new springs
"See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" —Isaiah 43:19
In this Great Jubilee, as we celebrate the two-thousandth anniversary of Jesus' Incarnation, the Lord is doing something new. He is opening up wells of life-giving waters which have been closed for centuries (see Gn 26:18). The Lord is also digging new wells (see Gn 26:19-33). He is giving us waters of new life that we've never had before. The Lord, in His mercy and by His power, is changing the spiritual landscape and climate. As Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II have prophesied, the Lord is changing the deserts of our culture of death into the paradise and rivers of a new civilization of love and life.
Therefore, "rejoice in the Lord always! I say it again. Rejoice!" (Phil 4:4) "Go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to all creation" (Mk 16:15). Make yourself "the slave of all so as to win over as many as possible" (1 Cor 9:19). "Do all that" you "do for the sake of the gospel" (1 Cor 9:23). We Christians have the only good news in this world. Therefore, in love, rejoice in Christ's good news and share it.
Prayer: Father, give me indescribable joy throughout this Great Jubilee year (see 1 Pt 1:8).
Promise: "Whatever promises God has made have been fulfilled in Him; therefore it is through Him that we address our Amen to God when we worship together. God is the One Who firmly establishes us along with you in Christ." —2 Cor 1:20-21
Praise: Praise be to the risen Jesus, Who is Joy for all ages. Alleluia!
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Ralph J. Lawrence, July 28, 1999
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, August 3, 1999