We have greeted the New Millennium with much hype and hoopla, with parties and galas, with retrospective and prospective analyses of where we have been and are going on Planet Earth.
By and large, we enter this 21st century with great hope and optimism, riding the crest of a soaring stock market, economic globalization and mind-boggling technological advances.
Let it not be forgotten, however, that the 20th century also began with great expectations. The 1890s were the so-called Gilded Age. Confidence in the benign potential of science and of the fruits of the Industrial Revolution was at an all-time high. The Darwinian theory of evolution and Mendelian genetics promised tremendous intellectual and physical growth for the human species. Freudian psychology was perceived as a breakthrough to more socially responsible human behavior devoid of the selfish and the self-indulgent. The nascent feminist and ecumenical movements foretold sexual, social and economic liberation for women, and a utopian, one-world, one-faith view for religion.
Century in review
The 20th century fulfilled some of those expectations with the unprecedented availability of consumer goods, rising wages and higher standards of living, and with the erosion of patriarchy and of racial and religious bigotry through the passage of civil rights and equal-protection legislation.
Sadly and tragically, the indisputable fact remains that the last century of the second millennium was the bloodiest in human history, marred by incredible cruelty and savagery:
* by the plague of warfare from the Boer War to the Persian Gulf War, both of which pale in comparison with the devastation and carnage wrought by World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War;
* by the explosion of the atom and hydrogen bombs, and the Cold War which they precipitated;
* by genocide in Armenia, Cambodia and Rwanda;
* by the enslavement of the people of Eastern Europe, apartheid in South Africa and continued tensions in Northern Ireland, the Mid-East and the Balkans;
* by the proliferation of "isms" and phobias: Nazism, Fascism, communism, individualism, secularism, sexism, racism, moral relativism, xenophobia and homophobia;
* by the scourge of substance abuse and domestic violence;
* by the tragedy of abortion, infanticide, euthanasia and capital punishment; and
* by the unspeakable Shoah...the Holocaust...Hitler's so-called "final solution," which epitomizes the insidious evil we human beings are capable of perpetrating.
New opportunity
Why have these evils -- and so many others that could be cited -- continued to create such havoc within our society and world? Primarily, I believe, because we have fallen prey to the idols of intellectual pride, voracious greed, and self-indulgent lust and have failed to make God and the divine plan of life as unfolded in the Scriptures and in the teaching and tradition of the Church the cornerstone and foundation of our personal and social lives.
Thus, if we are to avoid the pitfalls of the 20th century (which now fades into history with all of its tragic mistakes, misplaced faith and intellectual hubris), then, as our Holy Year theme for the Great Jubilee 2000 suggests, we must "open wide the doors to Christ" so that His values and ideals might be the guiding, motivating and sustaining influence in our lives.
It is Christ's birth in that straw-filled manger at Bethlehem 20 centuries ago that the third millennium commemorates; thus, it is His mission we must be about, His message we must communicate to others and His ministry we must extend into our world in the new millennium.
What we can do
Let me suggest two concrete ways in which we can do this:
1. In our recent political responsibility statement, titled "Faithful Citizenship," we bishops pointed out that in the United States we are falling short of our American commitment to the right of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" (the complete text appears in this week's issue of The Evangelist as a special center section):
* 1.4 million children are destroyed before birth every year. In fact, in some communities, a majority of our children never see the day of their birth.
* 25 percent of our pre-school children are growing up poor, and far too many of our schools have become war zones, producing graduates who are barely literate and totally unprepared for employment in the high-tech age in which we live. Many of our junior and senior high school students have lost their moral compass, a sense of belonging and even their will to live. More and more, they are finding community in gangs and cliques instead of faith and family.
* Hatred and intolerance continue to haunt our national psyche; and although a powerful economy has pushed many forward, the gap between the haves and have-nots, the powerful and powerless has grown wider than at any time in recent memory. Sadly, the victims of poverty continue to be female heads of households, Afro-Americans, Hispanics and children.
* Scandal, sensationalism and intense partisan combat have polluted our public discourse and diminished the quality of our national life.
Citizenship
The 21st century, therefore, cries out for a new kind of citizenship, focused more on moral principal than on the latest polls...more on the needs of the poor and vulnerable rather than on the whims and fancy of the rich and powerful...more on the pursuit of the common good than on the demands of special interest.
That is why this Jubilee Year 2000 should be a time for us in the Catholic Christian community to bring together the guidance of the Gospel and the opportunities of our democracy to shape a society that is more respectful of human life and dignity, and more committed to social justice and racial equality; a society characterized by more participation and less cynicism, and by more civil dialogue on fundamental issues and less partisan posturing and personal attacks.
May we in this year 2000 and beyond strive to see the critical issues and challenges of our day through the eyes of faith and then, with courage and civility, bring our spiritual values and moral convictions to bear upon these pressing problems. This is a practical and concrete way in which we can fulfill our responsibility to be about the mission and ministry of Jesus in our day.
2. In entering the New Millennium, we must commit ourselves to that new evangelization to which our Holy Father Pope John Paul II calls us.
There is no question about the fact that there is a deep hunger and thirst for spirituality in our contemporary society. Bookstores are lined with spiritual missives, ranging from James Redford's "The Celestine Prophecy" to Mitch Albom's "Tuesdays with Morrie."
Hollywood continually salts its scripts with divine references and afterlife experiences, such as in "Sixth Sense" and "The Green Mile." "Touched by an Angel" has become a much-loved hit on TV. The Wall Street Journal recently ran a feature titled "God Goes on Line," which reveals that prayer sites are particularly popular on-line and that the Netscape search engine turned up 60,000 responses to God, nearly as many as for sex.
Vouchers and tuition tax credits for youngsters in faith-based schools are now on the national agenda. And during the past six weeks both "Time" and "Newsweek" magazines had cover stories on religious topics: "Jesus at 2000" and "Prophecy, What the Bible Has to Say About the End of the World."
Crisis of spirit
The reason for this renewed interest in things spiritual, I believe, is that the crisis of our age is a crisis of spirituality. We have lost a sense of the transcendent. We have lost the art of contemplation. We have failed in our efforts to integrate liturgy and work, prayer and service, faith and action.
We have moved from that monastic approach to spirituality which dominated the life of the Church for many centuries; but we are still struggling in our effort to develop an authentic apostolic spirituality, one which enables us to harmonize our work and our prayer; one which enables us to be do-ers who contemplate; one which enables us to reflect upon the wonder of the Father's creation, the beauty of the Redeemer's love and the pulsating presence of God's Spirit within ourself and others, and then to translate this reflection into words and deeds which speak to contemporary realities.
During the New Millennium then, we must make prayer and Gospel values an integral part of our daily lives. As the t-shirt I received as a Christmas gift says so well: "2000 AD (the Year of the Lord) -- Without God, it's just another year." How true!
Evangelizing
Further, we must be willing to reach out to family members, friends, neighbors and co-workers who have not heard the message of Jesus, or who have been so confused and distracted by the bogus and illusory promises of our consumeristic and secularistic society that they have forgotten their roots and lost their way.
In a gentle, non-coercive, non-judgmental way, then, we must be willing to share with our brothers and sisters who Christ is for us, and how a commitment to Him and His way of life can make one's journey here on earth so much more meaningful and fulfilling.
Yes, we have been given the rare privilege and opportunity of marching into a new millennium following the Cross of Jesus lifted high for a new evangelization. May we accept and embrace this opportunity, wholeheartedly proclaiming by our words and deeds the Good News that is relevant for this and every age, namely, that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.
He is the alpha and omega, the beginning and end, the very source and reason for our life and existence. All time and all ages belong to Him. May we and every creature rejoice in this glorious and perennial truth both now and forever.