1.      What are the major challenges in today’s society that make us resistant to living out our “Passion for Christ and Passion for Humanity?”

Since our society is torn by so much division, separation and strife, we are called to give a witness of reconciliation, unity, peace and hope, to live and work for the Kingdom of God which is justice, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Cf Rm 14 17 and Micah 6, 8 "You have been told, o man, what is good and what Yahweh requires of you: to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God".

·        How can these resistances be transformed into “living water?” 

·        To endeavor that our communities promote reconciliation, unity, justice, peace, joy..

·        What are the challenges that awaken hope in us?  How do we incarnate this hope day after day?

By strong faith and witness that Jesus remains in us and with us all the days until the end of the world and that we are united with Him and with one another in loving, merciful and peaceful communities.

2.      In the context of your country and of the local Church:

·        What are the “wounds” that we must address?  Share an experience.

In Slovenia we experience an urgent need for reconciliation among people after the 2^nd World War. The communist revolution divided our people and even families (very often one brother fought as "patriot" (home guard) another from the same family fought as "revolutionary or partisan"). Thousands of "patriots" (home guards) were killed without trials, thrown into common tombs and their relatives were never told where. Until our independence in 1991 it was dangerous to approach these common tombs; very often they became areas for dump sites. Only after independence people had courage to claim respect for their deceased and to arrange convenient tombs with a common monument and cross. People have been coming with candles and masses have been  said near the tombs for the deceased victims as well as for their murderers. Some of them are still alive with heavy or hardened conscience. Our Church prays for those who suffer from the loss of their dearest that they be capable to forgive and it prays for murderers that they may have courage to confess their guilt and find peace with themselves and with others.

In one of the places with numerous common tombs a very simple chapel was built some years ago. This year our Jesuit father Marko Rupnik who lives in Rome (Centro Aletti) and gives lectures at the Gregorian university, the author of the mosaic in the chapel of Redemptoris Mater in Vatican, made a mosaic of reconciliation for this chapel. This mosaic represents a whole theological and spiritual program of reconciliation and was blessed this last June during the mass for the deceased victims of the WW II and the revolution.

·        What is the “living water” that we need to mutually share with the people of God so that we can work together to build the Kingdom?  Share an experience.

The strength of the Holy Spirit and the example, the experience of those who persevered in "iron" conditions of the communist era and remained faithful to Christ, to their religious congregation and the Church, those who forgave injustices, suffering and torture or those who even converted to Catholicism after having seen the error of atheism and communist revolution.

FRAGMENTS FROM THE THEOLOGICAL-SPIRITUAL BASIS

OF THE MOSAIC OF RECONCILIATION

What is the pascal view of this event, so tragic for all our Slovene people?

We must go beyond what we see, beyond the black-white reading, beyond the victims and the winners, we must spiritually see beyond the terror of those turned to dust and we must not stop at those who do not want to ask pardon.

1.      At table we see two women in white clothes: the first is young, she might be a wife or a fiancée, a daughter or a sister. The elderly one might be a mother or a grandmother. They are both in prayer. Women deserve the first place in the kingdom of God: widows who for many years were not  allowed either to know or to tell where their husbands were; mothers who in this ideological tempest were in a great distress since one of their sons was on one side and the other on the other side. In the evening they laid the table and waited knowing that the first one, son or brother would come and then the other as well…

2.      Towards the middle of the mosaic we see that we are actually under the layer of the earth, the perspective is shown upside down: how we see the historical facts from the other world, from the pascal view. We see Christ who according to the Gospel image is serving at table with his Mother.

Christ is serving bread and wine that He himself drinks in the kingdom of God. He is having his jug near his glorified wound which reminds us that it contains his blood, his life.

3.      At table we see a man with an olive branch. He might be someone who fought for peace but didn`t succeed; somebody who wanted to bring peace but didn`t succeed; somebody who died without seeing the fruit of his peacefulness. He might be someone who was thrown into the grave still alive; he might be someone who lost his father or brother in this grave but who forgave; and he has never told his dearest who the murderer is in spite of knowing him; he didn`t want that his children would grow in hatred or casting suspicion on anybody.

There is somebody who was killed, somebody who wanted to give spiritual sense to his suffering and death. That is why he is tending his hand to welcome to table somebody who is like Barabbas, e.g. a contrite and redeemed murderer. The table is laid also for every criminal who has seriously recognized that Christ has assumed his guilt and so he has given himself to the Lord. The one who has confessed his sins and has given himself to the Lord will live in spite of dying. He is like the prodigal son who is coming back to life. The one who kills is dead himself but he can rise to life in Christ.

4.      Beyond the judgements about these events, beyond the judgements of those who condemned we are offered the image of the moment in which Pilate shows to people the alternative: either Barabbas or Christ… Nevertheless, in this mean trick of Pilate who is afraid to resist the public opinion, the extraordinary providence of God is accomplished. Barabbas – a murderer, an image and successor of Cain who bears the guilt of Abel` s murder – steps in  place of Christ who is the real Bar Abba, Son of the Father. Christ steps in place of Cain, in place of the murderer, assumes his guilt so that this murderer might enter the freedom of  the Father`s children. Pilate washes his hands – he is not aware that he too cannot be washed except in Christ.

5.      Whoever collaborated in a murder without regard to the fact on which side he was, for what reason he shot or killed, he has only one possibility to clean out his guilt: this alternative is Jesus Christ who assumed our guilt so that we may not load it to one another. Man cannot wash out himself the guilt of the shed blood and that`s why he loads it to others, remains troubled and excites mankind. Only penitence, confession and acceptance of the infinite love of Jesus Christ and a serious consideration of human life beyond these short earthly years is the way to freedom.