Your Grace Archbishop Mercieca, Prof. Ellul Micallef, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank you first of all for being with us this evening. I am happy to be able to welcome you to this year's academic evening which the TSA and the Faculty of Theology each year hold in honour of St. Thomas Aquinas. I would also like to welcome our distinguished guest for the occasion, Mgr. Rene Coste, Honorary Professor at the Catholic University of Toulouse, and President of the Pax Christi movement, who has written innumerable books and contributed largely in the field of social ethics.

This year's evening bears the title: Reconciliation: A Mediterranean perspective, and I trust you will find Mgr. Coste's address most inspiring. On my part, I would like to share with you some thoughts on the significance of the end of this millennium and the coming of the year 2000, and the implications this has on our present.

Kahlil Gibran once pointed out that "The world today is torn between two currents of ideas, one fixed in its past and the other aspiring to the future... Nowadays, two men inhabit the earth: the man of the past and the man of the future.... The children of yesterday walk in the funerals of history ....

As for the children of tomorrow, they are those who have been summoned by life, they have followed it with a firm step, their heads held high .... They are the seed sown in a field by the hand of God. It will burst forth from its husk with the strength of its flesh, ...it will become a majestic tree, whose roots take hold in the heart of the earth, whose branches aspire to the depths of the firmament." [1]

We will soon celebrate the second millennium of the Christian era. The year 2000 will likely be no more or less extraordinary than any other calendar year. But in terms of human history, the year 2000 carries immense symbolism and psychological power. For, in some undefined way, it is supposed that we must be better or worse off merely because of this chronological fact. The year 2000, future as it is, is operating like a powerful magnet on humanity, reaching down into our 90s and intensifying our present. It is amplifying emotions, accelerating change and compelling us to reexamine ourselves, our values and our institutions.

Our biggest problem in our day and age is the feeling of existential emptiness which haunts us. We search for meaning, we do not know where we really belong, and vet the magic of the millennial number fills us with a hope that it will bring a better future for us and our children.

But, then, how far off is this year? Is it really 3 years hence? If we follow St. Augustine's definition of time as a '3-fold present' i.e. the present as we experience it, the past as a present memory, and the future as a present expectation, then, the world of the year 2000 has already arrived, for in the decisions we make now, the future is already committed. The question of the shape of tomorrow demands that we consider our interpretation of what is happening today.[2]

More precisely, we may therefore speak of a Milestone 2000, a milestone of human achievement. Some have compared it to climbing a mountain together. And if we passed the 2000 feet sign, would we not likely pause and reflect for a moment? We would look back at the trail we just came up, look out at the panorama and look ahead at the path before us. In the same way, the year 2000 offers us a unique opportunity to measure the road covered over the past 2000 years, and to do this now and not at the turn of the millennium would mark us out as a discerning and mature community of people.

Pope John Paul II, in his letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente, advises that in preparation for the Jubilee 2000, one looks for the signs of God's providence throughout the Church's history especially in the last century. The spotlight is immediately thrown on the Second Vatican Council. The Church of today, he argues, needs a serious examination of conscience when it reflects on its doing in the light of the expectations and dreams put forward by this council; it is asked to stop before the turn of the millennium, and reflect on the seed of the future it is planting in its present. It is to ask itself how far it has moved towards the promulgation of a new world order through the principles of subsidiarity, collegiality and inculturation promoted by the council's documents. This examination of conscience called upon by the Pope is not meant as a mental analysis and statistic reporting of how successful the Church has been; rather, in the light of the preparation for the Jubilee 2000, this exercise must be seen as a call to Christians to strengthen their faith, and come to dwell in the most inner life of God.

The Pope immediately takes it on himself to plea for atonement in the name of the Church's children who in the past, through violence and intolerance, have sinned against humanity. For the present Pope, in fact, preparing for the year 2000 has always represented, as he calls it, "a hermeneutical key of my pontificate", and his daring and challenging TMA goes well into proving it.

Besides the milestone it represents, the year 2000 will be significant too because it marks our entry into the third millennium. For some time, we will be able to breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that the world has survived the 20th century. Much like birthdays, and anniversaries, the year 2000 is a threshold to pass across. Just as it happens to us when we celebrate our birthday, and our mother reminds us for the umpteenth time that she still remembers the day we were born, so too the year 2000 as a threshold date reminds us of the memorial it marks. Indeed, it will be the 2000,b anniversary of the birth of Christ. The difference lies in the fact that whereas we grow older by the year, and our hair turns grey, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today" (Letter to the Hebrews 13:8). This is the mystery of his being - and that is why Time seen in Christological terms is to be sanctified. Within it the history of salvation takes place, the promise that "God is with us" is incarnate in human time, and thus, the Jubilee of the year 2000 is to be seen a s a jubilee which points "to the fullness of time and refers to the Messianic Mission of Christ". Thus, the question of why we should celebrate the year 2000, for us Christians finds its answer in the mystery of Christ, present always till the end of time, till the parousia.

But are we, as Church, to stop in our reflection on the year 2000 by stating merely the reason for the celebration? Or is our question to graduate to a more important one namely: "How can the bimillennial commemorations truly leave a legacy for future civilization that will endure the test of time?" What are we really in search of? Is it merely a temporary superficial jubilation which leaves nothing behind it but the ashes of memories to our children? If our aim is, on the contrary, to arrive at the year 2000 and view about us a world worth living in and worth turning over to future generations, then, as Glenn Seaborg points out, "we must conceive most of that world today and build it with every succeeding tomorrow".

As such, what is essential for a good preparation for the Jubilee 2000 is really the way to implement the Agenda for the year 2000. As Christians, the challenge is to ask ourselves how we are allowing the opportunity of the millennium to deepen our understanding of faith and to ask what it will mean to be a Christian in the year 2000 and beyond.

The Christians of tomorrow will have to try to bring the gospel to its pure state, and not make of it, as has happened many a time, a soup reheated over and over again. What is asked of us is to prepare the way for this rekindling of the original fire of the gospel, to work on, as the Pope mentions in TMA, a "deeper understanding of the Word of God", to be vigilant about the way to go about it following the signs of the times, and to be challenged by the implications that it provokes. This has already started. As Romano Guardini stated in his book Vom Sinn der Kirche, "a religious event of incalculable consequence is now under way, the church is awakening in souls".[3] Truly, the falling in love with Christ, this desire of many an individual to encounter Christ in his/her daily life is not such a rare occasion. Indeed, the time has come to discard pie-in-the-sky types of faith and to encourage an experiential encounter of hearts with Christ. And this derives from a recognition of the importance and relevance of the sensus fidelium present intrinsically in man. For no one can grasp faith in its inmost depth without having affirmed it, said yes to it from within with ultimate existential passion. And this yes does not arise primarily out of a mental consent; it is the grace of God which sows the seed of faith within our hearts, and to which we respond with our whole being.

Edward Schillebeeckx explains that the Christian story began with experience and this can only be passed on to others if we continue to knead it in a vital and dynamic way, i.e. in a manner that continues to address the questions of people today. What we need, therefore, is an ecclesiology of communion as TMA suggests. In the words of Hans Kung, "The Church should be concerned not with itself, but with men and women. Therefore, part of the Church's nature on the way to the third millennium is to be on the way with the seeking, questioning and doubting children of hers."[4]

And we too are to accept that we are on the way, moving, and called out of our sedentary stance in the church to wander forth with other religious nomads. According to Bultmann, we should stop being "consumer Christians" and start being "mission Christians". "We must ask ourselves", he continues, "whether we shall manage, through our presence and behaviour, to be for others both question marks and exclamation points". Yes, equally question marks and exclamation points - questioning and doubting maybe, but fully present!

A Church which gives prefabricated answers to questions that have become obsolete or non-questions, but knows or dares no satisfactory answers to the questions of today will have no success. Thus, on moral issues impending on the consciences of Christians, the Church should seek to meet the questionings of its community of believers, provide inspiration, support, guidance, wisdom and encouragement.

Sometimes, however, we do not dare to step into the unknown. It is easier for us to dream, for example of Church union, than to wake up from our dream and come to terms with the realities of our own Church. We must not wait for the year 2000 to dawn on us to make that leap of faith into the unknown. In England, for example, ecumenical millennial activity has taken the shape of a programme wherein they are seeking new ways to present the Christian gospel in response to the questioning of believers; they are preparing then to mark the first days of the millennium with common prayer and worship among people of different religious denominations, much in line with Pope Paul VI's line of thought in Unitatis Redintegratio, and in Nostra Aetate.

TMA reminds us too of the thrust of the Second Vatican Council towards the "participation of all people of God in the church". In the apostolic exhortation Christifideles Laici, we had heard that "each lay person, by virtue of baptism, is called to share in the mission of Christ". However, there are times when the organizations to demonstrate and renew their commitment to the poor by participating in a programme of visits to the Third World to enable face-to-face contact,. In the year 2000, then, these same parishes will welcome visitors from these Third World countries. The idea behind it all follows Medellin's directive with respect to the option for the poor. There, one had insisted that things be done not for the poor but with the poor.

In Malta too we have a strong need of prophets. Here too, as part of the universal Church, we are called to adopt an agenda for the year 2000 which should follow the specifications of TMA. We are called therefore to undergo locally a serious examination of conscience, and to organize our preparatory work for the coming millennium with respect to the importance accorded to the person of Christ (for 1997); the Holy Spirit (1998) and God the Father (1999). This immediate preparation for the jubilee 2000 could take on the format of the formation of commissions to indicate future consequences of present public policy decisions, anticipate future problems in the Maltese context, and start working on the design of alternative solutions to such problems.

With regards to a 'deeper understanding of the Word of God' suggested by TMA, it might be a sound idea to encourage for example, bible study groups, and retreat experiences on a parish level. In parishes, again, one could possibly organize groups to discuss particular current local social issues in the light of the gospel so as to inform and form our communities.

With respect to the education of our youths, one could work on restructuring the curriculum for religion in schools so as to bring it to a more existential level and give it a more authentic gospel slant. Creativity should thus be encouraged within the Church as a means of making the gospel accessible to all and sundry, irrespective of academic and socioeconomic backgrounds - maybe, a translation in simpler words of TMA, a group to organize study sessions and experiences of formation in line with the preparation focus areas of 1997-1999, and the drafting and issuing of a Catechesis to befit our local context, would do much to revitalize our communities, and give life to our faith.

The same applies in method to our organizations at University or elsewhere even we are to provide experiences of growth and formation to prepare ourselves and others for this year of Jubilee. This might be our way of being witnesses of the gospel; this might be our call to mission on campus, while for the family in the parish, the call might be that of adopting abandoned children, for example. And maybe, too, apart from individual stands and projects taken up, we might also decide in favour of a corporate action as a sign of witness: we might decide to join forces, and work on a particular project, say with the refugees, and let that be a prophetic sign of unity promising well for the third millennium.

As to the study of theology, it might be well the time too to stop and reflect and like the Church reassess what it is called to be and to present in Malta today. Is theology to be just another academic subject? Or are we seeing today, even from the numbers of the lay people who follow the evening classes, that theology is indeed but a tool for doing faith; that it is this desire to deepen our faith and complement it with some academic content that is at the core of the present interest in the subject? Or are we seeing today, even from the numbers of the lay people who follow the evening classes, that theology is indeed but a tool for doing faith; that it is this desire to deepen our faith and complement it with some academic content that is at the core of the present interest in the subject? Christianity, it must be remembered, is not a message which has to be believed, but an experience of faith which becomes a message. As such, we are not to think that the study of theology will ever produce the message; we shall be moving towards an authentic witnessing to the signs of the times if we realize that it should help promote an experience of faith. Our theology should not merely be an intellectual enterprise, but it should help us to bend down 'on our knees' and keep reminding us that we are always 'pilgrims' on life's route.

Deeply inserted in life as it is intrinsically, theology does not permit us to close our doors on life and what is happening around us in society. On the contrary, if we are to remain faithful to its call at present, on the threshold of the millennium, then students and professors alike are called to pool in their efforts and provide a sensible voice on social issues. Our absence, our silence could very easily be our sin of omission, and at the end of time, we may be confronted by Christ's words: "if you have not done it to the least of my brethren you have not done it unto me". And then our silence will be eternal.

Today, together we have stopped ... we have paused to discern what agenda we have for the year 2000 and how we can implement it. In this pause we have allowed ourselves to be receptive; in spiritual terms, we have allowed a space for God to enter. In becoming aware of God's presence in this moment we are able to discern what God wants us to do. We are called to discover as Church moving towards the third millennium of its history "what hope his call holds for us" (Ephesians 1:18). This hope is not one that will be fulfilled at some future date, for example with the coming of the new millennium, but a hope which God wants to bring about now. We are called to go on working, struggling and praying for the unfinished symphony which is the Church, but also to trust the Spirit for there where he rules, the Church already has a future. Like Mary awaiting the birth of the Redeemer, we too can. allow the Spirit of God to work in us, and then, be a sign in time pointing towards the "hidden and unalterable source of joy-filled hope". The passage to the third millennium requires of us a life which consists in scattering the seed on earth and in letting it die so that it can lead to the germination of something new.

May I now end by sharing with you an adaptation of Martin Luther King's famous speech "I dream" written by the Chancellor of the University for Peace, Robert Muller:

References:

Giuseppe Alberigo, Verso La Chiesa Del Terzo Millennio, Concilium e Editrice Querinina, 1979.

Y. M. Congar o.p., Lay People In The Church, London: Cassell Ltd., 1985.

Talk 2000 at http://www.hcol.hunberc.on.ca/talk2000.htm

Pat Gaffrey, "Run With The Vision", Priests and People, December 1996.

Pat Jones "Pastoralia: Millenium Preparation", Priests and People, December 1996.

K. Gibran, The Eye Of The Prophet, London, Sovenir Press, 1995.