortation, but simply accepted the final results of the synod as his own.

Gaudium et Spes itself is only referenced in four places in the final document (Nos. 20, 81, 83 and 123), yet the spirit of the pastoral constitution is evident throughout. Its emphasis on promoting relationships in the human family (GS, Nos. 3 and 42), underlining the essential role of conscience in decision-making (GS, No. 16), promoting the importance of discerning the signs of the times under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (GS, No. 11), and the task of working together for justice, solidarity, peace and interreligious dialogue (GS, No. 40) are all hallmarks of the synod’s call to urge the Church forward in her prophetic and missionary duties.

Neither the synod’s final document nor Gaudium et Spes naively proposes that progress can be made simply and without controversy. Promoting human interrelationships, as well as international ones between countries, has never been easy. Engaging in dialogue and forging cooperation are always fraught with risks. Yet just as Vatican II tried to promote the direct involvement of the Church in the affairs of the world to make the Gospel of Jesus Christ more well known and attractive, so the synod has attempted to push the Church forward in its striving to promote her identity as a group of missionary disciples who never lose hope, despite the obstacles that often block true progress.

So What?

For many readers, the main remaining question may well be, “So what?” What does all this have to do with the current Holy Year of Hope?

As I reread Gaudium et Spes, what most struck me was how truly current its stance still is. Sixty years on have not diminished its incredible vision of what the Church should be doing in the modern world. So many of the topics raised in this lengthy teaching are still front and center in ongoing debates in both the world and the Church. Just think of themes that have been the focus of recent attention: human dignity, racism, poverty, war and peace, marriage and the family, immigration, nuclear deterrence, cultural divides, rapid technological advances and their ethical challenges and so on.

This is why Pope Francis in his own teachings, which emphasized both joy and hope, could be seen as pushing the vision of the Second Vatican Council forward to help people of faith live out their baptismal identity. The essential pastoral thrust of his pontifical ministry in no way diminished the importance of doctrinal issues. Nor was Gaudium et Spes as a pastoral constitution merely a flash in the pan. It was a forward-looking teaching intended to help believers see their prominent role in the modern world as vehicles to incarnate faith, hope and love in a world desperately in need of all three virtues.

In my more honest moments, I admit that as a priest I sometimes feel discouraged and overwhelmed that so many human problems still taint our world. I feel helpless at times in the face of extreme poverty, extensive homelessness, crippling addictions to alcohol and drugs, crime and selfishness, hatred and injustice. The isms of this world still seem to hold sway: individualism, racism, antisemitism, populism. How can we surmount such ideological tendencies that interfere with true human progress?

The Holy Year of Hope, in fact, provides us an opportunity to put the vision enunciated by Gaudium et Spes, enhanced by the multiple teachings of Pope Francis on joy and hope, into practice. Indeed, we might give the last word to the penultimate paragraph of the pastoral constitution: “As a consequence, people throughout the world will be aroused to a lively hope — the gift of the Holy Spirit — that some day at last they will be caught up in peace and utter happiness in that homeland radiant with the glory of the Lord” (No. 93).

FATHER RONALD WITHERUP, PSS, is former superior general of the Sulpicians and the author of a new book of daily Lenten meditations titled “Ashes to Flames: A Lenten Pilgrimage” (Paulist Press, 2025).