Important Papal Encyclicals And Writings In View Of The Year 2000


Pope John Paul II's Proposal Of A Great Jubilee For The Year 2000:
Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul II released on November 14, 1994.

SOURCE:

http://www.catholicforum.com/saints/pope0264ig.htm - Link is no longer active.
Below is a quote from this Apostolic Letter.
The rest of this document can read at the above Home Page.


"As the Third Millennium Draws Near" (Tertio Mellennio Adveniente)

Released November 14, 1994

"III. Preparation For The Great Jubilee . . .

"23. Since the publication of the very first document of my pontificate I have spoken explicitly of the Great Jubilee, suggesting that the time leading up to it be lived as "a new Advent."[9] This theme has since reappeared many times, and was dwelt upon at length in the encyclical Dominum et Vivificantem.[10] In fact, preparing for the year 2000 has become as it were a hermeneutical key of my pontificate. It is certainly not a matter of indulging in a new millenarianism, as occurred in some quarters at the end of the first millennium; rather, it is aimed at an increased sensitivity to all that the Spirit is saying to the church and to the churches (cf. Rv. 2:7 f), as well as to individuals through charisms meant to serve the whole community. The purpose is to emphasize what the Spirit is suggesting to the different communities, from the smallest ones, such as the family, to the largest ones, such as nations and international organizations, taking into account cultures, societies and sound traditions. Despite appearances, humanity continues to await the revelation of the children of God and lives by this hope, like a mother in labor, to use the image employed so powerfully by St. Paul in his Letter to the Romans (cf. 8: 19-22)."