Remembering the martyrs . A Church which forgets the martyrs of the past or fails to recognise the martyrs of today is not worthy to be the Church of Christ. For this purpose he has asked that documentation be gathered and martyrologies be updated, particularly to foster the recognition of the heroic virtues of men and women who have lived their Christian vocation in marriage. In 1998 efforts will be made for a renewed appreciation of the presence and activity of the Spirit, the principal agent of the new evangelization, and attention for the signs of hope present in this past part of the century, in society and in the Church. In the third and final year of immediate preparation, according to the indications given by Pope John Paul II, the sense of being on a journey to the Father should encourage everyone to undertake an authentic journey of conversion, through renewed appreciation and better celebration of the Sacrament of Penance.
Conversion is an indispensable condition of Christian love.
Love which is expressed n the Church's preferential option for the poor and the outcast. The Jubilee could also be an opportune moment to reduce, of not cancel the international debt which weighs on many nations. The celebration of the Great Jubilee, which will take place simultaneously in the Holy Land, in Rome and in all the local Churches throughout the world, will give glory to the Trinity, God, the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit. It speaks of the mission of the Church, called to carry on the work of Christ. Like the mustard seed in the Gospel, the Church has grown to become a great tree, able to cover the whole of humanity with her branches.