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Dario Busololini

Two local Churches, with their Jubilees, are the focus of the library of this month, which is enriched by an anthology of the magisterium of the Holy Father and by an unusual  dictionary...

The Eucharist, the pilgrimage and Marian devotion are the three elements at the center of the Great Jubilee of 2000 and there is a region in Italy which encompasses all three: the Marche region. In fact, the Apennine valleys of the Marche have for centuries been ways of communication for Rome, with at least three cities of the March being a theater of an Eucharistic miracle and the sanctuary of Loreto is one of the most important sites of Marian devotion in the world, and is often added to the Jubilee itineraries of pilgrims. Adding this region to the Jubilee and to the new millennium is not a chance event, but comes about because of specific historical and ecclesial facts. Those are clearly illustrated and detailed in the volume “Eucharistic Pilgrimages and Religious-Cultural  Itineraries in the March,” created by Monsignor Francesco Marinelli (Edizioni Vivere in, 1999, pp. 254, Lire 27,000). The book goes from spirituality to history, from art to culture, all the while maintaining the Mystery of the Eucharist as the common denominator. It is a pilgrimage that begins in Loreto, heart of the Marche faith and essential memory of the Incarnation, and passes through Offida, Macerata and Fermo, the three cities in which this Mystery, has, in some ways, revealed itself, to finally end in the various dioceses of the region. The extension of the Jubilee to the dioceses of all the world, with the simultaneous celebration in Rome and Jerusalem is a novelty for this Holy Year, while the use of imparting a Jubilee indulgence in Rome and to all the local Churches or to some in particular, following the end of the Jubilee in Rome, is on the contrary, an ancient practice. The Church of Milan, for example, began this privilege as far back as 1390 and was able to maintain it even in the subsequent centuries, by using the donations of the Jubilee pilgrims in Milan to build its grand cathedral and hospital. Amongst these Milan Jubilees, the most famous was that celebrated by Archbishop Borromeo in 1576, conceded by Pope Gregory XIII, great admirer of the religious virtues of the Priest of the biggest diocese in Italy. The story is retold with documents and illustrations in the beautiful volume of Moreno Vazzoler, “The Jubilee of San Carlo Borromeo” (Di Baio Editore, 1999, pages 110, Lire 39,000), edited by the Cultural Association Famiglia Meneghina. The tomes of the “teachings” which contain the speeches, the homilies, and the messages of John Paul II throughout his over 20-year papacy, by themselves, fill a small library, so much is the Pope’s magisterium vast and profound. To get more of a synthesis, but not superficial, rendering of his writings, it could be useful to read the anthology, which is ordered by subjects. One of these is in practical volumes by Father Leonarda Sapienza, from the Prefect of the Pontifical Household, by Editrice Rogate. So far, the chain includes seven titles, the latest to hit the bookstores is “Invitation to Prayer” (pp. 315, Lire 22,000) and “The Hour of the Mission” (pp. 217, Lire 20,000), respectively including the most beautiful prayers of the Pope and the best pages of his magisterium on the need to witness the Gospel, which involves the entire body of the Church. For three years, from 1996 to 1998, the Saturday edition of the main Italian newscast had a special religious report called “the words of the third millennium,” in which six cardinals (Biffi, Martini, Puljic, Ruini, Tettamanzi, and Tonini), the Mariologist Rene Laurentin, the Chief Rabbi Elio Toaff and the Rector of the Islamic University Fez Tazi Saoud appeared, each speaking for less than a minute, to try to explain in a few words the essential elements of faith and salvation. The show was produced by the Vatican watcher Giuseppe De Carli, who know publishes the full text of the interviews that he conducted in the book called: “Dictionary of the New Millennium. Thoughts on a World That Will Come” (San Paolo, pp. 2000, Lire 20,000). It is accompanied by some passages that the interviewees wished to add to their brief statements: economy and morality, the rendition of Christ and the attempts auto-rendition of man, of freedom, of commitment, the meaning of Marian apparitions, the experience of God in Judaism and in Islam, as well as, the meaning of the Jubilee. John Paul Ii has recalled, on several occasions that: “God is the Father, God is love” and with the eminent Jubilee event, Christians are called to search for that love in all of its authenticity and to profess it in their daily lives. A useful reading on this subject could be a passage which explicitly talks about the advent of a “civilization of love.” Its title is the following: “I Love Therefore I Am” (Edizione Paoline, 1999, pp. 258, Lire 22,000) and was written by Sabino Palumbieri, professor of philosophical anthropology at the Salesian University of Rome, as well as being the creator and promoter for Via Lucis.

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