THE CONTEMPLATIVE ASPECT
Theological statements take on life when they are the result of a reflection on human experience in the light of revealed truth and then lead to a particular kind of human behaviour and commitment. Today we find that there is a unity between these two ideas. They form part of a cycle which goes from experience to reflection to commitment and back again to experience, continuing the cycle. Since Vatican II the age-old method of lectio divina has returned to the lives of Christians, giving them a way of uniting faith and life through their prayerful and committed reading of the Scriptures. The method consists in reading the word, reflecting upon it in relation to what is happening in each one's life, and accepting the implications and demands of that word in daily life. The same method can be applied to the way we look at life itself. We look closely, ask what is the meaning of what we see, and accept the implications and demands of what our reflection tells us. This is our purpose: to look with faith at what is going on in the world in such a way that it unites us in a common understanding and purpose, and leads to the kind of commitment which will result in joy for all, joy which is the experience of right relationship, which is the way we understand justice and peace. We are looking for a dynamic approach to the life and challenges of each day. (GS.#5)
Spirituality is a matter of education of the heart.
Spirituality implies a process of transformation.
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed
by the renewal of your mind,
that you may prove what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect."
Rom 12:1-2

A spirituality gives rise to a way of life and is in turn the result of a way of life. A way of life is holy when it is produced by the Holy Spirit and corresponds to the values of the Gospel. Ways of life differ in accordance with the set of values on which they are built. On this earth, no way of life can embrace all the values of the Gospel fully and at the same time. "Spirituality" is the name given to the synthesis of Gospel values which takes place in each person or community. A particular spirituality re-orders the values of the Gospel in accordance with the time and circumstances in which it is born and develops. This is why religious congregations are different, one from the other, though their ultimate goal is the same. The quest for justice is common to all forms of Christian life. The ways of understanding justice and pursuing it will differ from person to person, from place to place and from community to community.

For your Personal Reflection
THE WITNESS OF MONS. FRANÇOIS XAVIER
NGUYÊN VAN THUAN
"How working with justice and peace has affected my spirituality"
François was made a bishop by Paul VI in 1967. He took as his motto the name of the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern world, Gaudium et Spes. This was to be the foundation of his pastoral planning for the next eight years. Just before the war in Vietnam ended he was appointed bishop of Saigon. The new government took his appointment to be part of a conspiracy and arrested him. He was to spend the next thirteen years in jail. On his release in 1988 he spent three years in Vietnam, but he could not return to Saigon as bishop. He came to Rome in 1991 to take up a position as Vice-president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
Amid such changes, what is it that has remained constant and given unity and harmony to his life? His inspiration came from the document, Gaudium et Spes. Its first part deals with the human vocation. The second part outlines five major areas of concern. These have been his concerns throughout all these years. One thing above all else convinced him: What we have to offer others is the testament of Jesus: the Word, the Body and the Blood, Peace and the new commandment of Love, "that all might be one". This is what has sustained him all these years.
In the thirteen years he spent in jail there were two long periods of solitary confinement, one lasting two years, the other six years. He was arrested and convicted without trial. In his soli-tary confinement, he was always entirely alone, except for two guards who were always with him. He had no books, no newspapers. Every day from early morning to late at night, a loud-speaker in the courtyard belted out an endless stream of propaganda. This kind of mental torture continued day after day. Jail is always an awful sentence, worse when the jail is in a poor coun-try, and worse still when that poor country is under communist rule. He discovered that the an-swer was love.
In jail, there was a constant stream of guards. He managed to win them over again and again by his commitment to love. At a certain point the authorities said they would not change the guards anymore because "this priest was contaminating them all".
At the beginning the guards were always disinclined to talk to him. He gradually broke down the barrier by talking to them of the world he knew, a world very different from their own. He taught some of them French. He knew that these men could never espouse the Christian faith. They came from families which had proven their loyalty to the government. Otherwise they could not have become guards. Nevertheless François knew that they had changed inside, through the power of love.

At the beginning he made one request, to have a bottle of medicine sent in for his stomach complaints. The bottle arrived, with the label on it which said, "stomach medicine". In it there was altar wine. Everyday with three drops of wine and one drop of water in the palm of his hand he celebrated the Eucharist. In time his congregation grew. In the yard, during the exercises he would make the sign to his followers that he was leading them in prayer. He was never betrayed by any of the flock. Some were sent to spy on him. Even these, when they had to report, kept his secret.
In one period of his solitary confinement he was put in a cell, at the end of a corridor. There were no windows in the cell. Between him and daylight there was that long corridor and two or three large doors. In the darkness of his airless cell he discovered a tiny hole in the wall. Everyday, he lay down with his nose beside this hole, just to get air. This lasted for months.
Now in his new position in Rome, his mission continues: he knows what it is like to be treated unjustly and he knows that his mission is still a mission of love. In the beginning, all he could see was the mountain of papers on his desk everyday and he began to wonder what could he do in this kind of an office job. Then he realised that every one of those sheets of papers represented the lives of real people, people in need. He found a way of adjusting to his new mission. He appears now as a very peaceful missionary in the middle of Rome. He admires the people he works with on the Pontifical Council. At his age, he feels perhaps he should be long since retired, with a feeling of having done his duty and made his contribution. But no. Mission never ends.
2.6. LITURGY: JUSTICE AND WORSHIP
Liturgy is the expression of our relationship with God, and is the source and fruit of our relationship with people and the rest of creation.
The prophets, Isaiah (1:11-17) and Amos (5:21-25) in particular, clearly denounce liturgical celebra-tions that are not coherent with a life of justice.
In our efforts to make liturgy meaningful, and a daily inspiration for our life of JPIC, we need to con-stantly remind ourselves that Jesus invited us to celebrate, in memory of him: "Do this in memory of me." Do what in memory of him? To say the words he said, in the way he said them, to perform the loving and compassionate gestures the way he did them. It is when these words and gestures become LIFE that we become EUCHARIST. Each celebration of the Eucharist helps us to become Eucharist because:
" We ask pardon for not living right relationships in our daily life.
" We thank God for the moments we have been able to live such relationships.
" We intercede for ourselves and for the whole Cosmos, so that we can promote right relationships in memory of Jesus.
At each Eucharistic celebration, we partake in faith in the Eucharistic bread,
so that we too, in memory of Jesus, can become
"bread broken, shared and given"
for the transformation of this world.
Jesus' words and gestures at the last supper when seen from the perspective of Mark (14:22), Mat-thew (26:26), Luke (22:19) John (13:1-15) and Paul (1Cor 11:17-33) are an invitation to :
Ï Celebrate our liturgies in close relationship with our daily realities;
Ï Celebrate our liturgies in memory of him, living like him, reflecting love, forgiveness and Com-passion.
The Christian is a person of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is first a verb before it is a noun. Jesus in-vites us to, "Do this in Memory of Me." What did Jesus mean when he asked us to celebrate in mem-ory of him? It is not just a religious ritual that Jesus is interested in. Jesus wants us to LIVE as he has lived. It is important that we, as a prophetic community, BE JESUS, BE EUCHARIST for these our times. That is how we remember Him.
When the Mother of James and John wanted high positions in the Reign of God for her two sons, Je-sus had one response to her desire: "Can they drink the cup that I must drink." Or in the Garden on that night before he died, Jesus cried out to the Father: "Let this cup pass away from me..." The cup is a life emptied for the marginal and the poor. The cup that is to be taken is a life poured out for the other. Unfortunately, many of our celebrations remain as domesticated rituals. That is not what Jesus intended.
Bread that is broken is a life broken that others might live. When Jesus took bread and said the bless-ing, it was a prophetic sign that what was happening to this bread would be happening later in His life emptied on the Cross.
The Eucharist is therefore first of all a way of life that receives its empowerment in the ritual of the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the cup. But the breaking of the bread and drinking of the cup must be backed up with a life emptied and broken for the other especially the marginalised and the poor.
"If any one sacrament stands for the whole of Christianity and the Church, it is the Eucharist. It is the one sacrament that symbolises fully what the Christian message is, what it means for the world. In-deed it points to the world and all of creation. It is the presence of God in the world. It is the cross and the resurrection. It is the forgiveness of sins and reconciliation."
The word Eucharist also means thank you. We are invited to give thanks for what we have achieved. We pray for strength and perseverance. It is salvation and the new creation. It is Shalom. It is celebra-tion. Celebration means knowing that it does not all depend on us. We are called, as Christians, to live now in our lives the hope that will be. Often people involved in the work of Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation take life so seriously as if the realisation of God's Reign depended on them alone. We need to have the ability to celebrate. We are not called to be successful but to be faithful to the call of Jesus to be Eucharist. An authentic commitment to JPIC helps us to be Eucharist.

Questions to help us reflect further the link
between Liturgy and JPIC
" Do we have the tendency of over-institutionalising our liturgies, thus preventing flexibil-ity, creativity and meaningful liturgies?
" Do we have the possibility of preparing liturgies that are life-giving and inspiring to those who participate? If the answer is in the affirmative, do we share our positive ex-periences with others? How? If our answer is in the negative, what are the difficulties experienced? Can something be done to over-come them?
" Is our commitment to JPIC deepened by our liturgical celebrations? How? Because of our commitment to JPIC are we able to prepare/celebrate liturgies which are more mean-ingful?

2.7. BIBLICAL REFERENCES ON JPIC THEMES
Biblical references on:
Justice, Women, Liberation, Oppression, Peace, Pardon Reconciliation Mercy, Poor, Sharing-Solidarity, Fraternity, Dialogue-Ecumenism, Service-Charity and Nature-Creation.
1. JUSTICE
Exodus 23:6
Dt 15: 7 11; 16:20; 27:19
Lv 19: 12 18
Jb 29:14
Psalms 9:8,16; 11:7; 33:5; 72; 89:14; 103: 6; 140:12
Proverbs 21:15; 29:4,7
Jr 9:23 24; 22:15 16; 23:5
Isaiah 1:10 20; 5:23; 10:2; 29:21; 30:18; 32:15 20; 42:4; 61:8
Hosea 12:6
Amos 2:7; 5:12
Malachi 2:17
Matthew 5:20; 23:23; 25: 31 46
Luke 3: 10 14; 11:42; 18:8
Acts 4: 32 37
Romans 3: 25 26
2. WOMEN
Judges 4:5
Judith 8:4-8; 9: 8-10
Esther 4: 12 14; 17I 17m..17m 17s;
5: 1 3, 7 8
Ruth 1: 16 18; 2: 8 13; 4: 9 17
Read Matthew 16: 17 and John 11: 27 together
Mark 14:9
Luke 7: 36 50; 10: 38 42; 21: 1 4
Acts 2: 17 18; 21: 8 9
Galatians 3:28
3. LIBERATION
Exodus 2: 23 25; 3: 1 15
Deuteronomy 26: 5 11
Psalms 9:3-4; 10:18; 12:5; 74:14; 103:6
Micah 3:4
Baruch 4:21
Luke 4:18
Galatians 5: 1, 13
4. OPPRESSION
Exodus 1:11
Deuteronomy 26:6; 28:33
Nehemias 9: 36 37
Psalms 6: 3 10; 17: 9 12; 44: 22 25; 94: 5 6
Jeremiah 50:33
Micah 3:3
5. PEACE
Leviticus 19: 1, 9 18
Psalms 32; 72; 85: 9, 11; 122: 6 8
Isaiah 2:1 5; 9: 5 6; 11: 1 9; 32: 15 20; 52:7; 53:5; 57:19
Proverbs 24:1-4, 22 31
Matthew 5: 1 12, 38 48; 10: 5 13, 34
Luke 10:35; 12:51; 24:36
John 14:23 27; 19:19 23; 20: 19, 21
Romans 12:18; 14: 17, 19
2Corinthians 3: 11
Ephesians 2: 11 18; 4: 3, 31 32
Galatians 5:22
Philippians 2: 5 11
James 3: 13 18
6. PARDON RECONCILIATION-MERCY
Ezekiel 11:17 21
Matthew 7: 1 5; 18: 21 35
Luke 6: 27 38; 15: 1 10
Romans 5:11
2Corinthians 5: 14 21
Ephesians 2: 14 18
Colossians 3: 12 17
Philemon 1: 8 21
1Peter 3: 8 12
7. THE POOR
Exodus 1: 8 14; 22: 20 26
Deuteronomy 15: 4 11; 24: 10 22; 26: 5 11
Leviticus 19: 9 18; 25: 8, 10, 23 24, 35 38, 42 43
Psalms 9:13 14, 19; 12:6; 14:6; 18:28; 22:27; 25:9, 16; 35:10; 37:11; 69:30; 70:6; 72:1-4, 12-14; 74: 19 20; 76:10; 140:13
Isaiah 1:11 17; 5:1 23; 11: 1 9; 58: 5 7; 61: 1 2
Jeremiah 22: 13 18
Amos 2: 6 16; 3: 14 4:3; 8: 4 7
Micah 2: 1 5; 3: 1 4, 9 12; 4:6 7
Zephaniah 3: 11 12
Ecclesiasticus 34: 18 22
Mark 10: 17 22; 10: 23 27
Matthew 10: 9 10
Luke 1: 46 56; 12: 33 34
Acts 2: 44 45; 4: 32, 34 35; 11: 27 30
1 Corinthians 1: 17 31
2Corinthians 8: 1 15; 9: 6 13;
Philippians 2: 5 9
James 2: 1 5; 4: 13 5:6
8. SHARING - SOLIDARITY
1Kings 17: 7-16
Isaiah 58: 1 12
Mark 12: 38 44
Matthew 25: 31 46
Luke 1: 46 55;10: 25 37; 16: 19 31
Acts 4: 32, 34 35
Philippians 2: 4 11
Hebrews 13:12 16
James 2: 14 18; 5: 1 6
Revelation 21: 1 6
9. FRATERNITY
Proverbs 3: 27 33
Matthew 12: 46 49
John 17: 1, 6 11, 20, 26
Hebrews 2: 10 17
1Peter 2: 12; 3: 8 9, 13 16
1John 4: 4 21
10. DIALOGUE ECUMENISM
Genesis 17:1 7
Isaiah 54:1 3
Matthew 10: 41 45; 18: 12 19; 22: 1 10
John 17: 18 24
Acts 2: 1 11
1Corinthians 12
Ephesians 1: 3 14
Colossians 3: 12 17
Hebrews 2: 8b 12
1Peter 4: 7 11
11. SERVICE CHARITY
1Kings 17: 7 16
Ecclesiasticus 4: 1 10
Matthew 10: 35-45
Luke 10: 25 37
John 13:1 17, 34 35; 15: 9 17
Romans 12: 9 17
1Corinthians 13: 1 13
Philippians 2: 1 4
1Peter 4: 7 11
1John 4: 7 17
12. NATURE-CREATION
Genesis 1: 1 2:3; 9: 9 11
Exodus 3: 7 10; 15: 22 27; 23: 10 12
Leviticus 25: 1 24
Isaiah 11: 1 9; 40: 12 31
Daniel 3: 57ff.
Psalms 8; 19; 24; 104: 16 23; 136; 148: 1-4, 7 10
Proverbs 8: 22 31
Mark 5: 35-41
Matthew 6: 26 30
John 9; 12: 23 26
Romans 8: 18 25
Colossians 1: 15 20
Revelation 21: 1 5; 6: 16 21