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Soulhem Diocese of Savannah Vol. 80, No. 1 $.50 PER ISSUE Thursday, January 6, 2000 Contents News 1-3 Commentary. .. 4-5 Around the Diocese ..... 6-7 Faith Alive! 8-9 Notices 10-11 Last But Not Least 12 Bishop McDonald retires ... 2 Pope John Paul II kneels as he enters the Holy Door in Saint Peter's Basilica December 24 marking the start of the jubilee year. The Great Jubilee in the Diocese of Savannah By Father Douglas K. Clark Savannah ilgrimages, home celebrations and debt forgiveness for poor parishes will mark the celebration of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 in the Diocese of Savannah. Bishop J. Kevin Boland announced activi ties for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 at the Christmas Midnight Mass celebrated at the Savannah Civic Center. In his homily, Bishop Boland pointed out that the tradition of celebrating jubilees is rooted in the Old Testament. The word “jubilee” is derived from a Hebrew word for the ram’s horn used to summon the people for a festival. While the Hebrew jubilees occurred every 50 years, in Christianity, e jubilees or holy years usually occur every 25 <D 3 years. ^ The bishop spoke of the Great Jubilee of 9. the Year 2000 as “a special call to under- .2 stand better the mystery of the Incarnation of ~o_ Jesus Christ.” The 2,000th anniversary of z Christ’s birth is an occasion for us to reflect u and remember that, as Saint Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians, “now is the day of salvation.” The Jubilee is to be a year of spiritual renewal, in which Christians are invited to confirm their faith in God revealed in Christ, to sustain their hope in eternal life and to rekindle charity in service to others. Reflecting on the diocesan logo for the Jubilee year, which is also the sesquicenten- nial of the diocese, “Open wide the doors to Christ,” a phrase from Pope John Paul’s inaugural homily, Bishop Boland linked the idea of the Holy Door to that of pilgrimage. To go on a jubilee pilgrimage is to incarnate one’s life-long journey with Christ, he said. “Whether our pilgrimage is to Rome, the Holy Land, another pilgrimage church, with in the home or within the heart, we find that at the end of the journey, the Lord Jesus is the open door,” the bishop said. “He wel comes, he nourishes, he forgives, he embraces, he makes us one of the family. The door is always open.” The “clarion call of the Jubilee,” said the bishop, “is to open wide the doors of our own hearts in response, so that Christ may enter in.” Bishop Boland outlined the diocesan plans for the jubilee year. Pilgrimage to the Holy Land: Bishop Boland will lead a pilgrimage to Bethlehem, (Continued on page 3) Service to the poor marks Christmas celebrations Left: Bishop J. Kevin Boland serves lunch at the Savannah Social Apostolate on Christmas Eve. Right: Sister Pauline O'Brien greets a guest. Photo by Jonas N. Jordan