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The Southern Cross, Page 4 Thursday, December 21, 2000 A Jubilee Christmas prayer W hat a year this has been! With our fellow Catholics throughout the world we have observed the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, commemorating the coming of the Son of God as the Son of Mary 2000 years ago. When our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, opened the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome on Christmas Eve, 1999, he ushered in athe Jubilee Year of celebration for the whole Church. In our Diocese of Savannah, we have celebrated the Jubilee together with the 150th anniversary of the establishment of our diocese by Blessed Pius IX in 1859 and the rededication of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in 1900, after the disastrous fire of 1898. Our celebrations included family prayer in the home, parish and deanery masses and gatherings and, at the end of November, five days of thankful rejoicing in Savannah. These days featured a concert, a multicultural Mass and festival in the park, a youth day, com plete with a play and a special Mass, an ecu menical service and, of course, the dedication of the magnificently restored Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist one century, one month and one day after its rededication in 1900. Thousands joined in celebrat ing the providential coincidence of the Jubilee, the diocesan Sesqui- centennial and the cathedral’s cen tennial and restoration. As we look back on this busy and exciting year, the enthusiasm with which the Catholic people of south Georgia entered into the Jubilee and sesquicen- tennial celebra tions stands out in high relief. It would be tempt ing to look on them as an end and to rest on our laurels. But in the spirit of the Great Jubilee, intended to be a moment of renewal, we must instead regard them as a begin ning. Our celebration of the Lord’s birth in this 2000th year of grace is an occasion for the greatest rejoicing and for a renewed commitment to living out the Gospel of Life proclaimed by the Messiah as he walked this earth. May the passing of this Jubilee and Sesquicentennial year not lead us to complacency, to a slackening of our energy and evangelical zeal, but may this special year be re called as particularly filled with grace, spurring us to continue our efforts to bring the Good News of Jesus, our Emmanuel, to all the people of south Georgia, especially to the unchurched. May we remember that this spe cial year has been but a moment on our journey of faith towards the kingdom of God, which Christ our King came 2000 years ago to inau gurate on earth and which he has entrusted to us to foster and pro claim, empowered by the grace of the Holy Spirit, until he comes again. As we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ, let us pray that the Lord will deliv er us from every evil, grant us peace in our day, keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety in this passing world. —DKC Savannah Deanery Parishes Christmas Mass Schedule 2000 Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist Saint Boniface Mission 222 E. Harris Street Springfield December 24—11:30 p.m. Music / Midnight Mass December 24—7:00 p.m. Mass December 25—8:00 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. Masses December 25—10:30 a.m. Mass Blessed Sacrament Church Saint Frances Cabrini Church 1003 East Victory Drive 11500 Middleground Road December 24—5:30 p.m. Children’s Mass December 24—5:30 p.m. Children’s Mass 11:30 p.m. Music / Midnight Mass 11:15 p.m. Music / Midnight Mass December 25—10:00 a.m. Mass December 25—10:00 a.m. Mass Our Lady of Lourdes Church Saint James Church Port Wentworth 8412 Whitfield Avenue December 24-5:00 p.m. December 24—5:30 p.m. Children’s Mass (Church) 11:30 p.m. Mass (Overflow Mass in the Parish Center) Resurrection of Our Lord Church 7:30 p.m. Mass 10:00 p.m. at Our Lady of Good Hope Chapel, Isle of Hope 112 Fell Street 11:30 p.m. Music / Midnight Mass December 24—4:00 p.m. Mass (Children) December 25—10:00 a.m. Mass Midnight Mass December 25—9:00 a.m. Mass Saint Michael Church Sacred Heart Church Tybee Island December 24—5:00 p.m. Children’s Mass 1707 Bull Street 9:00 p.m. Mass December 24—5:00 p.m. Mass (English) December 25—8:00 a.m. & 10:00 a.m. Masses 7:00 p.m. Mass (Spanish) Midnight Mass (English) Saint Peter the Apostle Church December 25—10:00 a.m. Mass (English) Wilmington Island Saint Anne Church December 24—5:00 p.m. (Special Children’s Liturgy) 5:00 p.m. Vigil Mass (Youth Choir) Richmond Hill 7:00 p.m. Vigil Mass (Special Youth Choir) December 24—5:30 p.m. Children’s Mass Midnight Mass (Adult Choir) Midnight Mass December 25—9:00 a.m. Mass December 25—9:00 a.m. Mass Saint Benedict the Moor Church Saints Peter & Paul Vietnamese Church 3115 East Victory Drive 556 East Gordon Street December 24—5:30 p.m. Mass (English) December 24—6:00 p.m. Children’s Mass 8:00 p.m. (Vietnamese) 11:30 p.m. Music / Midnight Mass December 25—0:00 a.m. Mass (Bilingual) December 25—10:00 a.m. Mass