MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER
JOHN PAUL II
FOR LENT 2001 

Love is not resentful (1 Cor 13:5)

1. "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem" (Mk 10:33). With these words, the Lord invites the disciples to journey with him on the path that leads from Galilee to the place where he will complete his redemptive mission. This journey to Jerusalem, which the Evangelists present as the crowning moment of the earthly journey of Jesus, is the model for the Christian who is committed to following the Master on the way of the Cross. Christ also invites the men and women of today to "go up to Jerusalem". He does so with special force in Lent, which is a favourable time to convert and restore full communion with him by sharing intimately in the mystery of his Death and Resurrection.

MESSAGE
OF HIS HOLINESS
POPE JOHN PAUL II
FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE
WORLD DAY
OF PEACE

1 JANUARY 2000

"PEACE ON EARTH TO THOSE
WHOM GOD LOVES!"

1. This is the proclamation of the Angels which greeted the birth of Jesus Christ two thousand years ago (cf. Lk 2:14), and which we will hear re-echoing joyfully on the holy night of Christmas, when the Great Jubilee will be solemnly inaugurated.

MESSAGE
OF HIS HOLINESS
POPE JOHN PAUL II
FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE
WORLD DAY OF PEACE

1 JANUARY 2001

DIALOGUE BETWEEN CULTURES
FOR A CIVILIZATION OF LOVE AND PEACE

1. At the dawn of a new millennium, there is growing hope that relationships between people will be increasingly inspired by the ideal of a truly universal brotherhood. Unless this ideal is shared, there will be no way to ensure a stable peace. There are many signs which suggest that this conviction is becoming more deeply rooted in people's minds. The importance of fraternity is proclaimed in the great "charters" of human rights; it is embodied in great international institutions, particularly the United Nations; and it is called for, as never before, by the process of globalization which is leading to a progressive unification of the economy, culture and society.

Apostolic Blessing for the end of the year 2000 
and the beginnning of the year 2001

31 December 2000

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Dear Young People,

1. At this moment we are crossing the threshold of the year 2001 and advancing into the third Christian millennium. On the stroke of midnight, which marks this historical passage, we pause, our hearts full of gratitude, to consider the alternation of events in the past century and millennium.

URBI ET ORBI MESSAGE
OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II

CHRISTMAS 2000

1. "The first man Adam
became a living being;
the last Adam
became a life-giving spirit" (1 Cor 15:45).

THE HOLY FATHER'S MESSAGE 
FOR WORLD MISSION SUNDAY 2000

22 October 2000

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

1. The annual recurrence of Mission Sunday, which will be celebrated this coming 22 October 2000, is a call for renewed awareness of the Church's missionary dimension and a reminder of the urgency of missionary activity "ad gentes", which "is a matter for all Christians, for all Dioceses and parishes, Church institutions and associations" (Enc. Let. Redemptoris missio, n. 2).

MESSAGE OF JOHN PAUL II 
TO JACQUES DIOUF 
ON THE OCCASION OF WORLD FOOD DAY

To Mr Jacques Diouf 
Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

As World Food Day approaches, my thoughts turn to you, Mr Director-General, and to those who work with you, to express my appreciation of all that has been done in the past and my heartfelt encouragement to continue your generous work for our brothers and sisters who are suffering from hunger and malnutrition.

MESSAGE OF JOHN PAUL II 
FOR WORLD DAY OF TOURISM 2000

1. The Great Jubilee, which opened the new millennium, is a time of grace that illumines the entire life of the Church. It is a providential occasion of deep renewal for believers, a repeated invitation to return to the Gospel sources. This invitation concerns the whole Church in all her activities, projects and prospects. It is in this spirit, then, that Christians must observe the World Day of Tourism which will be held on 27 September 2000. Looking at tourism in the perspective of the Jubilee Meeting, they will seek to draw motives from it for a stronger Gospel renewal in view of the expectations and challenges of the present time.

MESSAGE OF JOHN PAUL II
FOR LENT 2000

I am with you always, to the close of the age (Mt 28:20)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

1. This year, the celebration of Lent, a time of conversion and reconciliation, takes on a particular character, occurring as it does during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. The time of Lent is in fact the culminating point of the journey of conversion and reconciliation which the Jubilee, the year of the Lord’s favour, offers to all the faithful, so that they can renew their fidelity to Christ and proclaim his mystery of salvation with renewed ardour in the new millennium. Lent helps Christians to enter more deeply into this “mystery hidden for ages” (Eph 3:9): it leads them to come face to face with the word of the living God and urges them to give up their own selfishness in order to receive the saving activity of the Holy Spirit.