Justice and Peace & Bible Promotion (JPIC)

8 Documents for meetings on Saint Luke (Year C) on the theme of JUSTICE

Working with young Africans in Algeria... SOUTH-SOUTH SHARING!

August 2009

Macilla WARNAKULASURIYA (Sri Lanka)
Perle TOTOSON (Madagascar)
Estella GATEGETSE (Burundi)
Fabrice Henry NTAMAKEMWA (Rwanda)
José M. CANTAL1 (Spain)

Studying the Bible is not an intellectual pursuit. It is something vital, tied to daily living. Life is sometimes complex and sown with mines. In these cases, does the Word of God continue to be a light on our path? For us the reply is affirmative.

In preparing these 8 meetings, we though of a way to provide young university students living in Algeria with the spiritual tools that would enable them to remain attached to the message of Jesus in circumstances of life where carelessness, corruption, harassment, living in a religious and racial minority, and so on, would discourage these disciples of Christ. In the end we noticed that others could also benefit from them. However, we also believe that it is a little too demanding for beginners in biblical studies. There is another lighter schema available on request, for the study of Luke's Gospel.

We have deliberately chosen Luke's Gospel as it will be read in the weekly cycle C, from the end of November 2009. Here are the topics dealt with:

Liturgical Date	Bible Reference	Topic	Problem Raised
Sunday Advent 1 29 Nov. 2009	Lk 2: 25-36	Stay awake! Do not let your heart grow heavy!	Misleading speeches of sects Meeting Nº 1
Sunday Advent 3 13 Dec. 2009	Lk 3: 10-18	John the Baptist ties baptism to a demanding message	Christians in public office Meeting Nº 2
9 Sunday OT	Lk 7: 1-10	A pagan trusts in Jesus' word	Cooperation between religions Meeting Nº 3
Sunday Lent 3 07 March 2010	Lk 13: 1-9	God is patient so that our lives will be fruitful	Conversion has to come down to practice. Meeting Nº 4
Corpus Christi 06 June 2010	Lk 9, 11b-17	Jesus asks us to look after the starving!	Link between Communion and Justice Meeting nº 5
11 Sunday OT 13 June 2010	Lk 7: 36 - 8, 3	Jesus allows a prostitute to touch him.	Sensuality, sex and affectivity Meeting nº 6
18 Sunday OT 01 August 2010	Lk 12: 13-21	Friendship with God: the greatest of riches!	You will die tonight Meeting n° 7
31 Sunday OT 31 October 2010	Lk 19: 1-10	'If I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times the amount'	Closing celebration Meeting nº 8

Click on the meeting you want to see (right column)

For three years at Oran, we have taken part in a Bible study and sharing group which has changed our lives. We felt the Holy Spirit working in the heart of each one of the group members and we noticed that together we can change reality: we prepared the coming of God's Reign!

However, to reach this, the essential feature was the family spirit that prevailed among us! Through being friends, we were able to speak openly; because we were able to be sincere, we became even greater friends. 'From now on I call you friends,' said Jesus. For the success of these meetings which we propose to you, creating a family atmosphere is essential; otherwise the participants will not risk speaking with directness and honesty on some 'disturbing' subjects we have chosen. It is up to those conducting the meetings to create this spirit from the first contact and to see to maintaining it. Think up a welcome party, role plays, creative presentation, 'absent friends', etc.
The generality of the meetings requires each member to have a Bible (at least a New Testament) and to plan for two hours per session. Even if initially this may seem hard, every meeting has to be prepared in turn by two or three different people. These sheets provide enough indicators for the running of a meeting. Of course, these are only indications that can and should be adapted to the context of each group. Every meeting has a 'Moving Ahead' heading. Here it offers enough material for those who wish to prolong the reflection and the ideas for their commitment. Once more we repeat that here are only indications. Today, the Internet enables access to millions of ideas!

A final comment: All christian groups are tempted (if that is the right word) to come together, talk and create a lovely atmosphere… and not put into action the Message of Jesus. If for any Christian community this caricature is a setback, for those who will participate in this group it is even more so, because the precise objective is to militate, for the sake of our faith in Jesus, against the evils of this world. Therefore, no meeting should finish without a clear decision (however humble) on what is to be done and no new meeting should begin without making an assessment of what has been undertaken in the interval.

We wish you the grace to feel guided by the Spirit so as to bear witness with faith that saves the world. For they can forbid us to preach the Gospel, but cannot prevent us from putting it into practice!

August 2009

Macilla WARNAKULASURIYA (Sri Lanka)
Perle TOTOSON (Madagascar)
Estella GATEGETSE (Burundi)
Fabrice Henry NTAMAKEMWA (Rwanda)
José M. CANTAL (Spain)

1. The liturgical date tells us when we are going to hear these texts at Mass. It is not the dates of the meetings! You may change the order of meetings - except the first and last - if you wish to bring forward their liturgical date or to another event that would help to highlight the objective desired.
2. We would be pleased to have your reactions on the way you conduct your meetings and the results this study has produced in your community. Contact us at: cantalrivas@hotmail.com

Translated in English by Donald MacLeod