At the beginning of the new millennium

Treasures of Our Faith with Deacon Richard Vehige

Today, October 22 , as our Church celebrates the Memorial of John Paul II, pope, we are encouraged to read and reflect on a passage of the apostle Paul to Titus (1:7-11:2:1-8), entitled “The teaching of the Apostle on the qualities and duties of bishops”. Our treasure, which follows, is an apostolic letter “At the beginning of the new millennium” by John Paul II, pope.

On October 16, 1978, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, Archbishop of Krakow, was elected the 263rd successor to Saint Peter and chose the name John Paul II in honor of the late John Paul I. Pope John Paul II was the first ever Slavic pope elected, was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years, and at 58-years-old, he was youngest pope in over a century. Pope John Paul II was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his death in 2005. He travelled abroad extensively in an effort to promote greater understanding between countries and religions, and he campaigned against political oppression, violence, and materialism During his twenty-six-year pontificate, he visited over 129 countries, which included seven visits to the United States. He survived an assassination attempt in 1981. He died on April 2, 2005, beatified in St. Peter's Square on May 1, 2011, by Pope Benedict XVI, and canonized on April 27, 2014, by Pope Francis.

“Everyone knows John Paul II: his face, his characteristic way of moving and speaking; his immersion in prayer and his spontaneous cheerfulness. Many of his words have become indelibly engraved in our memories, starting with the passionate cry with which he introduced himself to the people at the beginning of his pontificate: ‘Open wide the doors to Christ, and be not afraid of him!’ Or this saying: ‘No one can live a trial life; no one can love experimentally.’ An entire pontificate is condensed in words like these. It is as though he would like to open the doors for Christ everywhere and wishes to open up to people the gate that leads to true life, to true love.” - Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

(Novo Millennio Ineunte) “At the beginning of the New Millenium” The Jubilee year was a very important event in the life of the church. Pope John Paul II called it the greatest Jubilee the church has ever celebrated. He pointed out that he had been anticipating the Jubilee of the Year 2000 ever since the very first encyclical letter of his papacy more than 21 years ago. He spoke of the Jubilee in very significant terms as “a meeting with the Spirit,” as the occasion for revealing “that new springtime of Christian life,” which he believes God is preparing for the church and the world. Now that the Jubilee year is over how does the Pope assess its fruits and significance? In a series of end of the year addresses and in an important new document (Novo millennio ineunte), “At the beginning of the new millennium”) published at the close of the Great Jubilee the Pope makes some very significant observations. He wants to reflect on the experience of the Jubilee year in order to “decipher” “what the Spirit has been saying to the Church during this most intense year.” He writes in order to help us all reflect on what the Spirit has been saying not only in this special year of grace, but “indeed in the longer span of time from the Second Vatican Council to the Great Jubilee.” The Pope sees the Jubilee year as the culmination of a lengthy providential preparation of the church for the new millennium that began forty years ago with the Second Vatican Council.

Saint Paul’s letter to Titus is the third of the Pastoral Epistles in the New Testament and is addressed to a different co-worker of Paul than are First and Second Timothy. The situation is different, too, for Titus is addressed as the person in charge of developing the church on the large Mediterranean island of Crete, a place Paul had never, according to the New Testament, visited. The tone is closer to that of First Timothy as three topics of church life and structure are discussed: presbyter-bishops, groups with which one must work in the church, and admonitions for conduct based on the grace and love of God that appeared in Jesus Christ. The warmer personal tone of Second Timothy is replaced by emphasis on church office and on living in the society of the day, in which deceivers and heretics abound.