Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
"Peace and good will to all!"
That heavenly greeting has echoed down through two millennia. The joyful promise of the angels on that memorable night came to fruition when the Eternal Word embraced our world with His love and His promise.
Our Emmanuel was, and still is, determined to be part of our spirits, our lives, our hopes and our dreams; yet He humbly awaits our invitation to center Himself in our hearts, never forcing entry, never coercing, simply waiting patiently in anticipation of our invitation.
The Holy Year of Jubilee encouraged us to open the doors of our hearts to make Christ the center of our lives; to share His values as the capstone of our daily activities, the launching pads, if you will, of all our endeavors.
In response to the incentive of our Holy Father Pope John Paul II, this past year we have been carried on the crest of religious fervor, buoyed by various devotions provided by individual parishes and by pilgrimages to designated churches, and highlighted in some cases by pilgrimages to Rome itself.
However, as we approach the closing of our Jubilee 2000, as we wind down a year of intense spiritual awakening, I caution against a gradual spiritual withdrawal, a "we've been there and done that" or a "business as usual" approach. This past year of Jubilee was meant to be a catalyst, a spiritual "shot in the arm" designed to carry us to the deeper level of awareness of God's working in our lives.
Now, however, we are encouraged to continue discovering places in our lives where our Triune God is entitled to dwell; a plateau where the panoramic vista of our relationship with the Trinity can be broadened to such a degree that we hang out a welcome sign alert to new ways of inviting the Source of our being to become a beacon of light in our daily lives.
Two thousand years ago, the Father sent His Son into a world where there was "no room"; a world where many did not recognize Him or whose sensitivities to the message He brought became smothered by the barnacles of preconceived attitudes and ideas. Today, our world is devastated by political wars and burdened by an indifference to the precious value of life in all its stages, and by a failure to treasure our environment and recognize the impact it has upon our survival.
It is my hope and prayer that the spiritual momentum of this past year will enable us to thrust aside these barriers that impede the "peace on earth" heralded so long ago, leaving plenty of room to infuse and transfuse the Christ present in each of us to encompass a world bruised by political greed, consumerism and all the "isms" that undermine our human condition in an attempt to stultify the Christmas message.
So as this Great Jubilee Year 2000 officially comes to a close, may the Triune God, rediscovered and deepened this past year, bring to fruition in your lives and the lives of your loved ones the Christmas gifts of joy and peace.
God bless you and Merry Christmas.
Faithfully yours in Christ,
Bishop of Albany