Father of all Joy, send forth your Holy Spirit
Let every Christian boldly rejoice in
the Great Jubilee of the coming of your Son,
Jesus Christ, the Lord.

Through the poverty of Christ's birth,
grant us the generosity
to cherish all human life,
and to see the Word made flesh reflected
in all those whose lives we touch.

By the blood of His Cross, grant us the courage
to witness that you are truly God;
to turn away from our sins
through penance and reconciliation; and
to radiate Your Mercy by our deeds and words.

By the wonder of His Resurrection
heal all divisions in our fellowship
and make all things new.

On the threshold of the Third Millennium,
make us one with those who suffer
and lead us with Mary, Mother of the Redeemer
and all the saints,
into the Kingdom of Your Son,
Christ, yesterday, today,
the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega.

All time belongs to Him, and all ages;
to Him be glory and power
through every age for ever,

Amen.

Prayer of His Holiness Pope John Paul II
for the Celebration of the Great Jubilee
of the Year 2000

Blessed are you, Father, who, in your infinite love,
gave us your only-begotten Son.

By the power of the Holy Spirit He became incarnate
in the spotless womb of the Virgin Mary
and was born in Bethlehem two thousand years ago.

He became our companion on life's path
and gave new meaning to our history,
the journey we make together in toil and suffering,
in faithfulness and love,
towards the new heaven and the new earth where You,
once death has been vanquished,
will be all in all.

 Praise and glory to You, Most Holy Trinity,
you alone are God most high!

By your grace, O Father, may the Jubilee Year
be a time of deep conversion and of joyful return to you.

May it be a time of reconciliation between people,
and of peace restored among nations,
a time when swords are beaten into ploughshares
and clash of arms gives way to songs of peace.

Father, grant that we may live this Jubilee Year
docile to the voice of the Spirit,
faithful to the way of Christ,
diligent in listening to your Word
and in approaching the wellsprings of grace.

Praise and glory to You, Most Holy Trinity,
you alone are God most high!

Father, by the power of the Spirit,
strengthen the Church's commitment
to the new evangelization
and guide our steps along the pathways of the world,
to proclaim Christ by our lives,
and to direct our earthly pilgrimage
towards the City of heavenly light.

May Christ's followers show forth their love for the poor
and the oppressed;
may they be one with those in need
and abound in works of mercy;
may they be compassionate towards all,
that they themselves may obtain indulgence
and forgiveness from you.

Praise and glory to You, Most Holy Trinity,
you alone are God most high!

Father, grant that your Son's disciples,
purified in memory and acknowledging their failings,
may be one, that the world may believe.

May dialogue between the followers of the great religions expand,
and may all people discover the joy of being your children.

May the intercession of Mary,
Mother of your faithful people,
in union with the prayers of the Apostles,
the Christian martyrs,
and the righteous of every people and every age,
make the Holy Year a time of renewed hope
and joy in the Spirit
for each of us and for the whole Church.

Praise and glory to You, Most Holy Trinity,
you alone are God most high!

To you, Almighty Father,
Creator of the universe and of mankind,
through Christ, the Living One,
Lord of time and history,
in the Spirit who makes all things holy,
be praise and honour and glory now and for ever.
  Amen!

*Joannes Paulus II

"The Church cannot prepare for the new millennium in any other way than in the Holy Spirit."

"We hear within us, as a resounding echo, the words that he spoke: 'Apart from me you can do nothing'. We feel not only the need but even a categorical imperative for great, intense and growing prayer by all the Church."

Only prayer can prevent all these great succeeding tasks and difficulties from becoming a source of crisis and make them instead the occasion and, as it were, the foundation for ever more mature achievements on the People of God's march towards the Promised Land in this stage of history approaching the end of the second millennium.

Accordingly, as I end this meditation with a warm and humble call to prayer, I wish the Church to devote herself to this prayer, together with Mary the Mother of Jesus, as the Apostles and disciples of the Lord did in the Upper Room in Jerusalem after his Ascension. Above all, I implore Mary, the heavenly Mother of the Church, to be so good as to devote herself to this prayer of humanity's New Advent, together with us who make up the Church, that is to say the Mystical Body of her Only Son. I hope that through this prayer we shall be able to receive the Holy Spirit coming upon us and thus become Christ's witnesses 'to the end of the earth', like those who went forth from the Upper Room in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost." (Redemptoris Hominis, 22)

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