Novo Millennio Inuente
[At the Beginning of the New Millennium]
Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul II, January
6, 2001
To my Brother Bishops,
To Priests and Deacons,
Men and Women Religious
and all the Lay Faithful.
1. At the beginning of the new millennium, and at the close of
the Great Jubilee during which we celebrated the two thousandth
anniversary of the birth of Jesus and a new stage of the Church's
journey begins, our hearts ring out with the words of Jesus when
one day, after speaking to the crowds from Simon's boat, he invited
the Apostle to "put out into the deep" for a catch: "Duc in altum"
(Lk 5:4). Peter and his first companions trusted Christ's words,
and cast the nets. "When they had done this, they caught a great
number of fish" (Lk 5:6).
Duc in altum! These words ring out for us today, and they invite
us to remember the past with gratitude, to live the present with
enthusiasm and to look forward to the future with confidence:
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever" (Heb
13:8).
The Church's joy was great this year, as she devoted herself to
contemplating the face of her Bridegroom and Lord. She became
more than ever a pilgrim people, led by him who is the "the great
shepherd of the sheep" (Heb 13:20). With extraordinary energy,
involving so many of her members, the People of God here in Rome,
as well as in Jerusalem and in all the individual local churches,
went through the "Holy Door" that is Christ. To him who is the
goal of history and the one Saviour of the world, the Church and
the Spirit cried out: "Marana tha -- Come, Lord Jesus" (cf. Rev
22:17, 20; 1 Cor 16:22).
It is impossible to take the measure of this event of grace which
in the course of the year has touched people's hearts. But certainly,
"a river of living water", the water that continually flows "from
the throne of God and of the Lamb" (cf. Rev 22:1), has been poured
out on the Church. This is the water of the Spirit which quenches
thirst and brings new life (cf. Jn 4:14). This is the merciful
love of the Father which has once again been made known and given
to us in Christ. At the end of this year we can repeat with renewed
jubilation the ancient words of thanksgiving: "Give thanks to
the Lord for he is good, for his love endures for ever" (Ps 118:1).
2. For all this, I feel the need to write to you, dearly beloved,
to share this song of praise with you. From the beginning of my
Pontificate, my thoughts had been on this Holy Year 2000 as an
important appointment. I thought of its celebration as a providential
opportunity during which the Church, thirty-five years after the
Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, would examine how far she had
renewed herself, in order to be able to take up her evangelizing
mission with fresh enthusiasm.
Has the Jubilee succeeded in this aim? Our commitment, with its
generous efforts and inevitable failings, is under God's scrutiny.
But we cannot fail to give thanks for the "marvels" the Lord has
worked for us: "Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo" (Ps
89:2).
At the same time, what we have observed demands to be reconsidered,
and in a sense "deciphered", in order to hear what the Spirit
has been saying to the Church (cf. Rev 2:7,11,17, etc.) during
this most intense year.
3. Dear Brothers and Sisters, it is especially necessary for us
to direct our thoughts to the future which lies before us. Often
during these months we have looked towards the new millennium
which is beginning, as we lived this Jubilee not only as a remembrance
of the past, but also as a prophecy of the future. We now need
to profit from the grace received, by putting it into practice
in resolutions and guidelines for action. This is a task I wish
to invite all the local churches to undertake. In each of them,
gathered around their Bishop, as they listen to the word and "break
bread" in brotherhood (cf. Acts 2:42), the "one holy catholic
and apostolic Church of Christ is truly present and operative".1
It is above all in the actual situation of each local church that
the mystery of the one People of God takes the particular form
that fits it to each individual context and culture.
In the final analysis, this rooting of the Church in time and
space mirrors the movement of the Incarnation itself. Now is the
time for each local Church to assess its fervour and find fresh
enthusiasm for its spiritual and pastoral responsibilities, by
reflecting on what the Spirit has been saying to the People of
God in this special year of grace, and indeed in the longer span
of time from the Second Vatican Council to the Great Jubilee.
It is with this purpose in mind that I wish to offer in this Letter,
at the conclusion of the Jubilee Year, the contribution of my
Petrine ministry, so that the Church may shine ever more brightly
in the variety of her gifts and in her unity as she journeys on.
I. MEETING CHRIST
THE LEGACY OF THE GREAT JUBILEE
4. "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty" (Rev 11:17). In
the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee I expressed the hope that
the bimillennial celebration of the mystery of the Incarnation
would be lived as "one unceasing hymn of praise to the Trinity"2
and also "as a journey of reconciliation and a sign of true hope
for all who look to Christ and to his Church".3 And this Jubilee
Year has been an experience of these essential aspects, reaching
moments of intensity which have made us as it were touch with
our hands the merciful presence of God, from whom comes "every
good endowment and every perfect gift" (Jas 1:17).
My thoughts turn first to the duty of praise. This is the point
of departure for every genuine response of faith to the revelation
of God in Christ. Christianity is grace, it is the wonder of a
God who is not satisfied with creating the world and man, but
puts himself on the same level as the creature he has made and,
after speaking on various occasions and in different ways through
his prophets, "in these last days ... has spoken to us by a Son"
(Heb 1:1-2).
In these days! Yes, the Jubilee has made us realize that two thousand
years of history have passed without diminishing the freshness
of that "today", when the angels proclaimed to the shepherds the
marvellous event of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem: "For to you
is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ
the Lord" (Lk 2:11). Two thousand years have gone by, but Jesus'
proclamation of his mission, when he applied the prophecy of Isaiah
to himself before his astonished fellow townspeople in the Synagogue
of Nazareth, is as enduring as ever: "Today this scripture had
been fulfilled in your hearing" (Lk 4:21). Two thousand years
have gone by, but sinners in need of mercy -- and who is not?
-- still experience the consolation of that "today" of salvation
which on the Cross opened the gates of thee Kingdom of God to
the repentant thief: "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with
me in Paradise" (Lk 23:43).
The fullness of time
5. The coincidence of this Jubilee with the opening of a new millennium
has certainly helped people to become more aware of the mystery
of Christ within the great horizon of the history of salvation,
without any concession to millenarian fantasies. Christianity
is a religion rooted in history! It was in the soil of history
that God chose to establish a covenant with Israel and so prepare
the birth of the Son from the womb of Mary "in the fullness of
time" (Gal 4:4). Understood in his divine and human mystery, Christ
is the foundation and centre of history, he is its meaning and
ultimate goal. It is in fact through him, the Word and image of
the Father, that "all things were made" (Jn 1:3; cf. Col 1:15).
His incarnation, culminating in the Paschal Mystery and the gift
of the Spirit, is the pulsating heart of time, the mysterious
hour in which the Kingdom of God came to us (cf. Mk 1:15), indeed
took root in our history, as the seed destined to become a great
tree (cf. Mk 4:30-32).
"Glory to you, Jesus Christ, for you reign today and for ever".
With this song repeated thousands of times, we have contemplated
Christ this year as he is presented in the Book of Revelation:
"the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning
and the end" (Rev 22:13). And contemplating Christ, we have also
adored the Father and the Spirit, the one and undivided Trinity,
the ineffable mystery in which everything has its origin and its
fulfilment.
The purification of memory
6. To purify our vision for the contemplation of the mystery,
this Jubilee Year has been strongly marked by the request for
forgiveness. This is true not only for individuals, who have examined
their own lives in order to ask for mercy and gain the special
gift of the indulgence, but for the entire Church, which has decided
to recall the infidelities of so many of her children in the course
of history, infidelities which have cast a shadow over her countenance
as the Bride of Christ.
For a long time we had been preparing ourselves for this examination
of conscience, aware that the Church, embracing sinners in her
bosom, "is at once holy and always in need of being purified".4
Study congresses helped us to identify those aspects in which,
during the course of the first two millennia, the Gospel spirit
did not always shine forth. How could we forget the moving Liturgy
of 12 March 2000 in Saint Peter's Basilica, at which, looking
upon our Crucified Lord, I asked forgiveness in the name of the
Church for the sins of all her children? This "purification of
memory" has strengthened our steps for the journey towards the
future and has made us more humble and vigilant in our acceptance
of the Gospel.
Witnesses to the faith
7. This lively sense of repentance, however, has not prevented
us from giving glory to the Lord for what he has done in every
century, and in particular during the century which we have just
left behind, by granting his Church a great host of saints and
martyrs. For some of them the Jubilee year has been the year of
their beatification or canonization. Holiness, whether ascribed
to Popes well-known to history or to humble lay and religious
figures, from one continent to another of the globe, has emerged
more clearly as the dimension which expresses best the mystery
of the Church. Holiness, a message that convinces without the
need for words, is the living reflection of the face of Christ.
On the occasion of the Holy Year much has also been done to gather
together the precious memories of the witnesses to the faith in
the twentieth century. Together with the representatives of the
other Churches and Ecclesial Communities, we commemorated them
on 7 May 2000 in the evocative setting of the Colosseum, the symbol
of the ancient persecutions. This is a heritage which must not
be lost; we should always be thankful for it and we should renew
our resolve to imitate it.
A pilgrim Church
8. As if following in the footsteps of the Saints, countless sons
and daughters of the Church have come in successive waves to Rome,
to the Tombs of the Apostles, wanting to profess their faith,
confess their sins and receive the mercy that saves. I have been
impressed this year by the crowds of people which have filled
Saint Peter's Square at the many celebrations. I have often stopped
to look at the long queues of pilgrims waiting patiently to go
through the Holy Door. In each of them I tried to imagine the
story of a life, made up of joys, worries, sufferings; the story
of someone whom Christ had met and who, in dialogue with him,
was setting out again on a journey of hope.
As I observed the continuous flow of pilgrims, I saw them as a
kind of concrete image of the pilgrim Church, the Church placed,
as Saint Augustine says, "amid the persecutions of the world and
the consolations of God".5 We have only been able to observe the
outer face of this unique event. Who can measure the marvels of
grace wrought in human hearts? It is better to be silent and to
adore, trusting humbly in the mysterious workings of God and singing
his love without end: "Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo!".
Young people
9. The many Jubilee gatherings have brought together the most
diverse groups of people, and the level of participation has been
truly impressive -- at times sorely trying the commitment of organizers
and helpers, both ecclesiastical and civil. In this Letter I wish
to exxpress my heartfelt gratitude to everyone. But apart from
the numbers, what has moved me so often was to note the intensity
of prayer, reflection and spirit of communion which these meetings
have generally showed.
And how could we fail to recall especially the joyful and inspiring
gathering of young people? If there is an image of the Jubilee
of the Year 2000 that more than any other will live on in memory,
it is surely the streams of young people with whom I was able
to engage in a sort of very special dialogue, filled with mutual
affection and deep understanding. It was like this from the moment
I welcomed them in the Square of Saint John Lateran and Saint
Peter's Square. Then I saw them swarming through the city, happy
as young people should be, but also thoughtful, eager to pray,
seeking "meaning" and true friendship. Neither for them nor for
those who saw them will it be easy to forget that week, during
which Rome became "young with the young". It will not be possible
to forget the Mass at Tor Vergata.
Yet again, the young have shown themselves to be for Rome and
for the Church a special gift of the Spirit of God. Sometimes
when we look at the young, with the problems and weaknesses that
characterize them in contemporary society, we tend to be pessimistic.
The Jubilee of Young People however changed that, telling us that
young people, whatever their possible ambiguities, have a profound
longing for those genuine values which find their fullness in
Christ. Is not Christ the secret of true freedom and profound
joy of heart? Is not Christ the supreme friend and the teacher
of all genuine friendship? If Christ is presented to young people
as he really is, they experience him as an answer that is convincing
and they can accept his message, even when it is demanding and
bears the mark of the Cross. For this reason, in response to their
enthusiasm, I did not hesitate to ask them to make a radical choice
of faith and life and present them with a stupendous task: to
become "morning watchmen" (cf. Is 21:11-12) at the dawn of the
new millennium.
The variety of the pilgrims
10. Obviously I cannot go into detail about each individual Jubilee
event. Each one of them had its own character and has left its
message, not only for those who took part directly but also for
those who heard about them or took part from afar through the
media. But how can we forget the mood of celebration of the first
great gathering dedicated to children? In a way, to begin with
them meant respecting Christ's command: "Let the children come
to me" (Mk 10:14). Perhaps even more it meant doing what he did
when he placed a child in the midst of the disciples and made
it the very symbol of the attitude which we should have if we
wish to enter the Kingdom of God (cf. Mt 18:2-4).
Thus, in a sense, it was in the footsteps of children that all
the different groups of adults came seeking the Jubilee grace:
from old people to the sick and handicapped, from workers in factories
and fields to sportspeople, from artists to university teachers,
from Bishops and priests to people in consecrated life, from politicians
to journalists, to the military personnel who came to confirm
the meaning of their service as a service to peace.
One of the most notable events was the gathering of workers on
1 May, the day traditionally dedicated to the world of work. I
asked them to live a spirituality of work in imitation of Saint
Joseph and of Jesus himself. That Jubilee gathering also gave
me the opportunity to voice a strong call to correct the economic
and social imbalances present in the world of work and to make
decisive efforts to ensure that the processes of economic globalization
give due attention to solidarity and the respect owed to every
human person.
Children, with their irrepressible sense of celebration, were
again present for the Jubilee of Families, when I held them up
to the world as the "springtime of the family and of society".
This was a truly significant gathering in which numberless families
from different parts of the world came to draw fresh enthusiasm
from the light that Christ sheds on God's original plan in their
regard (cf. Mk 10:6-8; Mt 19:4-6) and to commit themselves to
bringing that light to bear on a culture which, in an ever more
disturbing way, is in danger of losing sight of the very meaning
of marriage and the family as an institution.
For me one of the more moving meetings was the one with the prisoners
at Regina Caeli. In their eyes I saw suffering, but also repentance
and hope. For them in a special way the Jubilee was a "year of
mercy".
Finally, in the last days of the year, an enjoyable occasion was
the meeting with the world of entertainment, which exercises such
a powerful influence on people. I was able to remind all involved
of their great responsibility to use entertainment to offer a
positive message, one that is morally healthy and able to communicate
confidence and love.
The International Eucharistic Congress
11. In the spirit of this Jubilee Year the International Eucharistic
Congress was intended to have special significance. And it did!
Since the Eucharist is the sacrifice of Christ made present among
us, how could his real presence not be at the centre of the Holy
Year dedicated to the Incarnation of the Word? The year was intended,
precisely for this reason, to be "intensely Eucharistic",6 and
that is how we tried to live it. At the same time, along with
the memory of the birth of the Son, how could the memory of the
Mother be missing? Mary was present in the Jubilee celebration
not only as a theme of high-level academic gatherings, but above
all in the great Act of Entrustment with which, in the presence
of a large part of the world episcopate, I entrusted to her maternal
care the lives of the men and women of the new millennium.
The ecumenical dimension
12. You will understand that I speak more readily of the Jubilee
as seen from the See of Peter. However I am not forgetting that
I myself wanted the Jubilee to be celebrated also in the particular
churches, and it is there that the majority of the faithful were
able to gain its special graces, and particularly the indulgence
connected with the Jubilee Year. Nevertheless it is significant
that many Dioceses wanted to be present, with large groups of
the faithful, here in Rome too. The Eternal City has thus once
again shown its providential role as the place where the resources
and gifts of each individual church, and indeed of each individual
nation and culture, find their "catholic" harmony, so that the
one Church of Christ can show ever more clearly her mystery as
the "sacrament of unity".7
I had also asked for special attention to be given in the programme
of the Jubilee Year to the ecumenical aspect. What occasion could
be more suitable for encouraging progress on the path towards
full communion than the shared celebration of the birth of Christ?
Much work was done with this in mind, and one of the highlights
was the ecumenical meeting in Saint Paul's Basilica on 18 January
2000, when for the first time in history a Holy Door was opened
jointly by the Successor of Peter, the Anglican Primate and a
Metropolitan of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople,
in the presence of representatives of Churches and Ecclesial Communities
from all over the world. There were also other important meetings
with Orthodox Patriarchs and the heads of other Christian denominations.
I recall in particular the recent visit of His Holiness Karekin
II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. In addition,
very many members of other Churches and Ecclesial Communities
took part in the Jubilee meetings organized for various groups.
The ecumenical journey is certainly still difficult, and will
perhaps be long, but we are encouraged by the hope that comes
from being led by the presence of the Risen One and the inexhaustible
power of his Spirit, always capable of new surprises.
Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
13. And how can I not recall my personal Jubilee along the pathways
of the Holy Land? I would have liked to begin that journey at
Ur of the Chaldeans, in order to follow, tangibly as it were,
in the footsteps of Abraham "our father in faith" (cf. Rom 4:11-16).
However, I had to be content with a pilgrimage in spirit, on the
occasion of the evocative Liturgy of the Word celebrated in the
Paul VI Audience Hall on 23 February. The actual pilgrimage came
almost immediately afterwards, following the stages of salvation
history. Thus I had the joy of visiting Mount Sinai, where the
gift of the Ten Commandments of the Covenant was given. I set
out again a month later, when I reached Mount Nebo, and then went
on to the very places where the Redeemer lived and which he made
holy. It is difficult to express the emotion I felt in being able
to venerate the places of his birth and life, Bethlehem and Nazareth,
to celebrate the Eucharist in the Upper Room, in the very place
of its institution, to meditate again on the mystery of the Cross
at Golgotha, where he gave his life for us. In those places, still
so troubled and again recently afflicted by violence, I received
an extraordinary welcome not only from the members of the Church
but also from the Israeli and Palestinian communities. Intense
emotion surrounded my prayer at the Western Wall and my visit
to the Mausoleum of Yad Vashem, with its chilling reminder of
the victims of the Nazi death camps. My pilgrimage was a moment
of brotherhood and peace, and I like to remember it as one of
the most beautiful gifts of the whole Jubilee event. Thinking
back to the mood of those days, I cannot but express my deeply
felt desire for a prompt and just solution to the still unresolved
problems of the Holy Places, cherished by Jews, Christians and
Muslims together.
International debt
14. The Jubilee was also a great event of charity -- and it could
not be otherwise. Already in the years of preparation, I had called
for greater and more incisive attention too the problems of poverty
which still beset the world. The problem of the international
debt of poor countries took on particular significance in this
context. A gesture of generosity towards these countries was in
the very spirit of the Jubilee, which in its original Biblical
setting was precisely a time when the community committed itself
to re-establishing justice and solidarity in interpersonal relations,
including the return of whatever belonged to others. I am happy
to note that recently the Parliaments of many creditor States
have voted a substantial remission of the bilateral debt of the
poorest and most indebted countries. I hope that the respective
Governments will soon implement these parliamentary decisions.
The question of multilateral debt contracted by poorer countries
with international financial organizations has shown itself to
be a rather more problematic issue. It is to be hoped that the
member States of these organizations, especially those that have
greater decisional powers, will succeed in reaching the necessary
consensus in order to arrive at a rapid solution to this question
on which the progress of many countries depends, with grave consequences
for the economy and the living conditions of so many people.
New energies
15. These are only some of the elements of the Jubilee celebration.
It has left us with many memories. But if we ask what is the core
of the great legacy it leaves us, I would not hesitate to describe
it as the contemplation of the face of Christ: Christ considered
in his historical features and in his mystery, Christ known through
his manifold presence in the Church and in the world, and confessed
as the meaning of history and the light of life's journey.
Now we must look ahead, we must "put out into the deep", trusting
in Christ's words: Duc in altum! What we have done this year cannot
justify a sense of complacency, and still less should it lead
us to relax our commitment. On the contrary, the experiences we
have had should inspire in us new energy, and impel us to invest
in concrete initiatives the enthusiasm which we have felt. Jesus
himself warns us: "No one who puts his hand to the plough and
looks back is fit for the kingdom of God" (Lk 9:62). In the cause
of the Kingdom there is no time for looking back, even less for
settling into laziness. Much awaits us, and for this reason we
must set about drawing up an effective post-Jubilee pastoral plan.
It is important however that what we propose, with the help of
God, should be profoundly rooted in contemplation and prayer.
Ours is a time of continual movement which often leads to restlessness,
with the risk of "doing for the sake of doing". We must resist
this temptation by trying "to be" before trying "to do". In this
regard we should recall how Jesus reproved Martha: "You are anxious
and troubled about many things; one thing is needful" (Lk 10:41-42).
In this spirit, before setting out a number of practical guidelines
for your consideration, I wish to share with you some points of
meditation on the mystery of Christ, the absolute foundation of
all our pastoral activity.
II. A FACE TO CONTEMPLATE
16. "We wish to see Jesus" (Jn 12:21). This request, addressed
to the Apostle Philip by some Greeks who had made a pilgrimage
to Jerusalem for the Passover, echoes spiritually in our ears
too during this Jubilee Year. Like those pilgrims of two thousand
years ago, the men and women of our own day -- often perhaps unconsciously
-- ask believers not only to "speak" of Christ, but in a certain
sense to "show" him to them. AAnd is it not the Church's task
to reflect the light of Christ in every historical period, to
make his face shine also before the generations of the new millennium?
Our witness, however, would be hopelessly inadequate if we ourselves
had not first contemplated his face. The Great Jubilee has certainly
helped us to do this more deeply. At the end of the Jubilee, as
we go back to our ordinary routine, storing in our hearts the
treasures of this very special time, our gaze is more than ever
firmly set on the face of the Lord.
The witness of the Gospels
17. The contemplation of Christ's face cannot fail to be inspired
by all that we are told about him in Sacred Scripture, which from
beginning to end is permeated by his mystery, prefigured in a
veiled way in the Old Testament and revealed fully in the New,
so that Saint Jerome can vigorously affirm: "Ignorance of the
Scriptures is ignorance of Christ".8 Remaining firmly anchored
in Scripture, we open ourselves to the action of the Spirit (cf.
Jn 15:26) from whom the sacred texts derive their origin, as well
as to the witness of the Apostles (cf. Jn 15:27), who had a first-hand
experience of Christ, the Word of life: they saw him with their
eyes, heard him with their ears, touched him with their hands
(cf. 1 Jn 1:1).
What we receive from them is a vision of faith based on precise
historical testimony: a true testimony which the Gospels, despite
their complex redaction and primarily catechetical purpose, pass
on to us in an entirely trustworthy way.9
18. The Gospels do not claim to be a complete biography of Jesus
in accordance with the canons of modern historical science. >From
them, nevertheless, the face of the Nazarene emerges with a solid
historical foundation. The Evangelists took pains to represent
him on the basis of trustworthy testimonies which they gathered
(cf. Lk 1:3) and working with documents which were subjected to
careful ecclesial scrutiny. It was on the basis of such first-hand
testimony that, enlightened by the Holy Spirit's action, they
learnt the humanly perplexing fact of Jesus' virginal birth from
Mary, wife of Joseph. From those who had known him during the
almost thirty years spent in Nazareth (cf. Lk 3:23) they collected
facts about the life of "the carpenter's son" (Mt 13:55) who was
himself a "carpenter" and whose place within the context of his
larger family was well established (cf. Mk 6:3). They recorded
his religious fervour, which prompted him to make annual pilgrimages
to the Temple in Jerusalem with his family (cf. Lk 2:41), and
made him a regular visitor to the synagogue of his own town (cf.
Lk 4:16).
Without being complete and detailed, the reports of his public
ministry become much fuller, starting at the moment of the young
Galilean's baptism by John the Baptist in the Jordan. Strengthened
by the witness from on high and aware of being the "beloved son"
(Lk 3:22), he begins his preaching of the coming of the Kingdom
of God, and explains its demands and its power by words and signs
of grace and mercy. The Gospels present him to us as one who travels
through towns and villages, accompanied by twelve Apostles whom
he has chosen (cf. Mk 3:13-19), by a group of women who assist
them (cf. Lk 8:2-3), by crowds that seek him out and follow him,
by the sick who cry out for his healing power, by people who listen
to him with varying degrees of acceptance of his words.
The Gospel narrative then converges on the growing tension which
develops between Jesus and the dominant groups in the religious
society of his time, until the final crisis with its dramatic
climax on Golgotha. This is the hour of darkness, which is followed
by a new, radiant and definitive dawn. The Gospel accounts conclude,
in fact, by showing the Nazarene victorious over death. They point
to the empty tomb and follow him in the cycle of apparitions in
which the disciples -- at first perplexed and bewildered, then
filled with unspeakable joy -- experience his living and glorious
presence. From hiim they receive the gift of the Spirit (cf. Jn
20:22) and the command to proclaim the Gospel to "all nations"
(Mt 28:19).
The life of faith
19. "The disciples were glad when they saw the Lord" (Jn 20:20).
The face which the Apostles contemplated after the Resurrection
was the same face of the Jesus with whom they had lived for almost
three years, and who now convinced them of the astonishing truth
of his new life by showing them "his hands and his side" (ibid.).
Of course it was not easy to believe. The disciples on their way
to Emmaus believed only after a long spiritual journey (cf. Lk
24:13-35). The Apostle Thomas believed only after verifying for
himself the marvellous event (cf. Jn 20:24-29). In fact, regardless
of how much his body was seen or touched, only faith could fully
enter the mystery of that face. This was an experience which the
disciples must have already had during the historical life of
Christ, in the questions which came to their minds whenever they
felt challenged by his actions and his words. One can never really
reach Jesus except by the path of faith, on a journey of which
the stages seem to be indicated to us by the Gospel itself in
the well known scene at Caesarea Philippi (cf. Mt 16:13-20). Engaging
in a kind of first evaluation of his mission, Jesus asks his disciples
what "people" think of him, and they answer him: "Some say John
the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of
the prophets" (Mt 16:14). A lofty response to be sure, but still
a long way -- by far -- from the truth. The crowds are able to
sense a definitely exceptional religious dimension to this rabbi
who speakks in such a spellbinding way, but they are not able
to put him above those men of God who had distinguished the history
of Israel. Jesus is really far different! It is precisely this
further step of awareness, concerning as it does the deeper level
of his being, which he expects from those who are close to him:
"But who do you say that I am?" (Mt 16:15). Only the faith proclaimed
by Peter, and with him by the Church in every age, truly goes
to the heart, and touches the depth of the mystery: "You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God" (Mt 16:16).
20. How had Peter come to this faith? And what is asked of us,
if we wish to follow in his footsteps with ever greater conviction?
Matthew gives us an enlightening insight in the words with which
Jesus accepts Peter's confession: "Flesh and blood has not revealed
this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (16:17). The expression
"flesh and blood" is a reference to man and the common way of
understanding things. In the case of Jesus, this common way is
not enough. A grace of "revelation" is needed, which comes from
the Father (cf. ibid.). Luke gives us an indication which points
in the same direction when he notes that this dialogue with the
disciples took place when Jesus "was praying alone" (Lk 9:18).
Both indications converge to make it clear that we cannot come
to the fullness of contemplation of the Lord's face by our own
efforts alone, but by allowing grace to take us by the hand. Only
the experience of silence and prayer offers the proper setting
for the growth and development of a true, faithful and consistent
knowledge of that mystery which finds its culminating expression
in the solemn proclamation by the Evangelist Saint John: "And
the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth;
we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father"
(1:14).
The depth of the mystery
21. The Word and the flesh, the divine glory and his dwelling
among us! It is in the intimate and inseparable union of these
two aspects that Christ's identity is to be found, in accordance
with the classic formula of the Council of Chalcedon (451): "one
person in two natures". The person is that, and that alone, of
the Eternal Word, the Son of the Father. The two natures, without
any confusion whatsoever, but also without any possible separation,
are the divine and the human.10
We know that our concepts and our words are limited. The formula,
though always human, is nonetheless carefully measured in its
doctrinal content, and it enables us, albeit with trepidation,
to gaze in some way into the depths of the mystery. Yes, Jesus
is true God and true man! Like the Apostle Thomas, the Church
is constantly invited by Christ to touch his wounds, to recognize,
that is, the fullness of his humanity taken from Mary, given up
to death, transfigured by the Resurrection: "Put your finger here,
and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side"
(Jn 20:27). Like Thomas, the Church bows down in adoration before
the Risen One, clothed in the fullness of his divine splendour,
and never ceases to exclaim: "My Lord and my God!" (Jn 20:28).
22. "The Word became flesh" (Jn 1:14). This striking formulation
by John of the mystery of Christ is confirmed by the entire New
Testament. The Apostle Paul takes this same approach when he affirms
that the Son of God was born "of the race of David, according
to the flesh" (cf. Rom 1:3; cf. 9:5). If today, because of the
rationalism found in so much of contemporary culture, it is above
all faith in the divinity of Christ that has become problematic,
in other historical and cultural contexts there was a tendency
to diminish and do away with the historical concreteness of Jesus'
humanity. But for the Church's faith it is essential and indispensable
to affirm that the Word truly "became flesh" and took on every
aspect of humanity, except sin (cf. Heb 4:15). From this perspective,
the incarnation is truly a kenosis -- a "self-emptying" -- on
the part of the Son of God of that glory which is his from all
eternity (Phil 2:6-8; cf. 1 Pt 3:18)).
On the other hand, this abasement of the Son of God is not an
end in itself; it tends rather towards the full glorification
of Christ, even in his humanity: "Therefore God has highly exalted
him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth
and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil 2:9-11).
23. "Your face, O Lord, I seek" (Ps 27:8). The ancient longing
of the Psalmist could receive no fulfilment greater and more surprising
than the contemplation of the face of Christ. God has truly blessed
us in him and has made "his face to shine upon us" (Ps 67:1).
At the same time, God and man that he is, he reveals to us also
the true face of man, "fully revealing man to man himself".11
Jesus is "the new man" (cf. Eph 4:24; Col 3:10) who calls redeemed
humanity to share in his divine life. The mystery of the Incarnation
lays the foundations for an anthropology which, reaching beyond
its own limitations and contradictions, moves towards God himself,
indeed towards the goal of "divinization". This occurs through
the grafting of the redeemed on to Christ and their admission
into the intimacy of the Trinitarian life. The Fathers have laid
great stress on this soteriological dimension of the mystery of
the Incarnation: it is only because the Son of God truly became
man that man, in him and through him, can truly become a child
of God.12
The Son's face
24. This divine-human identity emerges forcefully from the Gospels,
which offer us a range of elements that make it possible for us
to enter that "frontier zone" of the mystery, represented by Christ's
self-awareness. The Church has no doubt that the Evangelists in
their accounts, and inspired from on high, have correctly understood
in the words which Jesus spoke the truth about his person and
his awareness of it. Is this not what Luke wishes to tell us when
he recounts Jesus' first recorded words, spoken in the Temple
in Jerusalem when he was barely twelve years old? Already at that
time he shows that he is aware of a unique relationship with God,
a relationship which properly belongs to a "son". When his mother
tells him how anxiously she and Joseph had been searching for
him, Jesus replies without hesitation: "How is it that you sought
me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father's affairs?"
(Lk 2:49). It is no wonder therefore that later as a grown man
his language authoritatively expresses the depth of his own mystery,
as is abundantly clear both in the Synoptic Gospels (cf. Mt 11:27;
Lk 10:22) and above all in the Gospel of John. In his self-awareness,
Jesus has no doubts: "The Father is in me and I am in the Father"
(Jn 10:38).
However valid it may be to maintain that, because of the human
condition which made him grow "in wisdom and in stature, and in
favour with God and man" (Lk 2:52), his human awareness of his
own mystery would also have progressed to its fullest expression
in his glorified humanity, there is no doubt that already in his
historical existence Jesus was aware of his identity as the Son
of God. John emphasizes this to the point of affirming that it
was ultimately because of this awareness that Jesus was rejected
and condemned: they sought to kill him "because he not only broke
the sabbath but also called God his Father, making himself equal
with God" (Jn 5:18). In Gethsemane and on Golgotha Jesus' human
awareness will be put to the supreme test. But not even the drama
of his Passion and Death will be able to shake his serene certainty
of being the Son of the heavenly Father.
A face of sorrow
25. In contemplating Christ's face, we confront the most paradoxical
aspect of his mystery, as it emerges in his last hour, on the
Cross. The mystery within the mystery, before which we cannot
but prostrate ourselves in adoration.
The intensity of the episode of the agony in the Garden of Olives
passes before our eyes. Oppressed by foreknowledge of the trials
that await him, and alone before the Father, Jesus cries out to
him in his habitual and affectionate expression of trust: "Abba,
Father". He asks him to take away, if possible, the cup of suffering
(cf. Mk 14:36). But the Father seems not to want to heed the Son's
cry. In order to bring man back to the Father's face, Jesus not
only had to take on the face of man, but he had to burden himself
with the "face" of sin. "For our sake he made him to be sin who
knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness
of God" (2 Cor 5:21).
We shall never exhaust the depths of this mystery. All the harshness
of the paradox can be heard in Jesus' seemingly desperate cry
of pain on the Cross: " `Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' which
means, `My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' " (Mk 15:34).
Is it possible to imagine a greater agony, a more impenetrable
darkness? In reality, the anguished "why" addressed to the Father
in the opening words of the Twenty-second Psalm expresses all
the realism of unspeakable pain; but it is also illumined by the
meaning of that entire prayer, in which the Psalmist brings together
suffering and trust, in a moving blend of emotions. In fact the
Psalm continues: "In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted
and you set them free ... Do not leave me alone in my distress,
come close, there is none else to help" (Ps 22:5,12).
26. Jesus' cry on the Cross, dear Brothers and Sisters, is not
the cry of anguish of a man without hope, but the prayer of the
Son who offers his life to the Father in love, for the salvation
of all. At the very moment when he identifies with our sin, "abandoned"
by the Father, he "abandons" himself into the hands of the Father.
His eyes remain fixed on the Father. Precisely because of the
knowledge and experience of the Father which he alone has, even
at this moment of darkness he sees clearly the gravity of sin
and suffers because of it. He alone, who sees the Father and rejoices
fully in him, can understand completely what it means to resist
the Father's love by sin. More than an experience of physical
pain, his Passion is an agonizing suffering of the soul. Theological
tradition has not failed to ask how Jesus could possibly experience
at one and the same time his profound unity with the Father, by
its very nature a source of joy and happiness, and an agony that
goes all the way to his final cry of abandonment. The simultaneous
presence of these two seemingly irreconcilable aspects is rooted
in the fathomless depths of the hypostatic union.
27. Faced with this mystery, we are greatly helped not only by
theological investigation but also by that great heritage which
is the "lived theology" of the saints. The saints offer us precious
insights which enable us to understand more easily the intuition
of faith, thanks to the special enlightenment which some of them
have received from the Holy Spirit, or even through their personal
experience of those terrible states of trial which the mystical
tradition describes as the "dark night". Not infrequently the
saints have undergone something akin to Jesus' experience on the
Cross in the paradoxical blending of bliss and pain. In the Dialogue
of Divine Providence, God the Father shows Catherine of Siena
how joy and suffering can be present together in holy souls: "Thus
the soul is blissful and afflicted: afflicted on account of the
sins of its neighbour, blissful on account of the union and the
affection of charity which it has inwardly received. These souls
imitate the spotless Lamb, my Only-begotten Son, who on the Cross
was both blissful and afflicted".13 In the same way, Thérèse of
Lisieux lived her agony in communion with the agony of Jesus,
"experiencing" in herself the very paradox of Jesus's own bliss
and anguish: "In the Garden of Olives our Lord was blessed with
all the joys of the Trinity, yet his dying was no less harsh.
It is a mystery, but I assure you that, on the basis of what I
myself am feeling, I can understand something of it".14 What an
illuminating testimony! Moreover, the accounts given by the Evangelists
themselves provide a basis for this intuition on the part of the
Church of Christ's consciousness when they record that, even in
the depths of his pain, he died imploring forgiveness for his
executioners (cf. Lk 23:34) and expressing to the Father his ultimate
filial abandonment: "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit"
(Lk 23:46).
The face of the One who is Risen
28. As on Good Friday and Holy Saturday, the Church pauses in
contemplation of this bleeding face, which conceals the life of
God and offers salvation to the world. But her contemplation of
Christ's face cannot stop at the image of the Crucified One. He
is the Risen One! Were this not so, our preaching would be in
vain and our faith empty (cf. 1 Cor 15:14). The Resurrection was
the Father's response to Christ's obedience, as we learn from
the Letter to the Hebrews: "In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered
up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him
who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his
godly fear. Son though he was, he learned obedience through what
he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the source of eternal
salvation to all who obey him" (5:7-9).
It is the Risen Christ to whom the Church now looks. And she does
so in the footsteps of Peter, who wept for his denial and started
out again by confessing, with understandable trepidation, his
love of Christ: "You know that I love you" (Jn 21:15-17). She
does so in the company of Paul, who encountered the Lord on the
road to Damascus and was overwhelmed: "For me to live is Christ,
and to die is gain" (Phil 1:21).
Two thousand years after these events, the Church relives them
as if they had happened today. Gazing on the face of Christ, the
Bride contemplates her treasure and her joy. "Dulcis Iesus memoria,
dans vera cordis gaudia": how sweet is the memory of Jesus, the
source of the heart's true joy! Heartened by this experience,
the Church today sets out once more on her journey, in order to
proclaim Christ to the world at the dawn of the Third Millennium:
he "is the same yesterday and today and for ever" (Heb 13:8).
III. STARTING AFRESH FROM CHRIST
29. "I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Mt 28:20).
This assurance, dear brothers and sisters, has accompanied the
Church for two thousand years, and has now been renewed in our
hearts by the celebration of the Jubilee. From it we must gain
new impetus in Christian living, making it the force which inspires
our journey of faith. Conscious of the Risen Lord's presence among
us, we ask ourselves today the same question put to Peter in Jerusalem
immediately after his Pentecost speech: "What must we do?" (Acts
2:37).
We put the question with trusting optimism, but without underestimating
the problems we face. We are certainly not seduced by the naive
expectation that, faced with the great challenges of our time,
we shall find some magic formula. No, we shall not be saved by
a formula but by a Person, and the assurance which he gives us:
I am with you!
It is not therefore a matter of inventing a "new programme". The
programme already exists: it is the plan found in the Gospel and
in the living Tradition, it is the same as ever. Ultimately, it
has its centre in Christ himself, who is to be known, loved and
imitated, so that in him we may live the life of the Trinity,
and with him transform history until its fulfilment in the heavenly
Jerusalem. This is a programme which does not change with shifts
of times and cultures, even though it takes account of time and
culture for the sake of true dialogue and effective communication.
This programme for all times is our programme for the Third Millennium.
But it must be translated into pastoral initiatives adapted to
the circumstances of each community. The Jubilee has given us
the extraordinary opportunity to travel together for a number
of years on a journey common to the whole Church, a catechetical
journey on the theme of the Trinity, accompanied by precise pastoral
undertakings designed to ensure that the Jubilee would be a fruitful
event. I am grateful for the sincere and widespread acceptance
of what I proposed in my Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente.
But now it is no longer an immediate goal that we face, but the
larger and more demanding challenge of normal pastoral activity.
With its universal and indispensable provisions, the programme
of the Gospel must continue to take root, as it has always done,
in the life of the Church everywhere. It is in the local churches
that the specific features of a detailed pastoral plan can be
identified -- goals and methods, formation and enrichment of the
people involved, the search for the necessary resources -- which
will ennable the proclamation of Christ to reach people, mould
communities, and have a deep and incisive influence in bringing
Gospel values to bear in society and culture.
I therefore earnestly exhort the Pastors of the particular Churches,
with the help of all sectors of God's People, confidently to plan
the stages of the journey ahead, harmonizing the choices of each
diocesan community with those of neighbouring Churches and of
the universal Church.
This harmonization will certainly be facilitated by the collegial
work which Bishops now regularly undertake in Episcopal Conferences
and Synods. Was this not the point of the continental Assemblies
of the Synod of Bishops which prepared for the Jubilee, and which
forged important directives for the present-day proclamation of
the Gospel in so many different settings and cultures? This rich
legacy of reflection must not be allowed to disappear, but must
be implemented in practical ways.
What awaits us therefore is an exciting work of pastoral revitalization
-- a work involving all of us. As guidance and encouragement to
everyone, I wish to indicate certain pastoral priorities whichh
the experience of the Great Jubilee has, in my view, brought to
light.
Holiness
30. First of all, I have no hesitation in saying that all pastoral
initiatives must be set in relation to holiness. Was this not
the ultimate meaning of the Jubilee indulgence, as a special grace
offered by Christ so that the life of every baptized person could
be purified and deeply renewed?
It is my hope that, among those who have taken part in the Jubilee,
many will have benefited from this grace, in full awareness of
its demands. Once the Jubilee is over, we resume our normal path,
but knowing that stressing holiness remains more than ever an
urgent pastoral task.
It is necessary therefore to rediscover the full practical significance
of Chapter 5 of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen
Gentium, dedicated to the "universal call to holiness". The Council
Fathers laid such stress on this point, not just to embellish
ecclesiology with a kind of spiritual veneer, but to make the
call to holiness an intrinsic and essential aspect of their teaching
on the Church. The rediscovery of the Church as "mystery", or
as a people "gathered together by the unity of the Father, the
Son and the Holy Spirit",15 was bound to bring with it a rediscovery
of the Church's "holiness", understood in the basic sense of belonging
to him who is in essence the Holy One, the "thrice Holy" (cf.
Is 6:3). To profess the Church as holy means to point to her as
the Bride of Christ, for whom he gave himself precisely in order
to make her holy (cf. Eph 5:25-26). This as it were objective
gift of holiness is offered to all the baptized.
But the gift in turn becomes a task, which must shape the whole
of Christian life: "This is the will of God, your sanctification"
(1 Th 4:3). It is a duty which concerns not only certain Christians:
"All the Christian faithful, of whatever state or rank, are called
to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of
charity".16
31. At first glance, it might seem almost impractical to recall
this elementary truth as the foundation of the pastoral planning
in which we are involved at the start of the new millennium. Can
holiness ever be "planned"? What might the word "holiness" mean
in the context of a pastoral plan?
In fact, to place pastoral planning under the heading of holiness
is a choice filled with consequences. It implies the conviction
that, since Baptism is a true entry into the holiness of God through
incorporation into Christ and the indwelling of his Spirit, it
would be a contradiction to settle for a life of mediocrity, marked
by a minimalist ethic and a shallow religiosity. To ask catechumens:
"Do you wish to receive Baptism?" means at the same time to ask
them: "Do you wish to become holy?" It means to set before them
the radical nature of the Sermon on the Mount: "Be perfect as
your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5:48).
As the Council itself explained, this ideal of perfection must
not be misunderstood as if it involved some kind of extraordinary
existence, possible only for a few "uncommon heroes" of holiness.
The ways of holiness are many, according to the vocation of each
individual. I thank the Lord that in these years he has enabled
me to beatify and canonize a large number of Christians, and among
them many lay people who attained holiness in the most ordinary
circumstances of life. The time has come to re-propose wholeheartedly
to everyone this high standard of ordinary Christian living: the
whole life of the Christian community and of Christian families
must lead in this direction. It is also clear however that the
paths to holiness are personal and call for a genuine "training
in holiness", adapted to people's needs. This training must integrate
the resources offered to everyone with both the traditional forms
of individual and group assistance, as well as the more recent
forms of support offered in associations and movements recognized
by the Church.
Prayer
32. This training in holiness calls for a Christian life distinguished
above all in the art of prayer. The Jubilee Year has been a year
of more intense prayer, both personal and communal. But we well
know that prayer cannot be taken for granted. We have to learn
to pray: as it were learning this art ever anew from the lips
of the Divine Master himself, like the first disciples: "Lord,
teach us to pray!" (Lk 11:1). Prayer develops that conversation
with Christ which makes us his intimate friends: "Abide in me
and I in you" (Jn 15:4). This reciprocity is the very substance
and soul of the Christian life, and the condition of all true
pastoral life. Wrought in us by the Holy Spirit, this reciprocity
opens us, through Christ and in Christ, to contemplation of the
Father's face. Learning this Trinitarian shape of Christian prayer
and living it fully, above all in the liturgy, the summit and
source of the Church's life,17 but also in personal experience,
is the secret of a truly vital Christianity, which has no reason
to fear the future, because it returns continually to the sources
and finds in them new life.
33. Is it not one of the "signs of the times" that in today's
world, despite widespread secularization, there is a widespread
demand for spirituality, a demand which expresses itself in large
part as a renewed need for prayer? Other religions, which are
now widely present in ancient Christian lands, offer their own
responses to this need, and sometimes they do so in appealing
ways. But we who have received the grace of believing in Christ,
the revealer of the Father and the Saviour of the world, have
a duty to show to what depths the relationship with Christ can
lead.
The great mystical tradition of the Church of both East and West
has much to say in this regard. It shows how prayer can progress,
as a genuine dialogue of love, to the point of rendering the person
wholly possessed by the divine Beloved, vibrating at the Spirit's
touch, resting filially within the Father's heart. This is the
lived experience of Christ's promise: "He who loves me will be
loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to
him" (Jn 14:21). It is a journey totally sustained by grace, which
nonetheless demands an intense spiritual commitment and is no
stranger to painful purifications (the "dark night"). But it leads,
in various possible ways, to the ineffable joy experienced by
the mystics as "nuptial union". How can we forget here, among
the many shining examples, the teachings of Saint John of the
Cross and Saint Teresa of Avila?
Yes, dear brothers and sisters, our Christian communities must
become genuine "schools" of prayer, where the meeting with Christ
is expressed not just in imploring help but also in thanksgiving,
praise, adoration, contemplation, listening and ardent devotion,
until the heart truly "falls in love". Intense prayer, yes, but
it does not distract us from our commitment to history: by opening
our heart to the love of God it also opens it to the love of our
brothers and sisters, and makes us capable of shaping history
according to God's plan.18
34. Christians who have received the gift of a vocation to the
specially consecrated life are of course called to prayer in a
particular way: of its nature, their consecration makes them more
open to the experience of contemplation, and it is important that
they should cultivate it with special care. But it would be wrong
to think that ordinary Christians can be content with a shallow
prayer that is unable to fill their whole life. Especially in
the face of the many trials to which today's world subjects faith,
they would be not only mediocre Christians but "Christians at
risk". They would run the insidious risk of seeing their faith
progressively undermined, and would perhaps end up succumbing
to the allure of "substitutes", accepting alternative religious
proposals and even indulging in far-fetched superstitions.
It is therefore essential that education in prayer should become
in some way a key-point of all pastoral planning. I myself have
decided to dedicate the forthcoming Wednesday catecheses to reflection
upon the Psalms, beginning with the Psalms of Morning Prayer with
which the public prayer of the Church invites us to consecrate
and direct our day. How helpful it would be if not only in religious
communities but also in parishes more were done to ensure an all-pervading
climate of prayer. With proper discernment, this would require
that popular piety be given its proper place, and that people
be educated especially in liturgical prayer. Perhaps it is more
thinkable than we usually presume for the average day of a Christian
community to combine the many forms of pastoral life and witness
in the world with the celebration of the Eucharist and even the
recitation of Lauds and Vespers. The experience of many committed
Christian groups, also those made up largely of lay people, is
proof of this.
The Sunday Eucharist
35. It is therefore obvious that our principal attention must
be given to the liturgy, "the summit towards which the Church's
action tends and at the same time the source from which comes
all her strength".19 In the twentieth century, especially since
the Council, there has been a great development in the way the
Christian community celebrates the Sacraments, especially the
Eucharist. It is necessary to continue in this direction, and
to stress particularly the Sunday Eucharist and Sunday itself
experienced as a special day of faith, the day of the Risen Lord
and of the gift of the Spirit, the true weekly Easter.20 For two
thousand years, Christian time has been measured by the memory
of that "first day of the week" (Mk 16:2,9; Lk 24:1; Jn 20:1),
when the Risen Christ gave the Apostles the gift of peace and
of the Spirit (cf. Jn 20:19-23). The truth of Christ's Resurrection
is the original fact upon which Christian faith is based (cf.
1 Cor 15:14), an event set at the centre of the mystery of time,
prefiguring the last day when Christ will return in glory. We
do not know what the new millennium has in store for us, but we
are certain that it is safe in the hands of Christ, the "King
of kings and Lord of lords" (Rev 19:16); and precisely by celebrating
his Passover not just once a year but every Sunday, the Church
will continue to show to every generation "the true fulcrum of
history, to which the mystery of the world's origin and its final
destiny leads".21
36. Following Dies Domini, I therefore wish to insist that sharing
in the Eucharist should really be the heart of Sunday for every
baptized person. It is a fundamental duty, to be fulfilled not
just in order to observe a precept but as something felt as essential
to a truly informed and consistent Christian life. We are entering
a millennium which already shows signs of being marked by a profound
interweaving of cultures and religions, even in countries which
have been Christian for many centuries. In many regions Christians
are, or are becoming, a "little flock" (Lk 12:32). This presents
them with the challenge, often in isolated and difficult situations,
to bear stronger witness to the distinguishing elements of their
own identity. The duty to take part in the Eucharist every Sunday
is one of these. The Sunday Eucharist which every week gathers
Christians together as God's family round the table of the Word
and the Bread of Life, is also the most natural antidote to dispersion.
It is the privileged place where communion is ceaselessly proclaimed
and nurtured. Precisely through sharing in the Eucharist, the
Lord's Day also becomes the Day of the Church,22 when she can
effectively exercise her role as the sacrament of unity.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation
37. I am also asking for renewed pastoral courage in ensuring
that the day-to-day teaching of Christian communities persuasively
and effectively presents the practice of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
As you will recall, in 1984 I dealt with this subject in the Post-Synodal
Exhortation Reconciliatio et Paenitentia, which synthesized the
results of an Assembly of the Synod of Bishops devoted to this
question. My invitation then was to make every effort to face
the crisis of "the sense of sin" apparent in today's culture.23
But I was even more insistent in calling for a rediscovery of
Christ as mysterium pietatis, the one in whom God shows us his
compassionate heart and reconciles us fully with himself. It is
this face of Christ that must be rediscovered through the Sacrament
of Penance, which for the faithful is "the ordinary way of obtaining
forgiveness and the remission of serious sins committed after
Baptism".24 When the Synod addressed the problem, the crisis of
the Sacrament was there for all to see, especially in some parts
of the world. The causes of the crisis have not disappeared in
the brief span of time since then. But the Jubilee Year, which
has been particularly marked by a return to the Sacrament of Penance,
has given us an encouraging message, which should not be ignored:
if many people, and among them also many young people, have benefited
from approaching this Sacrament, it is probably necessary that
Pastors should arm themselves with more confidence, creativity
and perseverance in presenting it and leading people to appreciate
it. Dear brothers in the priesthood, we must not give in to passing
crises! The Lord's gifts -- and the Sacraments are among the most
precious -- come from the One who well knows the human heart and
is the Lord of histoory.
The primacy of grace
38. If in the planning that awaits us we commit ourselves more
confidently to a pastoral activity that gives personal and communal
prayer its proper place, we shall be observing an essential principle
of the Christian view of life: the primacy of grace. There is
a temptation which perennially besets every spiritual journey
and pastoral work: that of thinking that the results depend on
our ability to act and to plan. God of course asks us really to
cooperate with his grace, and therefore invites us to invest all
our resources of intelligence and energy in serving the cause
of the Kingdom. But it is fatal to forget that "without Christ
we can do nothing" (cf. Jn 15:5).
It is prayer which roots us in this truth. It constantly reminds
us of the primacy of Christ and, in union with him, the primacy
of the interior life and of holiness. When this principle is not
respected, is it any wonder that pastoral plans come to nothing
and leave us with a disheartening sense of frustration? We then
share the experience of the disciples in the Gospel story of the
miraculous catch of fish: "We have toiled all night and caught
nothing" (Lk 5:5). This is the moment of faith, of prayer, of
conversation with God, in order to open our hearts to the tide
of grace and allow the word of Christ to pass through us in all
its power: Duc in altum! On that occasion, it was Peter who spoke
the word of faith: "At your word I will let down the nets" (ibid.).
As this millennium begins, allow the Successor of Peter to invite
the whole Church to make this act of faith, which expresses itself
in a renewed commitment to prayer.
Listening to the Word
39. There is no doubt that this primacy of holiness and prayer
is inconceivable without a renewed listening to the word of God.
Ever since the Second Vatican Council underlined the pre-eminent
role of the word of God in the life of the Church, great progress
has certainly been made in devout listening to Sacred Scripture
and attentive study of it. Scripture has its rightful place of
honour in the public prayer of the Church. Individuals and communities
now make extensive use of the Bible, and among lay people there
are many who devote themselves to Scripture with the valuable
help of theological and biblical studies. But it is above all
the work of evangelization and catechesis which is drawing new
life from attentiveness to the word of God. Dear brothers and
sisters, this development needs to be consolidated and deepened,
also by making sure that every family has a Bible. It is especially
necessary that listening to the word of God should become a life-giving
encounter, in the ancient and ever valid tradition of lectio divina,
which draws from the biblical text the living word which questions,
directs and shapes our lives.
Proclaiming the Word
40. To nourish ourselves with the word in order to be "servants
of the word" in the work of evangelization: this is surely a priority
for the Church at the dawn of the new millennium. Even in countries
evangelized many centuries ago, the reality of a "Christian society"
which, amid all the frailties which have always marked human life,
measured itself explicitly on Gospel values, is now gone. Today
we must courageously face a situation which is becoming increasingly
diversified and demanding, in the context of "globalization" and
of the consequent new and uncertain mingling of peoples and cultures.
Over the years, I have often repeated the summons to the new evangelization.
I do so again now, especially in order to insist that we must
rekindle in ourselves the impetus of the beginnings and allow
ourselves to be filled with the ardour of the apostolic preaching
which followed Pentecost. We must revive in ourselves the burning
conviction of Paul, who cried out: "Woe to me if I do not preach
the Gospel" (1 Cor 9:16).
This passion will not fail to stir in the Church a new sense of
mission, which cannot be left to a group of "specialists" but
must involve the responsibility of all the members of the People
of God. Those who have come into genuine contact with Christ cannot
keep him for themselves, they must proclaim him. A new apostolic
outreach is needed, which will be lived as the everyday commitment
of Christian communities and groups. This should be done however
with the respect due to the different paths of different people
and with sensitivity to the diversity of cultures in which the
Christian message must be planted, in such a way that the particular
values of each people will not be rejected but purified and brought
to their fullness.
In the Third Millennium, Christianity will have to respond ever
more effectively to this need for inculturation. Christianity,
while remaining completely true to itself, with unswerving fidelity
to the proclamation of the Gospel and the tradition of the Church,
will also reflect the different faces of the cultures and peoples
in which it is received and takes root. In this Jubilee Year,
we have rejoiced in a special way in the beauty of the Church's
varied face. This is perhaps only a beginning, a barely sketched
image of the future which the Spirit of God is preparing for us.
Christ must be presented to all people with confidence. We shall
address adults, families, young people, children, without ever
hiding the most radical demands of the Gospel message, but taking
into account each person's needs in regard to their sensitivity
and language, after the example of Paul who declared: "I have
become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some"
(1 Cor 9:22). In making these recommendations, I am thinking especially
of the pastoral care of young people. Precisely in regard to young
people, as I said earlier, the Jubilee has given us an encouraging
testimony of their generous availability. We must learn to interpret
that heartening response, by investing that enthusiasm like a
new talent (cf. Mt 25:15) which the Lord has put into our hands
so that we can make it yield a rich return.
41. May the shining example of the many witnesses to the faith
whom we have remembered during the Jubilee sustain and guide us
in this confident, enterprising and creative sense of mission.
For the Church, the martyrs have always been a seed of life. Sanguis
martyrum semen christianorum:25 this famous "law" formulated by
Tertullian has proved true in all the trials of history. Will
this not also be the case of the century and millennium now beginning?
Perhaps we were too used to thinking of the martyrs in rather
distant terms, as though they were a category of the past, associated
especially with the first centuries of the Christian era. The
Jubilee remembrance has presented us with a surprising vista,
showing us that our own time is particularly prolific in witnesses,
who in different ways were able to live the Gospel in the midst
of hostility and persecution, often to the point of the supreme
test of shedding their blood. In them the word of God, sown in
good soil, yielded a hundred fold (cf. Mt 13:8, 23). By their
example they have shown us, and made smooth for us, so to speak,
the path to the future. All that remains for us is, with God's
grace, to follow in their footsteps.
IV. WITNESSES TO LOVE
42. "By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have
love for one another" (Jn 13:35). If we have truly contemplated
the face of Christ, dear Brothers and Sisters, our pastoral planning
will necessarily be inspired by the "new commandment" which he
gave us: "Love one another, as I have loved you" (Jn 13:34).
This is the other important area in which there has to be commitment
and planning on the part of the universal Church and the particular
Churches: the domain of communion (koinonia), which embodies and
reveals the very essence of the mystery of the Church. Communion
is the fruit and demonstration of that love which springs from
the heart of the Eternal Father and is poured out upon us through
the Spirit which Jesus gives us (cf. Rom 5:5), to make us all
"one heart and one soul" (Acts 4:32). It is in building this communion
of love that the Church appears as "sacrament", as the "sign and
instrument of intimate union with God and of the unity of the
human race".26
The Lord's words on this point are too precise for us to diminish
their import. Many things are necessary for the Church's journey
through history, not least in this new century; but without charity
(agape), all will be in vain. It is again the Apostle Paul who
in the hymn to love reminds us: even if we speak the tongues of
men and of angels, and if we have faith "to move mountains", but
are without love, all will come to "nothing" (cf. 1 Cor 13:2).
Love is truly the "heart" of the Church, as was well understood
by Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, whom I proclaimed a Doctor of the
Church precisely because she is an expert in the scientia amoris:
"I understood that the Church had a Heart and that this Heart
was aflame with Love. I understood that Love alone stirred the
members of the Church to act... I understood that Love encompassed
all vocations, that Love was everything".27
A spirituality of communion
43. To make the Church the home and the school of communion: that
is the great challenge facing us in the millennium which is now
beginning, if we wish to be faithful to God's plan and respond
to the world's deepest yearnings.
But what does this mean in practice? Here too, our thoughts could
run immediately to the action to be undertaken, but that would
not be the right impulse to follow. Before making practical plans,
we need to promote a spirituality of communion, making it the
guiding principle of education wherever individuals and Christians
are formed, wherever ministers of the altar, consecrated persons,
and pastoral workers are trained, wherever families and communities
are being built up. A spirituality of communion indicates above
all the heart's contemplation of the mystery of the Trinity dwelling
in us, and whose light we must also be able to see shining on
the face of the brothers and sisters around us. A spirituality
of communion also means an ability to think of our brothers and
sisters in faith within the profound unity of the Mystical Body,
and therefore as "those who are a part of me". This makes us able
to share their joys and sufferings, to sense their desires and
attend to their needs, to offer them deep and genuine friendship.
A spirituality of communion implies also the ability to see what
is positive in others, to welcome it and prize it as a gift from
God: not only as a gift for the brother or sister who has received
it directly, but also as a "gift for me". A spirituality of communion
means, finally, to know how to "make room" for our brothers and
sisters, bearing "each other's burdens" (Gal 6:2) and resisting
the selfish temptations which constantly beset us and provoke
competition, careerism, distrust and jealousy. Let us have no
illusions: unless we follow this spiritual path, external structures
of communion will serve very little purpose. They would become
mechanisms without a soul, "masks" of communion rather than its
means of expression and growth.
44. Consequently, the new century will have to see us more than
ever intent on valuing and developing the forums and structures
which, in accordance with the Second Vatican Council's major directives,
serve to ensure and safeguard communion. How can we forget in
the first place those specific services to communion which are
the Petrine ministry and, closely related to it, episcopal collegiality?
These are realities which have their foundation and substance
in Christ's own plan for the Church,28 but which need to be examined
constantly in order to ensure that they follow their genuinely
evangelical inspiration.
Much has also been done since the Second Vatican Council for the
reform of the Roman Curia, the organization of Synods and the
functioning of Episcopal Conferences. But there is certainly much
more to be done, in order to realize all the potential of these
instruments of communion, which are especially appropriate today
in view of the need to respond promptly and effectively to the
issues which the Church must face in these rapidly changing times.
45. Communion must be cultivated and extended day by day and at
every level in the structures of each Church's life. There, relations
between Bishops, priests and deacons, between Pastors and the
entire People of God, between clergy and Religious, between associations
and ecclesial movements must all be clearly characterized by communion.
To this end, the structures of participation envisaged by Canon
Law, such as the Council of Priests and the Pastoral Council,
must be ever more highly valued. These of course are not governed
by the rules of parliamentary democracy, because they are consultative
rather than deliberative;29 yet this does not mean that they are
less meaningful and relevant. The theology and spirituality of
communion encourage a fruitful dialogue between Pastors and faithful:
on the one hand uniting them a priori in all that is essential,
and on the other leading them to pondered agreement in matters
open to discussion.
To this end, we need to make our own the ancient pastoral wisdom
which, without prejudice to their authority, encouraged Pastors
to listen more widely to the entire People of God. Significant
is Saint Benedict's reminder to the Abbot of a monastery, inviting
him to consult even the youngest members of the community: "By
the Lord's inspiration, it is often a younger person who knows
what is best".30 And Saint Paulinus of Nola urges: "Let us listen
to what all the faithful say, because in every one of them the
Spirit of God breathes".31
While the wisdom of the law, by providing precise rules for participation,
attests to the hierarchical structure of the Church and averts
any temptation to arbitrariness or unjustified claims, the spirituality
of communion, by prompting a trust and openness wholly in accord
with the dignity and responsibility of every member of the People
of God, supplies institutional reality with a soul.
The diversity of vocations
46. Such a vision of communion is closely linked to the Christian
community's ability to make room for all the gifts of the Spirit.
The unity of the Church is not uniformity, but an organic blending
of legitimate diversities. It is the reality of many members joined
in a single body, the one Body of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 12:12). Therefore
the Church of the Third Millennium will need to encourage all
the baptized and confirmed to be aware of the their active responsibility
in the Church's life. Together with the ordained ministry, other
ministries, whether formally instituted or simply recognized,
can flourish for the good of the whole community, sustaining it
in all its many needs: from catechesis to liturgy, from the education
of the young to the widest array of charitable works.
Certainly, a generous commitment is needed -- above all through
insistent prayer to the Lord of the harvest (cf. Mt 9:38) -- in
promoting vocations to the priesthood andd consecrated life. This
is a question of great relevance for the life of the Church in
every part of the world. In some traditionally Christian countries,
the situation has become dramatic, due to changed social circumstances
and a religious disinterest resulting from the consumer and secularist
mentality. There is a pressing need to implement an extensive
plan of vocational promotion, based on personal contact and involving
parishes, schools and families in the effort to foster a more
attentive reflection on life's essential values. These reach their
fulfilment in the response which each person is invited to give
to God's call, particularly when the call implies a total giving
of self and of one's energies to the cause of the Kingdom.
It is in this perspective that we see the value of all other vocations,
rooted as they are in the new life received in the Sacrament of
Baptism. In a special way it will be necessary to discover ever
more fully the specific vocation of the laity, called "to seek
the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering
them according to the plan of God";32 they "have their own role
to play in the mission of the whole people of God in the Church
and in the world ... by their work for the evangelization and
the sanctification of people".33
Along these same lines, another important aspect of communion
is the promotion of forms of association, whether of the more
traditional kind or the newer ecclesial movements, which continue
to give the Church a vitality that is God's gift and a true "springtime
of the Spirit". Obviously, associations and movements need to
work in full harmony within both the universal Church and the
particular Churches, and in obedience to the authoritative directives
of the Pastors. But the Apostle's exacting and decisive warning
applies to all: "Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophesying,
but test everything and hold fast what is good" (1 Th 5:19-21).
47. At a time in history like the present, special attention must
also be given to the pastoral care of the family, particularly
when this fundamental institution is experiencing a radical and
widespread crisis. In the Christian view of marriage, the relationship
between a man and a woman -- a mutual and total bond, unique and
indissoluble -- is part of God's original plan, obscured throughout
history by our "harrdness of heart", but which Christ came to
restore to its pristine splendour, disclosing what had been God's
will "from the beginning" (Mt 19:8). Raised to the dignity of
a Sacrament, marriage expresses the "great mystery" of Christ's
nuptial love for his Church (cf. Eph 5:32).
On this point the Church cannot yield to cultural pressures, no
matter how widespread and even militant they may be. Instead,
it is necessary to ensure that through an ever more complete Gospel
formation Christian families show convincingly that it is possible
to live marriage fully in keeping with God's plan and with the
true good of the human person -- of the spouses, and of the children
who are more fragile. Families themselves must become increasingly
conscious of the carre due to children, and play an active role
in the Church and in society in safeguarding their rights.
Ecumenical commitment
48. And what should we say of the urgent task of fostering communion
in the delicate area of ecumenism? Unhappily, as we cross the
threshold of the new millennium, we take with us the sad heritage
of the past. The Jubilee has offered some truly moving and prophetic
signs, but there is still a long way to go.
By fixing our gaze on Christ, the Great Jubilee has given us a
more vivid sense of the Church as a mystery of unity. "I believe
in the one Church": what we profess in the Creed has its ultimate
foundation in Christ, in whom the Church is undivided (cf. 1 Cor
1:11-13). As his Body, in the unity which is the gift of the Spirit,
she is indivisible. The reality of division among the Church's
children appears at the level of history, as the result of human
weakness in the way we accept the gift which flows endlessly from
Christ the Head to his Mystical Body. The prayer of Jesus in the
Upper Room -- "as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they
also may be one in us" (Jn 17:21) -- is both revelation and invocation.
It reveals to us the unity of Christ with the Father as the wellspring
of the Church's unity and as the gift which in him she will constantly
receive until its mysterious fulfilment the end of time. This
unity is concretely embodied in the Catholic Church, despite the
human limitations of her members, and it is at work in varying
degrees in all the elements of holiness and truth to be found
in the other Churches and Ecclesial Communities. As gifts properly
belonging to the Church of Christ, these elements lead them continuously
towards full unity.34
Christ's prayer reminds us that this gift needs to be received
and developed ever more profoundly. The invocation "ut unum sint"
is, at one and the same time, a binding imperative, the strength
that sustains us, and a salutary rebuke for our slowness and closed-heartedness.
It is on Jesus's prayer and not on our own strength that we base
the hope that even within history we shall be able to reach full
and visible communion with all Christians.
In the perspective of our renewed post-Jubilee pilgrimage, I look
with great hope to the Eastern Churches, and I pray for a full
return to that exchange of gifts which enriched the Church of
the first millennium. May the memory of the time when the Church
breathed with "both lungs" spur Christians of East and West to
walk together in unity of faith and with respect for legitimate
diversity, accepting and sustaining each other as members of the
one Body of Christ.
A similar commitment should lead to the fostering of ecumenical
dialogue with our brothers and sisters belonging to the Anglican
Communion and the Ecclesial Communities born of the Reformation.
Theological discussion on essential points of faith and Christian
morality, cooperation in works of charity, and above all the great
ecumenism of holiness will not fail, with God's help, to bring
results. In the meantime we confidently continue our pilgrimage,
longing for the time when, together with each and every one of
Christ's followers, we shall be able to join wholeheartedly in
singing: "How good and how pleasant it is, when brothers live
in unity!" (Ps 133:1).
Stake everything on charity
49. Beginning with intra-ecclesial communion, charity of its nature
opens out into a service that is universal; it inspires in us
a commitment to practical and concrete love for every human being.
This too is an aspect which must clearly mark the Christian life,
the Church's whole activity and her pastoral planning. The century
and the millennium now beginning will need to see, and hopefully
with still greater clarity, to what length of dedication the Christian
community can go in charity towards the poorest. If we have truly
started out anew from the contemplation of Christ, we must learn
to see him especially in the faces of those with whom he himself
wished to be identified: "I was hungry and you gave me food, I
was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed
me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited
me, I was in prison and you came to me" (Mt 25:35-37). This Gospel
text is not a simple invitation to charity: it is a page of Christology
which sheds a ray of light on the mystery of Christ. By these
words, no less than by the orthodoxy of her doctrine, the Church
measures her fidelity as the Bride of Christ.
Certainly we need to remember that no one can be excluded from
our love, since "through his Incarnation the Son of God has united
himself in some fashion with every person".35 Yet, as the unequivocal
words of the Gospel remind us, there is a special presence of
Christ in the poor, and this requires the Church to make a preferential
option for them. This option is a testimony to the nature of God's
love, to his providence and mercy; and in some way history is
still filled with the seeds of the Kingdom of God which Jesus
himself sowed during his earthly life whenever he responded to
those who came to him with their spiritual and material needs.
50. In our own time, there are so many needs which demand a compassionate
response from Christians. Our world is entering the new millennium
burdened by the contradictions of an economic, cultural and technological
progress which offers immense possibilities to a fortunate few,
while leaving millions of others not only on the margins of progress
but in living conditions far below the minimum demanded by human
dignity. How can it be that even today there are still people
dying of hunger? Condemned to illiteracy? Lacking the most basic
medical care? Without a roof over their heads?
The scenario of poverty can extend indefinitely, if in addition
to its traditional forms we think of its newer patterns. These
latter often affect financially affluent sectors and groups which
are nevertheless threatened by despair at the lack of meaning
in their lives, by drug addiction, by fear of abandonment in old
age or sickness, by marginalization or social discrimination.
In this context Christians must learn to make their act of faith
in Christ by discerning his voice in the cry for help that rises
from this world of poverty. This means carrying on the tradition
of charity which has expressed itself in so many different ways
in the past two millennia, but which today calls for even greater
resourcefulness. Now is the time for a new "creativity" in charity,
not only by ensuring that help is effective but also by "getting
close" to those who suffer, so that the hand that helps is seen
not as a humiliating handout but as a sharing between brothers
and sisters.
We must therefore ensure that in every Christian community the
poor feel at home. Would not this approach be the greatest and
most effective presentation of the good news of the Kingdom? Without
this form of evangelization through charity and without the witness
of Christian poverty the proclamation of the Gospel, which is
itself the prime form of charity, risks being misunderstood or
submerged by the ocean of words which daily engulfs us in today's
society of mass communications. The charity of works ensures an
unmistakable efficacy to the charity of words.
Today's challenges
51. And how can we remain indifferent to the prospect of an ecological
crisis which is making vast areas of our planet uninhabitable
and hostile to humanity? Or by the problems of peace, so often
threatened by the spectre of catastrophic wars? Or by contempt
for the fundamental human rights of so many people, especially
children? Countless are the emergencies to which every Christian
heart must be sensitive.
A special commitment is needed with regard to certain aspects
of the Gospel's radical message which are often less well understood,
even to the point of making the Church's presence unpopular, but
which nevertheless must be a part of her mission of charity. I
am speaking of the duty to be committed to respect for the life
of every human being, from conception until natural death. Likewise,
the service of humanity leads us to insist, in season and out
of season, that those using the latest advances of science, especially
in the field of biotechnology, must never disregard fundamental
ethical requirements by invoking a questionable solidarity which
eventually leads to discriminating between one life and another
and ignoring the dignity which belongs to every human being.
For Christian witness to be effective, especially in these delicate
and controversial areas, it is important that special efforts
be made to explain properly the reasons for the Church's position,
stressing that it is not a case of imposing on non-believers a
vision based on faith, but of interpreting and defending the values
rooted in the very nature of the human person. In this way charity
will necessarily become service to culture, politics, the economy
and the family, so that the fundamental principles upon which
depend the destiny of human beings and the future of civilization
will be everywhere respected.
52. Clearly, all this must be done in a specifically Christian
way: the laity especially must be present in these areas in fulfilment
of their lay vocation, without ever yielding to the temptation
to turn Christian communities into mere social agencies. In particular,
the Church's relationship with civil society should respect the
latter's autonomy and areas of competence, in accordance with
the teachings of the Church's social doctrine.
Well known are the efforts made by the Church's teaching authority,
especially in the twentieth century, to interpret social realities
in the light of the Gospel and to offer in a timely and systematic
way its contribution to the social question, which has now assumed
a global dimension.
The ethical and social aspect of the question is an essential
element of Christian witness: we must reject the temptation to
offer a privatized and individualistic spirituality which ill
accords with the demands of charity, to say nothing of the implications
of the Incarnation and, in the last analysis, of Christianity's
eschatological tension. While that tension makes us aware of the
relative character of history, it in no way implies that we withdraw
from "building" history. Here the teaching of the Second Vatican
Council is more timely than ever: "The Christian message does
not inhibit men and women from building up the world, or make
them disinterested in the welfare of their fellow human beings:
on the contrary it obliges them more fully to do these very things".36
A practical sign
53. In order to give a sign of this commitment to charity and
human promotion, rooted in the most basic demands of the Gospel,
I have resolved that the Jubilee year, in addition to the great
harvest of charity which it has already yielded -- here I am thinking
in particular of the help given to so many of our poorer brothers
and sisters to enable them to take parrt in the Jubilee -- should
leave an endowment which would in some way be the fruit and seal
of the love sparked by the Jubilee. Many pilgrims have made an
offering and many leaders in the financial sector have joined
in providing generous assistance which has helped to ensure a
fitting celebration of the Jubilee. Once the expenses of this
year have been covered, the money saved will be dedicated to charitable
purposes. It is important that such a major religious event should
be completely dissociated from any semblance of financial gain.
Whatever money remains will be used to continue the experience
so often repeated since the very beginning of the Church, when
the Jerusalem community offered non-Christians the moving sight
of a spontaneous exchange of gifts, even to the point of holding
all things in common, for the sake of the poor (cf. Acts 2:44-45).
The endowment to be established will be but a small stream flowing
into the great river of Christian charity that courses through
history. A small but significant stream: because of the Jubilee
the world has looked to Rome, the Church "which presides in charity"37
and has brought its gifts to Peter. Now the charity displayed
at the centre of Catholicism will in some way flow back to the
world through this sign, which is meant to be an enduring legacy
and remembrance of the communion experienced during the Jubilee.
Dialogue and mission
54. A new century, a new millennium are opening in the light of
Christ. But not everyone can see this light. Ours is the wonderful
and demanding task of becoming its "reflection". This is the mysterium
lunae, which was so much a part of the contemplation of the Fathers
of the Church, who employed this image to show the Church's dependence
on Christ, the Sun whose light she reflects.38 It was a way of
expressing what Christ himself said when he called himself the
"light of the world" (Jn 8:12) and asked his disciples to be "the
light of the world" (Mt 5:14).
This is a daunting task if we consider our human weakness, which
so often renders us opaque and full of shadows. But it is a task
which we can accomplish if we turn to the light of Christ and
open ourselves to the grace which makes us a new creation.
55. It is in this context also that we should consider the great
challenge of inter-religious dialogue to which we shall still
be committed in the new millennium, in fidelity to the teachings
of the Second Vatican Council.39 In the years of preparation for
the Great Jubilee the Church has sought to build, not least through
a series of highly symbolic meetings, a relationship of openness
and dialogue with the followers of other religions. This dialogue
must continue. In the climate of increased cultural and religious
pluralism which is expected to mark the society of the new millennium,
it is obvious that this dialogue will be especially important
in establishing a sure basis for peace and warding off the dread
spectre of those wars of religion which have so often bloodied
human history. The name of the one God must become increasingly
what it is: a name of peace and a summons to peace.
56. Dialogue, however, cannot be based on religious indifferentism,
and we Christians are in duty bound, while engaging in dialogue,
to bear clear witness to the hope that is within us (cf. 1 Pt
3:15). We should not fear that it will be considered an offence
to the identity of others what is rather the joyful proclamation
of a gift meant for all, and to be offered to all with the greatest
respect for the freedom of each one: the gift of the revelation
of the God who is Love, the God who "so loved the world that he
gave his only Son" (Jn 3:16). As the recent Declaration Dominus
Iesus stressed, this cannot be the subject of a dialogue understood
as negotiation, as if we considered it a matter of mere opinion:
rather, it is a grace which fills us with joy, a message which
we have a duty to proclaim.
The Church therefore cannot forgo her missionary activity among
the peoples of the world. It is the primary task of the missio
ad gentes to announce that it is in Christ, "the Way, and the
Truth, and the Life" (Jn 14:6), that people find salvation. Interreligious
dialogue "cannot simply replace proclamation, but remains oriented
towards proclamation".40 This missionary duty, moreover, does
not prevent us from approaching dialogue with an attitude of profound
willingness to listen. We know in fact that, in the presence of
the mystery of grace, infinitely full of possibilities and implications
for human life and history, the Church herself will never cease
putting questions, trusting in the help of the Paraclete, the
Spirit of truth (cf. Jn 14:17), whose task it is to guide her
"into all the truth" (Jn 16:13).
This is a fundamental principle not only for the endless theological
investigation of Christian truth, but also for Christian dialogue
with other philosophies, cultures and religions. In the common
experience of humanity, for all its contradictions, the Spirit
of God, who "blows where he wills" (Jn 3:8), not infrequently
reveals signs of his presence which help Christ's followers to
understand more deeply the message which they bear. Was it not
with this humble and trust-filled openness that the Second Vatican
Council sought to read "the signs of the times"?41 Even as she
engages in an active and watchful discernment aimed at understanding
the "genuine signs of the presence or the purpose of God",42 the
Church acknowledges that she has not only given, but has also
"received from the history and from the development of the human
race".43 This attitude of openness, combined with careful discernment,
was adopted by the Council also in relation to other religions.
It is our task to follow with great fidelity the Council's teaching
and the path which it has traced.
In the light of the Council
57. What a treasure there is, dear brothers and sisters, in the
guidelines offerred to us by the Second Vatican Council! For this
reason I asked the Church, as a way of preparing for the Great
Jubilee, to examine herself on the reception given to the Council.44
Has this been done? The Congress held here in the Vatican was
such a moment of reflection, and I hope that similar efforts have
been made in various ways in all the particular Churches. With
the passing of the years, the Council documents have lost nothing
of their value or brilliance. They need to be read correctly,
to be widely known and taken to heart as important and normative
texts of the Magisterium, within the Church's Tradition. Now that
the Jubilee has ended, I feel more than ever in duty bound to
point to the Council as the great grace bestowed on the Church
in the twentieth century: there we find a sure compass by which
to take our bearings in the century now beginning.
CONCLUSION
DUC IN ALTUM!
58. Let us go forward in hope! A new millennium is opening before
the Church like a vast ocean upon which we shall venture, relying
on the help of Christ. The Son of God, who became incarnate two
thousand years ago out of love for humanity, is at work even today:
we need discerning eyes to see this and, above all, a generous
heart to become the instruments of his work. Did we not celebrate
the Jubilee Year in order to refresh our contact with this living
source of our hope? Now, the Christ whom we have contemplated
and loved bids us to set out once more on our journey: "Go therefore
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28:19).
The missionary mandate accompanies us into the Third Millennium
and urges us to share the enthusiasm of the very first Christians:
we can count on the power of the same Spirit who was poured out
at Pentecost and who impels us still today to start out anew,
sustained by the hope "which does not disappoint" (Rom 5:5).
At the beginning of this new century, our steps must quicken as
we travel the highways of the world. Many are the paths on which
each one of us and each of our Churches must travel, but there
is no distance between those who are united in the same communion,
the communion which is daily nourished at the table of the Eucharistic
Bread and the Word of Life. Every Sunday, the Risen Christ asks
us to meet him as it were once more in the Upper Room where, on
the evening of "the first day of the week" (Jn 20:19) he appeared
to his disciples in order to "breathe" on them his life-giving
Spirit and launch them on the great adventure of proclaiming the
Gospel.
On this journey we are accompanied by the Blessed Virgin Mary
to whom, a few months ago, in the presence of a great number of
Bishops assembled in Rome from all parts of the world, I entrusted
the Third Millennium. During this year I have often invoked her
as the "Star of the New Evangelization". Now I point to Mary once
again as the radiant dawn and sure guide for our steps. Once more,
echoing the words of Jesus himself and giving voice to the filial
affection of the whole Church, I say to her: "Woman, behold your
children"(cf. Jn 19:26).
59. Dear brothers and sisters! The symbol of the Holy Door now
closes behind us, but only in order to leave more fully open the
living door which is Christ. After the enthusiasm of the Jubilee,
it is not to a dull everyday routine that we return. On the contrary,
if ours has been a genuine pilgrimage, it will have as it were
stretched our legs for the journey still ahead. We need to imitate
the zeal of the Apostle Paul: "Straining forward to what lies
ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward
call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:13-14). Together, we must
all imitate the contemplation of Mary, who returned home to Nazareth
from her pilgrimage to the Holy City of Jerusalem, treasuring
in her heart the mystery of her Son (cf. Lk 2:51).
The Risen Jesus accompanies us on our way and enables us to recognize
him, as the disciples of Emmaus did, "in the breaking of the bread"
(Lk 24:35). May he find us watchful, ready to recognize his face
and run to our brothers and sisters with the good news: "We have
seen the Lord!" (Jn 20:25).
This will be the much desired fruit of the Jubilee of the Year
2000, the Jubilee which has vividly set before our eyes once more
the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God and the Redeemer
of man.
As the Jubilee now comes to a close and points us to a future
of hope, may the praise and thanksgiving of the whole Church rise
to the Father, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit.
In pledge of this, I impart to all of you my heartfelt Blessing.
From the Vatican, on 6 January, the Solemnity of the Epiphany,
in the year 2001, the twenty-third of my Pontificate.
NOTES
(1) Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Pastoral
Office of Bishops in the Church Christus Dominus, 11.
(2) Bull Incarnationis Mysterium, 3: AAS 91 (1999), 132.
(3) Ibid., 4: loc. cit., 133.
(4) Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on
the Church Lumen Gentium, 8.
(5) De Civitate Dei, XVIII, 51, 2: PL 41, 614; cf. Second Vatican
Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen
Gentium, 8.
(6) Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente
(10 November 1994), 55: AAS 87 (1995), 38.
(7) Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on
the Church Lumen Gentium, 1.
(8) "Ignoratio enim Scripturarum ignoratio Christi est": Commentarii
in Isaiam, Prologue: PL 24, 17.
(9) Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution
on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum, 19.
(10) "Following the holy Fathers, unanimously, we teach and confess
one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, perfect in his divinity
and perfect in his humanity, true God and true man ... one and
the same Christ the Lord, the only-begotten, to be recognized
in two natures, without confusion, immutable, indivisible, inseparable
... he is not divided or separated in two persons, but he is one
and the same Son, the only-begotten, God, Word and Lord Jesus
Christ": DS 301-302.
(11) Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution
on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 22.
(12) Saint Athanasius observes in this regard: "Man could not
become divine remaining united to a creature, if the Son were
not true God": Oratio II contra Arianos, 70: PG 26, 425 B-426
G.
(13) Cf. n. 78.
(14) Last Conversations. Yellow Booklet (6 July 1897): Euvres
complètes (Paris, 1996), p. 1025.
(15) Saint Cyprian, De Oratione Dominica, 23: PL 4, 553; cf. Lumen
Gentium, 4.
(16) Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution
on the Church Lumen Gentium, 40.
(17) Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution on the
Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10.
(18) Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Letter on
Certain Aspects of Christian Meditation Orationis Formas (15 October
1989): AAS 82 (1990), 362-379.
(19) Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution on the Sacred
Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10.
(20) John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Dies Domini (31 May 1998),
19: AAS 90 (1998), 724.
(21) Ibid., 2: loc. cit., 714.
(22) Cf. ibid., 35: loc. cit., 734.
(23) Cf. No. 18: AAS 77 (1985), 224.
(24) Ibid., 31: loc. cit., 258.
(25) Tertullian, Apologeticum, 50, 13: PL 1, 534.
(26) Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution
on the Church Lumen Gentium, 1.
(27) Manuscript B, 3vo: Euvres complètes (Paris, 1996), p. 226.
(28) Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution
on the Church Lumen Gentium, Chapter III.
(29) Cf. Congregation for the Clergy et al., Instruction on Certain
Questions regarding the Collaboration of the Non-ordained Faithful
in the Sacred Ministry of Priests Ecclesiae de Mysterio (15 August
1997): AAS 89 (1997), 852-877, especially Article 5: "The Structures
of Collaboration in the Particular Church".
(30) Regula, III, 3: "Ideo autem omnes ad consilium vocari diximus,
quia saepe iuniori Dominus revelat quod melius est".
(31) "De omnium fidelium ore pendeamus, quia in omnem fidelem
Spiritus Dei spirat": Epistola 23, 36 to Sulpicius Severus: CSEL
29, 193.
(32) Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution
on the Church Lumen Gentium, 31.
(33) Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Apostolate
of the Laity Apostolicam Actuositatem, 2.
(34) Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution
on the Church Lumen Gentium, 8.
(35) Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution
on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 22.
(36) Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium
et Spes, 34.
(37) Cf. Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Romans, Preface,
ed. Funk, I, 252.
(38) Thus, for example, SAINT AUGUSTINE: "Luna intellegitur Ecclesia,
quod suum lumen non habeat, sed ab Unigenito Dei Filio, qui multis
locis in Sanctis Scripturis allegorice sol appellatus est": Enarrationes
in Psalmos, 10, 3: CCL 38, 42.
(39) Cf. Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian
Religions Nostra Aetate.
(40) Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and Pontifical
Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Instruction on the Proclamation
of the Gospel and Interreligious Dialogue Dialogue and Proclamation:
Reflections and Orientations (19 May 1991), 82: AAS 84 (1992),
444.
(41) Cf. Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World
Gaudium et Spes, 4.
(42) Ibid., 11.
(43) Ibid., 44.
(44) Cf. Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente (10 November
1994), 36: AAS 87 (1995), 28.
(Vatican Translation)
