Holy Father becomes more and more urgent. As most heads of families, he feels most comfortable at home... in Poland. His most passionate exhortations have come only this year... only last June. Thus, there are quotations not only from Encyclicals but from addresses in his beloved motherland. These are, in a certain sense, "up to the minute".

In the Encyclical, "Slavorum Apostoli" (The Apostle of the Slavs) #27 & 28; the Holy Father notes no small "coincidence" in who he is, now, in this time.

"One of the fundamental aspirations of humanity today is to rediscover unity and communion for a life truly worthy of man on the worldwide level. The Church, conscious of being the universal sign and sacrament of salvation and of the unity of the human race, declares her readiness to accomplish this duty of hers, to which 'the conditions of this age lend special urgency so that all people joined more closely today by various social, technical, and cultural bonds can achieve as well full unity in Christ'." (SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 1.)

"It is fitting, then, that the Church should celebrate with solemnity and joy the eleven centuries that have elapsed since the close of the apostolic work of the first Archbishop, ordained in Rome for the Slav peoples, Methodius, and of his brother Cyril, and that she should thus commemorate the entry of these peoples on to the scene of the history of salvation and into the of European nations which during the preceding centuries had already accepted the Gospel message. Everyone will understand with what profound happiness I will share in this celebration as the first son of the Slav race to be called, after nearly two millennia, to occupy the episcopal see that once belonged to Peter in this city of Rome. "

In the Encyclical, "Dives in Misericordia" , the Holy Father sees himself as keeping with the epoch in which it has been his destiny to live:

"In the name of Jesus Christ crucified and risen, in the spirit of His messianic mission, enduring in the history of humanity, we raise our voices and pray that the Love which is in the Father may once again be revealed at this stage of history, and that, through the work of the Son and Holy Spirit, it may be shown to be present in our modern world and to be more powerful than evil: more powerful than sin and death...

"In continuing the great task of implementing the Second Vatican Council, in which we can rightly see a new phase of the self-realization of the Church -in keeping with the epoch in which it has been our destiny to live- the Church herself must be constantly guided by the full consciousness that in this work it is not permissible for her, for any reason, to withdraw into herself. The reason for her existence is, in fact, to reveal God, that Father who allows us to "see" Him in Christ.(Jn. 14:9) No matter how strong the resistance of human history may be, no matter how marked the diversity of contemporary civilization, no matter how great the denial of God in the human world, so much the greater must be the Church's closeness to that mystery which, hidden for centuries in God, was then truly shared with man, in time, through Jesus Christ."

When we reflect on who we are as individually and as Church, we also must reflect on when and where God has chosen in His providence to have us live. Recently, on his trip to his native homeland, the Holy Father reflected passionately on these things. By savoring some excerpts of his thought, we may glimpse into the mind of the man chosen by God as the Vicar of Christ and, in doing so, we may discern our own course. On June 3 of this year, for the Thousandth Anniversary of the Death of St. Adalbert, our Holy Father had this to say:

"Deeply impressed upon my memory is the meeting in Gniezno in June 1979, when, for the first time, the Pope, a native of Krakow, was able to celebrate the Eucharist... Today, eighteen years later, we should return to that homily in Gniezno, which in a certain sense became the program of my pontificate. But first of all it was a humble reading of God's plans, linked with the final twenty-five years of our millennium. I said then: Is it not Christ's will, is it not what the Holy Spirit disposes, that this Polish Pope, this Slav Pope, should at this precise moment manifest the spiritual unity of Christian Europe? We know that the Christian unity of Europe is made up of two great traditions, of the West and of the East... Yes, it is Christ's will, it is what the Holy Spirit disposes, that what I am saying should be said in this very place and at this moment in Gniezno" (Homily at the Cathedral of Gniezno, 3 June 1979).

"From this place there flowed forth at that time the power and strength of the Holy Spirit. Here reflection on the new evangelization began to take shape in concrete terms... "

"From the tomb of Saint Adalbert, then, I ask: are we allowed to reject the law of Christian life, which states that abundant fruit is borne only by those who offer their lives for the love of God and of their brothers and sisters, like a seed cast upon the ground? Here, from this place I repeat the cry which I made at the beginning of my pontificate: Open the doors to Christ! In the name of respect for human rights, in the name of liberty, equality and fraternity, in the name of solidarity among mankind and in the name of love, I cry out: Do not be afraid! Open the doors to Christ!..."

"On the threshold of the third millennium the witness of Saint Adalbert is ever present in the Church and constantly bearing fruit. We need to take up with fresh vigor his work of evangelization. Let us help those who have forgotten Christ and his teaching to discover him anew. This will happen when ranks of faithful witnesses to the Gospel begin once more to traverse our continent; when works of architecture, literature and art show in a convincing way to the people of our time the One who is "the same yesterday and today and for ever"; when in the Church's celebration of the Liturgy people see how beautiful it is to give glory to God; when they discern in our lives a witness of Christian mercy, heroic love and holiness."

"Dear brothers and sisters, what an extraordinary hour of history we have been granted to live in! What important tasks Christ has entrusted to us! He is calling each of us to prepare the new springtime of the Church. He wishes the Church — ever the same from the time of the Apostles and of Saint Adalbert — to enter the new millennium full of freshness, overflowing with new life and evangelical zeal!"

The Holy Father says he understands himself to be called by God for this time through the power of the Holy Spirit to lead the Church in the Mission of the Redeemer. This is our time, this springtime of the New Advent, the New Evangelization at the beginning of the third Millennium. It is a time of great joy... a time of suffering, and a time of "collision"... Indeed, as the Holy Father makes this clear in the encyclical, "Dominum et Vivificatem".

"Those who wish to live by the Spirit, accepting and corresponding to his salvific activity, cannot but reject the internal and external tendencies and claims of the 'flesh', also in its ideological and historical expression as anti-religious 'materialism.' Against this background so characteristic of our time, in preparing for the great Jubilee we must emphasize the 'desires of the spirit,' as exhortations echoing in the night of a new time of advent. at the end of which, like two thousand years ago, 'every man will see the salvation of God.' (Lk 3:6; cf. Is 40:5) This is a possibility and a hope that the Church entrusts to the men and women of today. She knows that the meeting or collision between the 'desires against the spirit' which mark so many aspects of contemporary civilization, especially in some of its spheres, and 'the desires against the flesh,' with God's approach to us, his Incarnation, his constantly renewed communication of the Holy Spirit-this meeting or collision may in many cases be of a tragic nature and may perhaps lead to fresh defeats for humanity. But the Church firmly believes that on God's part there is always a salvific self-giving, a salvific coming and, in some way or other, a salvific 'convincing concerning sin' by the power of the Spirit."

To be docile to the Spirit, one must also be boldly self-giving in this time of both collision and of opening wide the doors to Christ.... Be docile and be bold! "Do not be afraid! Open the doors to Christ!..."

"One thing is certain: everyone is asked to do as much as possible to ensure that the great challenge of the Year 2000 is not overlooked, for this challenge certainly involves a special grace of the Lord for the Church and for the whole of humanity." (Tertio Millennio Adveniente #55)

Through the Holy Father, we are called... archbishop and People of God alike. The archbishop is an ordained son of this place, here for this time. His fiat when he received the palium is a joyous expression of union of the Catholic Church of Colorado with the Holy Father. One thing for us is certain, we must do all we can to follow our Apostle, the Shepherd, our Radical Missionary and in so doing, follow the Holy Father.

Copyright 1999 The Archdiocese of Denver 1300 South Steele Street Denver, CO 890210 (303) 722-4687 Webmaster: knight@knight.org