“Christ yesterday and today, the beginning and the end, Alpha and Omega, all time belongs to him, and all the ages, to him be glory and power through every age forever.”

It is in this context of the Christian significance of time that we have prepared for and celebrated the Jubilee of the Incarnation of the Son of God. For the three years prior to the year 2000, we called ourselves to intense personal and communal preparation for the celebration in 2000, the Great Jubilee of Jesus Christ.

Relatively few are the persons in history who have been privileged to greet the beginning of a new Christian millennium. There is reason for our hearts to fill with gratitude for this special gift. We have sincerely tried to give glory and thanks to God for sending us his only begotten Son, “that whosoever would believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:15).

Looking back, we recall that in 1997 our focus was on the eternal Word, incarnate in Jesus Christ, with special consideration given to the Sacrament of Baptism, the theological virtue of faith and the importance of catechesis. In 1998, we focused on the Holy Spirit, the Sacrament of Confirmation, and the virtue of hope. In 1999, our emphasis was on the heavenly Father, the Sacrament of Penance, and the virtues of justice and charity, including service to the poor and the needy, and our social justice responsibilities. During the year 2000, we have been celebrating a Holy Year of the Great Jubilee of Jesus Christ, while giving special attention to the Holy Eucharist.

As we begin a new year, we might well ask ourselves, “How has this special time of grace changed my life?” Have I participated as fully as possible in the Eucharist? Have I spent time in prayer and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament? Have we prayed together as a family? Have we reflected on the Sacred Scriptures?

Have we looked to Mary as our model of faith, fidelity and witness? Have we fasted and abstained from meat on Fridays? Has our fasting served to heighten our hunger for the Lord? Has it made us more mindful of the poor and needy? Have we prayed and sacrificed for the good of the Church, for our diocese, our families, our own personal sanctification, for vocations and for the salvation of all? In general, how have we journeyed?

At the beginning of a new year, we might well ponder how to share our faith and life in Christ with others. Can we muster the resolve to nurture a flourishing of ministries of evangelization and a general commitment to the new evangelization? The Incarnate Son of God leaped down to earth for all members of the human family and offered himself for the redemption of all. There are still many people who do not know Christ. There are many others who have allowed their hearts to grow cold and may need a friend to invite them back into the embrace of Christ’s love. Pope John Paul II urges us to take up the new evangelization with something of the fervor of the first believers 2,000 years ago. Let us do so. Our world needs Christ as truly as did theirs. Our times need us to be evangelizers.

In 1997, the U.S. Bishops’ Conference invited us to consider the following ways to be a witness to Christ and the Gospel: pray daily, practice forgiveness, participate in the Eucharist, live a just life, help the poor, nurture love within the family, take part in a faith-sharing group or a small Christian community, and know our faith. These would comprise a practical program for the new year. They embody the spirit of the Gospel: “to bring glad tidings to the poor ... to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.” (Lk. 4:18)

Happy New Year!

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