MAY THE CHRISTMAS EXPERIENCE GUIDE US IN THE HOLY YEAR

VATICAN CITY. JAN 14, 2000 (VIS) - Today, John Paul II received commanders and officers of the General Inspectorate for Public Security at the Vatican, thanking them for their service to the Holy See and to his own person.

The Holy Father stated that they were called "to a greater commitment in order to ensure that celebrations and events associated with the Jubilee take place smoothly and propitiously. The external order which you attentively safeguard cannot but favor an interior order, diffused with serenity and peace."

After recalling that the Christmas period has recently come to a close, a period in which "we spiritually encountered Christ, born for us on Holy Night," the Pope said: "May this spiritual experience accompany us through the entire Holy Year! May the Great Jubilee be a time ... of reconciliation with God and with our brothers and sisters. In this way, I trust that each of you live the coming months in the best possible of ways, welcoming the gifts of grace that this salvational event offers us. I hope that within yourselves, you experience that peace announced by the angels at Bethlehem for all men and women of good will."

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