This world project is not so much a program but a way of living for us all to make the 2000 years of Christian history, which is our proud heritage, a powerful and effective force in the third millennium.

To do that effectively we need to look back into our past, and own it. That means not only the history we are rightly proud of, but those parts of our story that we need to re examine in the light of truth and justice.

By owning our past, and by celebrating our present, we then can move into a new era of faith- inspired confidence.

This Great Jubilee then is meant to be celebrated by everyone, everywhere. There will be events of world magnitude, like celebrations in Jerusalem and Rome, but none of this will be of use to the building of Christ’s kingdom until the Jubilee is celebrated in the individual heart.

This four-page insert in the Broken Bay Diocesan News is meant to help you begin your personal journey.

Let us begin by looking at what the Jubilee is all about.

A Jubilee Year is traditionally a year dedicated to God in a special way. We are used to having the Year of the Child, or the Year of the Poor etc. The Year 2000 has been declared by the Pope as the Year of God’s grace as customarily celebrated by the people of biblical times.

According to the law of Moses, every seven years became a ‘sabbatical’ year when the paddocks were left fallow to regenerate the goodness of the soil; slaves were liberated as a sign of the mercy of God; debts were cancelled; and some prisoners were released from prison.

Individuals were encouraged to forgive and make peace with neighbours. All this was done to give honour to God and show respect for the dignity of the human person.

While this happened in some way every seven years, the Great Jubilee Year was an event of every 50 years - one great year in the life of most adults. The Great Jubilee Years restored equality and freedom among the children of Israel.

The Pope has taken the words of Jesus in Luke (4:1 f) and applied them. There Jesus said: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, anointing me to preach the good news to the poor, to proclaim release for captives and sight for the blind … to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." In the light of the world as it moves into the new millennium, the Pope’s call to Jubilee is appropriate.

There are five chapters, each with its own theme, but chapter four is the one in which the Pope makes the celebration a practical journey of faith to be enjoyed not only by the Church at large, but by the individual Christian.

After all, it is the personal journey of faith that most interests us all. It is through the individual, more than is generally realised, that the evangelisation of the world takes place – and this is a major Mission of the Church – the establishment of Christ’s Kingdom and the spreading of His message.

CHAPTER 1

Here the Pope outlines the historical nature of the Incarnation and God’s presence in out world. Our Catholic Faith enables us to be active participants is His mission of universal redemption.

CHAPTER 2

Here the Pope speaks of the Biblical nature of Jubilee as a time of recognising God’s presence. The notion of a Great Jubilee for the year 2000 – 2001 is a celebration of God’s presence in our world, in our time.

While the themes of Jubilee are found in the Old Testament, these same themes are present throughout the Church’s teachings based on the Gospels. The social doctrine of the Church have been developed in our time in response to present needs of our world - particularly since the ground breaking encyclical Rerum Novarum.

The Jubilee themes are thus very relevant to our time: not only the universal questions of social justice, but also the individual’s personal responses. A better understanding of God in our life also should encourage us in the cause of Christian unity.

CHAPTER 3

Here the Pope spells out the preparations for the Great Jubilee. This is a natural progression following on from Vatican II which the Pope likened to John the Baptist – the great preparer for the coming of the Lord.

Since the Council there have been many world and regional meetings of Bishops (Synods) to examine Evangelisation, Justice, Mission of the Laity, the Family, the Priesthood, and many others. These Synods have laid the foundation for the Great Jubilee.

The Pope’s many letters and overseas journeys have also contributed. The Church at heart is in the family, and it is there particularly, that the preparations should take place.

[A Synod of Bishops from Oceania will take place in 1998 – click here to see the article]

CHAPTER 4

Here is the practical heart of the Encyclical where the Pope outlines the actual stages of preparation in three phases:

The Pope details the importance of Reconciliation, Uniting the Churches, the lack of Tolerance, and the use of Violence in our world. He also notes the effects of Religious Indifference and Injustice, and the need to assimilate the teachings of Vatican II in our lives so that we can be effective witnesses to our world. To do that the Pope has dedicated the years leading up to the Great Jubilee to particular themes:

CHAPTER 5

Here the Pope speaks of the Great Jubilee as a modern parable of the Mission of the Church to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to our world. He pleads with young people to take up this mission and become agents of evangelisation.  Finally, the Pope places this great work under the patronage of Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer, and Mother of the Church.

The Encyclical is available in the official form from Catholic booksellers, and in a simplified version from the Columbans in Victoria.

Jubilee website - http://www.jubilee.brokenbay.catholic.org.au

As a way of preparing for those events, he has invited us to take the run-up years as a time of personal preparation and challenge, so that with the Easter dawn of the Great Jubilee we will experience the beginning of a new life - not just a celebration of the past 2000 years, but a commitment to a new world: the kingdom.

Throughout Australia, the Church is preparing and inviting other Christians to prepare with us. The people of biblical times had a great affinity with the land – this closeness is being reflected more in our own times, and so it is appropriate that we are part of a great movement, yet a personal one too.

The themes of Jubilee are relevant: In biblical times there was forgiveness and cancellation of debt – this can happen on the family level where hurt happens most. Reconciliation and the letting go of resentment can happen very effectively at the grass roots level.

In biblical times it was important to allow the land to lie idle without crops so that the goodness of the soil could regenerate. The fabric of modern life is often lived at such a pace that a period of "time out" seems very appropriate.

Time to reconnect with our roots, time to meet God in the garden of our life, time to take stock of our gifts, of our friends and family, our life style, our aims. Time to give thanks to God for who we are. God created our earth, and gave it to us as the caretakers: does not that mean that we need to occasionally take stock and respect the earth and its resources? The Jubilee gives us an opportunity to do all that and more.

In biblical times the Jubilee Year meant a freedom from slavery. Freedom means letting go of whatever keeps us from being fully human. In a multi-cultural Australia, there should be freedom for everyone. In theory there is, but in practical terms there may be questions we need to ask ourselves.

For instance, how often have you had a conversation with a person of different religious background - and is there not a real need for true reconciliation with the Aboriginal community so that real equality can be enjoyed by all Australians ?   The Jubilee gives an opportunity to do all that and more.

While the Pope on the world stage is looks at ways of presenting these themes to the world community, our Australian Bishops will be searching for effective ways of creating a better climate in the Oceania region with a special synod to meet in 1999, and on the parish, you and I are being asked to be just as relevant to our times and needs on a personal level.

Popes can speak and Bishops can meet, but ultimately it is the individual who really makes the difference. One piece of straw combined with thousands of other similar pieces can make an unbreakable bond. The challenge of our times is to bring our Christian faith and ideals to serve our world, and so further establish Christ’s kingdom.

The beginning of the journey is to accept this challenge.