Your Eminences,
Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate,
Dear Priests and
Lay Faithful,
1. I am pleased to welcome you at the conclusion of the second meeting of the
Central Committee with the delegates for the Jubilee, gathered here on behalf of
their respective Episcopates. I first of all greet Cardinal Roger Etchegaray,
President of the Central Committee, the Cardinals on the Executive Council,
Archbishop Crescenzio Sepe, the new General Secretary, the members of the
Central Committee and the delegates of the Episcopal Conferences. I extend a
special welcome to the fraternal delegates of the non-Catholic Churches and
Communities. To you all I express my appreciation for your active participation!
Your meeting is particularly important for the opportunity it offers to focus on
pastoral plans for the Jubilee celebration, to outline the calendar for them and
to prepare a concrete plan for welcoming pilgrims. I wish to congratulate you as
you offer your valuable, enlightening contribution to making the celebrations of
the jubilee year more meaningful and productive
2. The journey towards that historic deadline is advancing more quickly, because
the moment for opening the Holy Door, which will begin a year of grace and
reconciliation for the whole Church, is drawing closer.
Therefore, the effort being made for the outward organization is praiseworthy;
but it must be accompanied by an interior preparation which prepares the heart
to receive the Lord's gifts. First of all, we must rediscover a sense of God and
acknowledge his lordship over creation and history. This will lead to a review
to which each one must, with sincere conviction and love, submit his thoughts
and choices, in his desire to seek the fullness of supernatural charity.
3. The commemoration of the millennium of Christ's birth brings us to the centre
of the mystery of Redemption: "Apparuit gratia Dei et Salvatoris nostri, Iesu
Christi" (Ti 2:13). It is God who calls all people, none excluded, to share in
the fruits of the work of salvation, which is achieved and spread across the
earth through the mysterious action of the Holy Spirit. The Great Jubilee
invites us to live again this moment of grace, while being aware that the gift
of salvation must be accompanied by conversion of heart, through which one is
reconciled with the Father and returns to the communion of his love.
This conversion however would not be authentic if it did not also lead to
reconciliation with one's brothers and sisters, who are children of the same
Father. This is the social dimension of the restored friendship with God: it
includes the members of one's own family; it extends to the workplace; it
permeates the whole civil community. While welcoming us with his pardon, the
Lord entrusts us with the mission of being the a leaven of peace and unity all
around us.
4. The rediscovery of this wealth of grace, which is offered to us in Christ,
and his welcoming us into his own life require a suitable journey of spiritual
preparation: we are trying to carry it out in these years, and you are well
aware of the programme for this which I suggested to the whole Church. I wished
to invite every Christian first of all to revive his faith in the mystery of the
Triune God and to deepen his knowledge of the mystery of Christ the Saviour.
Only in this way will the People of God on their earthly pilgrimage be able to
rediscover and revive their enthusiasm for the faith; every Christian will be
able to savour the experience of meeting Christ, Teacher and Shepherd, Priest
and Guide of every conscience. This will prepare the faithful to receive the
gift of a renewed Pentecost, in order to enter the third millennium enlivened by
a more fervent desire to rediscover the ever timely truth that God the Father,
through his Son made man, not only speaks to man, but seeks him and loves him.
5. The task entrusted to you is important. Your countries are already in
expectation. Curiosity and hope are raised; there is especially a desire for
authentic inner peace, enlightened by the truth of the Gospel. Thus everyone
must hear the words of hope: "Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest" (Mt 11:28).
You must therefore be the assiduous promoters of initiatives that will transmit
the message of the Great Jubilee to the people of your countries, be they
Christian or not. See that pastoral plans are known and carried out, plans that
refer to the sacraments, to the Word of God, to liturgical life, to prayer, to
the fundamental theme of ecumenical dialogue, to meetings with non-Christians.
See that information circulates, communicate news, keep alive the dialogue with
your communities, bearing in mind the expectations of every community. See that
the transition to the third millennium is a moment of renewal and grace for all.
6. As everyone knows, the Jubilee of the Year 2000 differs from the other
Jubilees because it will be celebrated simultaneously in Rome, the Holy Land and
the individual local Churches.
The celebration of every Jubilee also implies the idea of 'pilgrimage', a very
ancient religious expression and one that is found in almost all peoples and
religions with a primarily penitential purpose. Pilgrimages reflect the final
destiny of man. Christians know that the earth is not their final dwellingplace,
because they are journeying towards a goal that is their true homeland. For this
reason, the pilgrimage to Rome, the Holy Land and the sacred places chosen in
the Dioceses emphasizes how all our life is a journey to God.
For a pilgrimage to bear fruit it must provide intense moments of prayer,
significant acts of penance and conversion and works of fraternal charity that
can be understood as living proof of the love of God. In this spirit, the
Jubilee will be an occasion for increasing the expressions of charity in every
particular Church, in every association, in every ecclesial group.
The concrete sign of love will show that authentic progress has been made in the
longed-for renewal, heralding peace and universal brotherhood.
Yours is the task of intelligently giving life to appropriate initiatives for
this purpose. The Church of Rome's task is welcoming you with open arms, with a
great heart, with active and generous friendship. The See of Peter, which
"presides over the communion of charity", wishes to be present and active in
this contest of solidarity involving all the Churches throughout the world.
Today we must bear witness with special sensitivity for justice and the
promotion of social development. We are all convinced that it is necessary to
seek and possible to find ways for overcoming tensions other than through the
logic of conflict and that we can make plans for resolving the difficult
economic situation with which many States struggle, freeing entire populations
from conditions of slavery and inhuman misery.
7. The Jubilee is a providential ecclesial event. However, it is not an end in
itself but a means - in the solemn celebration commemorating the Incarnation of
the Son of God, our salvation - to spur Christians to conversion and interior
renewal. Strengthened in faith they will be able to proclaim the Gospel message
with renewed enthusiasm, showing that its acceptance is the way to build a world
that is more human because it is more Christian.
I entrust your zealous service of preparation for this great ecclesial event to
the Blessed Virgin, with the wish that it may bear abundant fruit for the
benefit of the Church and the whole world.
I must tell you that the Jubilee is arousing great interest, not only among the
Bishops of the whole world, but also among politicians. The date of 2000 creates
an attitude of openness. We can say that it is the Christian memory of the
peoples and of the world that is open and manifested. I would like to end this
meeting by reciting the Angelus with you, because this is the prayer of the
Incarnation.
With affection and gratitude I impart to you my Apostolic Blessing.
© Copyright
1998 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
