Letter to Cloistered Religious on Praying for the Great Jubilee

LETTER TO CLOISTERED RELIGIOUS ON PRAYING FOR THE GREAT JUBILEE

The superiors of the Central Committee for the Great Jubilee and the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Communities of Apostolic Life recently wrote to the members of cloistered monasteries and convents, asking for their prayers so that all Christians and men and women of good will may benefit from the spiritual fruits of the Great Jubilee. Here is the English text of their letter, which was dated 5 October but released on 20 November.

Dear Cloistered Brothers and Sisters,

As we approach the beginning of the Great Jubilee Year 2000, we turn to you, our brothers and sisters living in cloistered monasteries and convents, knowing that the presence of God pervades your communities and houses in a special way.

We greet you, for we know that we are always united in the communion of prayer and faith, in the search for the salvation of all souls. Your presence in the Church and in the world "proclaims and relays the primacy of God and the transcendence of the human person, created in his image and likeness, (cf. Verbi Sponsa, n. 7).

The Christian community is living intensely the last phase of preparation for the Great Jubilee Year 2000, and all Christians are aware that this is an event of grace, a gift from God, a year of mercy which fosters hope and commitment. You also are very much part of this journey which involves the community of all believers. Your spirit, along with the whole People of God, is in pilgrimage towards a renewed knowledge of the Lord.

The Holy Father has outlined the steps to be taken for this renewal of faith. He invites us to conversion and to be more committed to social justice. He desires us to be open to all, that they may discover Christ and come to love and understand him, to place their trust in him and see in his Gospel the model of holiness in our lives.

Following the call of the Successor of Peter, the whole Church has deepened her knowledge and celebrated the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, revealed to us through the Incarnation of the Son.

All of you, our contemplative brothers and sisters, already know this, because you live it daily, experiencing the action of the indwelling Presence.

Now, by offering yourselves along with Jesus Christ to the Father, collaborate in the work of Redemption by being fully involved in the profound spiritual renewal which the occasion of the Great Jubilee Year 2000 gives. We ask for your prayers so that all Christians and men and women of good will may benefit from these spiritual fruits. The men and women of our era, pressured by a culture of materialism and indifference, have a great need to rediscover the God who has appeared to humanity in his Word made flesh.

We highly esteem the role you play in the mission of the Jubilee. The success of this Holy Year is closely bound, above all, to your prayers and the spiritual communion or your lives with those who strive to convert and return to the house of the Father. Pilgrims to Rome, to the Holy Land, at cathedrals and shrines throughout the world, seeking to gain the gift of the indulgence, will be sustained by you and supported in their journey of conversion.

Please pray that the Church, the Body of Christ and his Bride, may bear witness to her true identity and that all people may be drawn to the Heart of Go . May your prayers of petition rise up like incense before the presence of God in all your liturgical ceremonies. May your raised hands implore blessings for our Holy Father, for the Church and for all of humanity.

Thus, in this year of grace, may the face of God be disclosed to all people; may it be revealed to those who proclaim it, as well as to those who seek interior peace and an experience of God's presence in their lives.

We are deeply grateful for your commitment and we send you our greetings in the Lord.

Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, President

Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo, Prefect

Crescenzio Sepe, General Secretary

Piergiorgio Silvano Nesti, Secretary

Taken from:
L'Osservatore Romano
Weekly Edition in English
1 December 1999, page 6

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