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POPE JOHN PAUL II’s
APOSTOLIC LETTER
NOVO MILLENNIO INEUNTE
(At the Beginning of the New Millennium)
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). . . .
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 fulfillment 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. . . .
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 which 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. . . . 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" . . . "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. .. 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. . . .
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. . . .
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);
. . .
The Sacrament of
Reconciliation
37. . . .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, . . . 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 history.
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. . . . making sure
that every family has a Bible.
Proclaiming the Word
40. . . . 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. . . .
A spirituality of
communion
43. . . . Before making
practical plans, we need to promote a spirituality of communion . . .,
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. . .
The diversity of vocations
46. . . .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.
. . 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 . . .
Stake everything on charity
49. . . .
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. . 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. . . .
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.
. . .
The charity of
works ensures an unmistakable efficacy to the charity of words.
. . .
57. What a treasure there is,
dear brothers and sisters, in the guidelines offered to us by the Second
Vatican Council! . . .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.
. . .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). . .
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). . .
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.
Dan Lynch is a retired Judge in the
State of Vermont. He is an author, producer of audios and videos and has
appeared on radio and television. He is also the Director of the
apostolate of The Missionary Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
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