Because God Loves You - A message by the U.S. Catholic Bishops

You never stand alone.

There is someone with you in anxious moments who knows your deepest desires and wants what's best for you. Think of the person who has loved you most. Multiply that love a million times over and you still haven't reached the extent of God’s personal love for you.

You can go beyond yourself.

You can forgive those who have hurt you, however deeply. Even when you feel intense pain, the possibility of forgiveness lies within you. You can forgive others because God is always ready to forgive your sins. You can overlook wrongs because God empowers you to go beyond your own heartache.

You can ask forgiveness of those you have hurt.

You can admit wrongs and ask forgiveness to make relationships right. His grace can heal you.

You can care for the weak.

You can remove injustices, alleviate poverty, annihilate oppression and restore righteousness in our world. The love of God in you gives you strength to defend the unborn, support the elderly, and lift the hearts of those without hope. God’s grace in you helps you to see that in every person beats a heart yearning to be loved.

You have the power to touch hearts with compassion.

You can heal wounds in those around you and act selflessly.

New possibilities lie before you—before all of us—at the start of the third Christian millennium. This is a Jubilee Year of Celebration. This is a time to look at the world and decide how to better serve your neighbor. Thanks to God you can do it! Two thousand years ago the Father sent Jesus his son into the world as the Savior. Now through the Holy Spirit, the power of God's love lies within you.

WITH THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR 2000,
OUR CHURCH EMBARKS ON A GREAT
JUBILEE YEAR JOURNEY.

Every quarter century Catholics celebrate a "holy year," in which we turn to Jesus, ask for the grace that converts our hearts and minds, and look forward in hope. As we celebrate the two thousand years of Christianity, we wish to witness to our faith in Jesus and how the Gospel empowers and challenges us.

As we think about home and school, work and play, we see a need for the saving presence of Jesus Christ throughout the land. This is vital as violence threatens to shatter peace and the lure of instant gratification keeps people from looking beyond themselves. Such threats can blind a person to the existence of God’s timeless caring and affection.

As you step across the threshold into the new millennium, think about what God’s love means for you.

A MESSAGE FROM THE U.S. CATHOLIC BISHOPS FOR THE JUBILEE YEAR 2000