From the voice of the Angelus Domini, which echoed 2000 years ago in the house of Nazareth and more precisely in Mary's heart, to the voice of the Angelus Domini of John Paul II echoing every Sunday in St. Peter's Square and more directly in the heart of those who listen to it with an open heart. This is a key to reading the pages that follow.

And what harmonizes the two voices on the same wavelength is the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word of God in the Virgin's womb by the power of Father's Spirit. Having come about in the fullness of time (cf. Gal 4:4), the mystery of the Word-made-flesh sheds its light perpetually in the dim passage of time, illuminating its rhythm in days, years, centuries and millennia, from the creation of the world to its consummation in the everlasting Jubilee.

The announcement of God's entry into the fabric of history in order to redeem it from sin and open the door of reconciliation with God for every generation of Adam's children coincides with the urgent call to accept the saving Presence that leavens the dough of humanity. In giving his Sunday Angelus discourses the desire that animates the Holy Father is to bring the Gospel teaching to all and to encourage individuals and communities to be converted to it. Thus, with the start of the period of immediate preparation for the Year 2000, John Paul II has chosen this Sunday appointment as a special occasion for talking to the world, from time to time stressing some aspect of the themes already indicated in the apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente. In these two years: the person of Jesus Christ and the saving power of the Spirit.

Reading again the words of the Pope's Angelus allows us to see his intention to address believers and non-believers alike in a simple, understandable language, exhorting all to reflect on the meaning of companionship with Christ, the only Saviour of the Word, and helping all to read ecclesial events and world situations, the anxieties and hopes of humanity, the shadowy areas and the luminous signs of our age in the light of the Spirit's action.

Therefore, listening again to the Pope's words is a kind of Viaticum for all those who, in their journey towards the new Millennium, want to hasten their steps towards the Holy Door for a renewed meeting with God and their brothers and sisters.