Jubilee Year 2000

Remember the last time someone in your family celebrated a jubilee?
It may have been a 25th or 50th anniversary and the whole family gathered around and showed their love and affection for the "jubilarians".
Pope John Paul Il is calling on the whole church to do the same in the year 2000 which will be a great jubilee in honor of Jesus. We'll gather to celebrate the love Jesus has for us and the Holy Father calls us to do this by growing in unity with each other. After all, it is the desire of Jesus "that all be one."
There are some special themes in celebrating this great jubilee. These have their root in our Jewish jubilee celebrations Leviticus 25:8-17).

Every seventh day (sabbath) is a day of rest. Every seventh year
(sabbatical) is a year for rest and rejuvenation. Our society often ignores these gifted times from God. (Did you ever notice how busy Sundays have become?) So as we approach the year 2000 jubilee we need to let "our land lie fallow" and rest and be restored. How do you think you can do this
in your own life?

What a pain it is to carry grudges! Grudges keep reminding us of hurts and brokeness over and over again. The year of jubilee is one where we can forgive the trespasses of others. The Holy Father goes so far is to suggest that we might even consider forgiving financial debts -- especially the crushing and debilitating debts owed by "third-world" nations to the wealthy" first-world " nations. What debts are you willing to forgive in honor of Jesus as the great jubilee approaches?

How many times have your children said "It's not fair!" this summer? What's a parent to do? Sometimes it's easier to settle for peace ("Go to your rooms until you can behave...") than for justice. Yet our children point out the unfairness of life because they believe that life should be fair, that there should be justice for all. God seems to agree with them. The jubilee year is a wonderful opportunity to free people from burdens: Do away with racist, ethnic, age-related, and sexist prejudices. Do away with nagging and unfair demands that employers put on employees (or spouses put on each other). What oppresses you? And how can you avoid oppressing others?

Another theme of the jubilee is "going home", returning to our roots. Here is a chance to visit with our ancestors, look at our family history, reclaim the joys of our past and appreciate the struggles of past years. Families can use the jubilee to re-unite and visit with one another. It's a great time to re-unite the members of the church family. What keeps people from experiencing the church as "home"? How can we help each other rediscover the richness and love of the church family?
Christmas is one of those times, like a jubilee, when people feel called to "come home". Many people each year "come home for Christmas" to their church community. They realize that something has been missing from their lives and they rediscover the peace and joy of coming to Mass each Sunday.

This coming Lent, people will have a chance to celebrate the themes of the great jubilee. RENEW 2000 is coming to over 90 parishes on Long Island and will be a great blessing as tens of thousands of people will begin to celebrate the jubilee of Jesus.