John Paul II thanks priests for their prayers and support during his Golden Jubilee of ordination, recalls his beginnings in Krakow, honours deceased priests who shared his journey, and prays for new vocations. As the Church prepares for the third millennium, he presents the final three years before 2000 as a Trinitarian pilgrimage devoted successively to Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Father, urging priests to let this course shape their liturgical ministry and to revisit his earlier encyclicals. The Litany of Jesus Christ, Priest and Victim deepens reflection on Christ as the eternal High Priest who offers himself on the Cross, establishes the new covenant, and intercedes from heaven. In the Eucharist, priests make this saving sacrifice present under the signs of bread and wine; the words of consecration must therefore never be spoken mechanically. On Holy Thursday, Christ’s calling of the Apostles “friends” illuminates the priest’s sharing in Christ through Holy Orders and his mission to bear lasting fruit. The letter entrusts priests to the protection of the Virgin Mary.