Foreword

1.The Holy Year of 2000, when the Church will celebrate the Second Millennium of the birth of Jesus, her Lord and Saviour, is a "year of jubilee" and also a "liturgical year". These two aspects cannot be separated, but must vivify that unique period of time in which the chronological date, inherent in the number 2000, and the mystical date, that of the sacramental celebration of the mystery of Christ, are harmoniously welded together.

The Jubilee Year in Scripture

2.It is usual, when discussing with the faithful the significance of the values of a "holy year", to refer to the institution of the "jubilee year" of the people of Israel. According to Leviticus every fiftieth year, that is the year after "seven weeks of years" (Lv 25, 8), was a kind of great sabbatical year: the land was to rest, thus it remained untilled; fields and houses which had been sold returned to their previous owners; slaves were liberated and insolvent debtors were freed from their debts.

The institution of the "jubilee year" was inspired by principles of social justice which recalled the origins of Israel when the Promised Land was divided between the twelve tribes (cf. Gs. 13-21): the land, as it belonged to God, could not be sold in perpetuity; the initial parcelling out of the land could not be simply abolished by a few people accumulating it over a period of time; the Hebrews, freed by God from slavery in Egypt, could not be slaves of earthly masters.

3.The celebration of the "holy year" also recalls the "year of grace" inaugurated by Jesus in the Synagogue of Nazareth (cf. Lk 4, 16-20), and the "year of mercy" which the vinedresser asks of the master in the hope that the sterile fig would bear fruit (cf. Lk 13, 5-9).

Jesus is, in fact, the Messiah, the Lord's Anointed who, according to the prophetic word was "sent to announce a joyful message to the poor (...) and to preach a year of favour" (Lk. 4, 18-19; cf. Is 61, 1-2).

Jesus is also, obviously, the vinedresser of the parable who asks the master - the Father, rich in mercy (cf. Eph. 2,4), for a "year of mercy" in the hope that the sterile fig - man, unfaithful to the Covenant - would bring forth the fruit of holiness and justice.

The year 2000, marked with that great sign of being the Second Millennium from the birth of the Messiah Saviour, is that "year of grace", that "year of mercy", always available, in which man is called to receive the joyful message and be converted to God. If he does not welcome the Word and be converted, there will be no year of grace, no year of mercy, no jubilee year.

The "Calendar of the Holy Year 2000" and its characteristics.

4.The "Calendar of the Holy Year 2000" is an instrument which, following the rhythm of the liturgical year, indicates the principal celebrations which will occur in the "jubilee year": from Midnight Mass on the Birth of the Lord (24 December 1999), when the Holy Year will be inaugurated, until 6 January 2001, the Solemnity of the Epiphany, when the Great Jubilee will be closed in Rome.

5.The celebrations have a threefold characteristic:

- liturgical, which constitutes the essential element of the Calendar, and the high points thereof are Easter (23 April), and, in conjunction with the object of the Great Jubilee, the cycle of the Manifestation of the Lord on the Solemnity of Christmas (25 December), the Epiphany (6 January) and the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord (25 March).

- jubilant, tied to the proper traditions of the holy years and these imply, above all, penitential celebrations and pilgrimages of the faithful, often appertaining to an ecclesial community or particular events scheduled by professional or existential groups (jubilee of the workers, of sports groups, of the ill, of prisoners...);

- ecclesial, such as the traditional "days" (Youth Day, Family Day...) or events in the life of the Church (International Eucharistic Congress, the International Mariological-Marian Congress...), or with regard to events and situations that the Church must celebrate and live according to the provisions made by the Holy Father in his apostolic letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente such as the commemoration of the "new martyrs" (cf. TMA n.37).

Catechetical, missionary and social aspects are underlined in the Calendar. In the midst of these, provision is made for particularly intense celebrations in order to sensitise Christians and public opinion to these important themes of ecclesiastical Magisterium.

6.These three types of celebration often will coincide so the same liturgical assembly may have a plurality of aspects. It is necessary, therefore, that every celebration unfolds and is seen to be in harmony, and in accordance with, the hierarchy of values: the liturgical aspect, insofar as it is tied to the mystery of Christ, must always be given the most importance; the aspect of the jubilee directed towards the openness to the faith and conversion, must be pre-eminent in comparison to that which is associative, which must also be spiritually prepared and celebrated.

A "Sacramental" Calendar

7.The liturgical year is the celebration, during the solar year, of the entire mystery of Christ: "from the Incarnation and Birth till the Ascension as we await in joyful hope the return of our Lord". The sacraments, in their turn, are "sacred signs", "ordered to the sanctification of men, to the building up of the Body of Christ, and thus give glory to God". By these means, (and they always have a reference to the salvific mystery of Christ), the disciple is configured to his Master. For this reason, in the "Calendar of the Holy Year of 2000", one finds plans for the solemn celebration of all seven sacraments: Baptism of infants (9 January); Baptism of adults, Confirmation and Eucharist are to take place at the Easter Vigil (23 April); Penance on the Tuesday of Holy Week (18 April) and in the penance services proper to the Jubilee itself; the Anointing of the Sick on the memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lourdes (11 February), the "Day for the Sick"; Holy Orders on the Solemnity of Epiphany (6 January) for episcopal ordination and the Fourth Sunday of Easter (14 May) for priestly; Holy Matrimony on the Twenty Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time (15 October), at the time of the "Jubilee of Families".

In this way, the "Year of the Great Jubilee" is seen as a year in which the faithful, fully oriented towards the Father, through the Son in the Spirit, will participate, with full faith and renewed zeal, in the celebration of the sacraments, inexhaustible sources of grace and salvation.

A Roman Calendar

8.The "Calendar of the Holy Year of 2000" is eminently Roman. For historical reasons, from the time when access on the part of the faithful to Jerusalem and the holy places became more difficult, Rome became the principal place of pilgrimage. Boniface VIII (+1302), called the first "holy year" in history - in 1300, with the Bull Antiquorum habet (22 February 1300), and gave Jubilee years a strong Roman character.

The "Roman-ness" of the "Calendar of the Holy Year of 2000" comes about in this fashion:

- from the fact that the Holy Father is the Bishop of Rome, Successor of the Apostle Peter and since he rejoices in the primacy which the Lord conferred upon him in service to the Universal Church. In the Calendar, the presence of the Holy Father at the celebrations of the Jubilee Year is not explicitly indicated, these will be announced, one at a time, by the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff;

- from the illustrious memories of which Rome is custodian: first and foremost there are those of the Apostles Peter and Paul, where they announced the Good News and sealed with their martyrdoms their faithful witness to the Lord Jesus, then there are those of innumerable martyrs who, beginning from the Roman Protomartyrs (Ist. Century), confessed their faith in Christ by word, behaviour and the sacrifice of their lives.

A Universal Calendar

9.The singular position of the City of Rome, episcopal Seat of the Roman Pontiff, and the fact that, for the first time ever, the Jubilee will be celebrated simultaneously in Rome, the Holy Land and in the local Churches, indicates that the Calendar is addressed not only to the Roman Church but to the Church as a whole. In fact, the Calendar should become a model and an instrument of communion for the entire Church by means of the exemplary nature of the celebrations, and, the local Church should be involved in such a way that all the faithful, in celebrating the mystery of Christ, can sense the unity of the faith.

In order to bring this about, the Central Committee will not be remiss in providing liturgical materials to the local Churches which, if properly adapted to local use and traditions, will constitute a strong link between Rome and the local Churches.

Another mark of universality and unity in the faith will be provided by the diversity of participants: every "Roman" celebration will be universal because it will involve representatives of the nations and differing ecclesial realities.

The involvement of the faithful of the world will also be made possible through use of the modern means of social communications which will promote the joyful participation of that which is celebrated in Rome during this "First Jubilee of the telematic era".

Lastly, the universality will be seen from the celebrations in all the liturgical rites. The "Calendar of the Holy Year of 2000" could not ignore this remarkable ecclesiastical reality, which bears witness to the catholicity of the Church. Thus there will be celebrations in these rites: Syro-Oriental, Syro-Antiochene (2), Alexandrine-Ethiopian, Copt, Armenian, Byzantine, Ambrosian and Mozarabic.

An Ecumenical Calendar

10.Referring to the serious problem of the divisions among Christians, the Holy Father wrote in Tertio Millennio Adveniente: "From an ecumenical point of view, this will certainly be a very important year for Christians to look together to Christ the one Lord, deepening our commitment to become one in him, in accordance with his prayer to the Father. This emphasis on the centrality of Christ, of the word of God and of faith ought to inspire interest among Christians of other denominations" (n. 41).

The "Calendar of the Holy Year of 2000" has heard this desire of the Holy Father and of the whole Church. Some important ecumenical meetings have already been organised. Others, such as the hoped for Pan-Christian meeting, can be added later. There have been contacts with other Churches and ecclesial communities. Local Churches, and our Christian brothers, are also encouraged to seek out possible ways of providing for some forms of celebrations in common during the Holy Year, which could become an occasion of fellowship, of prayer and of dialogue between all Christians.

A Calendar attentive to popular piety

11.A liturgical calendar, because of its nature, does not contain references to pious exercises. The "Calendar of the Holy Year of 2000" however, does just that. This is necessary because many of the exercises of the "Jubilee Year" - processions, penitential celebrations, Eucharistic adoration, the Way of the Cross - all have a popular basis.

Thus the Calendar indicates that on the Fridays of Lent and other days when the mystery of the passion of Christ is recalled, the Way of the Cross should be celebrated; on other feasts and memorials of the Mother of the Lord, recitation of the Rosary is recommended.

It is to be hoped that the penitential celebration of the year 2000, over and above personal conversion, will also have as its object the seeking of forgiveness for attitudes and behaviours which need to be converted (cf. TMA nn. 33-36).

A Calendar attentive to the figure and mission of the Mother of Jesus

12.Mary of Nazareth has played an essential role in the event commemorated in the Grand Jubilee of the Year 2000 - the Incarnation of the Word and the birth of Christ: in the Incarnation, she received, in her own name and representing her people and humanity, the Son of God; in giving Him birth, she brought Him into the light and presented Him to the world, she placed herself at the disposal of the salvific work of Christ. The letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente speaks of her repeatedly and observes that "The affirmation of the central place of Christ cannot therefore be separated from the recognition of the role played by his Most Holy Mother" (n.43).

To highlight, in an adequate fashion, the role of the Mother of the Saviour there is no simpler or better way than to celebrate, with particular devotion, according to the rhythm of the liturgical year, those feasts of the Blessed Virgin which are more closely linked with the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word-birth of Christ, during this Jubilee Year.

In this way, it is to be hoped that the Great Jubilee of Christ, spontaneously, be reason of the indissoluble union of the Divine Word and the Virgin in the mystery of the Natalis Domini, will become also, the Jubilee of His Mother.