English
Sem duhovnik in odgovoren za mladinsko pastoralo v Skupnosti Emanuel. Zame je bila odločilna vrstica Svetega pisma tale: Simon, Johanánov sin, véliki duhovnik, je v svojem življenju popravil hišo, v svojih dneh utrdil svetišče (Sir 50,1). Bil sem študent, ne povsem na koncu študija, ampak precej blizu. Med študijem etnologije in kulturne antropologije sem se zares vnel za stvar, nisem si pa mogel predstavljati, da bi bila ta stroka tudi moje poslanstvo. Še več, spominjal sem se, da sem v otroškem srcu pogosto spogledoval z mislijo postati duhovnik. Lepega večera sem se obrnil na Gospoda, ki govori svojemu ljudstvu ter naključno odprl Sveto pismo, ki je ležalo ob moji postelji. Po eni sami prebrani vrstici sem prejel gotovost: želim si, da bi postal duhovnik. Odločilna je bila točno ta beseda: duhovnik. Posvečen sem bil 26. junija 2011 v Ljubljani, ko so sledila uvajalna kaplanska leta v Ljubljani in v Domžalah. Po 3 letih me je škof zaradi trenutne kadrovske stiske nenadoma poslal za župnika v Blagovico. Kaj naj tam sredi najboljših let vendar počnem, sem ga vprašal. Ideja mi namreč v prvem trenutku ni bila niti najmanj všeč. A se je izkazalo, da bi lahko imel dvojno službo: škof mi je dovolil, da vzporedno z župnijo vodim pastoralo mladih v Skupnosti Emanuel na področju Evrope. Po 4 letih, avgusta 2018, sem prenehal z župnijo ter postal odgovoren za vse mladinske programe iste skupnosti. Zaradi obsežnosti službe je bilo bolje zapustiti Slovenijo in se popolnoma posvetiti novemu poslanstvu. Poleg tega sem se želel naseliti v kraju z boljšimi prometnimi povezavami kot so v Ljubljani. Pristal sem torej v Münchnu.
Skupnost Emanuel je organizacija z 12.000 člani v nekaj več kot 60 državah. Glede na cerkveno pravo je registrirana kot mednarodno združenje vernikov, pogosto pa tudi skladno z lokalnim civilnim pravom. Njeni člani si prizadevamo za živo osebno duhovnost ter za zavzeto življenje v domačem okolju. Nimamo politični ciljev ali ambicij, temveč želimo biti v lastnem okolju pričevalci notranje svobode, kot jo razume krščanska antropologija: vedno slediti večjemu dobremu osebe, prosto od lastnih ali priljubljenih družbenih idej. Številni smo se Skupnosti pridružili, da bi vzajemno delili izkušnjo in na njej utemeljili svojo življenjsko izbiro. Na svoji krščanski poti smo namreč prišli do srečanja z osebo Jezusa Kristusa, ki smo ga prepoznali kot božjega sina in odrešenika. Vemo, da krščanstvo bremenijo številne zablode in odkloni, zgodovinski in sodobni. A Cerkev ljubimo za to, kar ona je in ne zato, kar ona počne.
Kako torej zgleda moja trenutna služba? Delam z mladimi in za mlade, ki postavljajo osebnostne temelje ter se izoblikujejo v odrasle osebe. Ne proizvajam in se ne ukvarjam s projekti, temveč sem v stalnem stiku z mladimi oz. z ljudmi, ki so v stiku z njimi. Spremljamo jih, da bi jim pomagali izoblikovati se v svobodne osebe. Osebe, ki se poznajo in so spravljene s svojo preteklostjo in koreninami, ki poznajo svojo vero in ki so naredile odločitev, da želijo biti po Jezusovem modelu aktivni del te družbe. Delam marsikaj: sestankujem, razločujem, spremljam, potujem, urejam papirje, načrtujem, a vse z enim, središčnim namenom. Srečujem se s precej široko paleto ljudi. Ti so lahko moji najtesnejši sodelavci ali pa udeleženci katerega izmed naših projektov.
1. Ozemeljske ekipe za mladinske dejavnosti. Skupnost Emanuel je razdeljena na 6 geografskih con (ki večinoma sovpadajo s kontinenti), vsaka izmed njih ima animacijsko ekipo 5 do 10 ljudi, zadolženo za določeno ozemlje. Na 5 kontinentih imamo 6 ekip s skupno 37 člani, ki bdijo na lokalnimi programi za mlade, z določenim rednim ritmom in elementi, ki vključujejo duhovno rast, izobraževanje v veri, gojitev skupnosti ter služenje. Mladi se vanje vključujejo ob svojih rednih dejavnostih, bodisi študija, zaposlitve ali česa drugega.
2. Mladinske ekipe, ki bdijo nad dogodki. V primeru večjih dogodkov (denimo SDM, ki se zgodi enkrat vsake 3-4 leta) so ekipe večje in z daljšim obstojem. V primeru manjših dogodkov so ekipe manjše. Trenutno so dejavne kakšne 4 mednarodne ekipe za večje dogodke, ob njih pa še vsaj 30 ekip, ki pripravljajo lokalne dogodke. V kolikor so enkratni, so skoraj vedno namenjeni večjim skupinam. Včasih so regionalni, pogosto pa izredno veliki in mednarodni. Na ta način zaobjamejo zelo širok krog mladih. Spodaj pripenjam video spot iz enega takšnih dogodkov. Par let nazaj smo pripravili evropsko novoletno srečanje, ki smo ga poimenovali EEYM in se je zgodil v Ljubljani.
3. Odprtih imamo 7 hiš, v katere za leto dni sprejemamo mlade prostovoljce. Vsaka od hiš sprejme med 10 do 20 prostovoljcev, kar nanese nekaj preko 100 mladih letno. Vsaka izmed hiš ima tudi svojo ekipo, v katerih imamo 25 članov ekip. Mladi se odločijo za program, ker želijo s pavzo od vsakdanjega življenja podariti del svojega življenja, se z izkušnjo skupnega bivanja naučiti biti dober sočlovek ter s predavanji spoznati krščansko razodetje in njegovo izročilo. Spodaj pripenjam video predstavitev hiše v Salvadorju v Braziliji, ki smo jo naredili preko pričevanja ene izmed mladih udeleženk.
4. Mednarodno vodstvo Skupnosti, katere član sem. V ekipi 22 ljudi so: mednarodni moderator (tako namreč imenujemo odgovornega), njegovimi delegati za kontinente, nato pa še odgovorni za pastoralna področja, kot so denimo mladi. Ekipa nosi ime mednarodni biro in se na 2- ali 3-dnevnih delovnih srečanjih srečuje 10-krat letno.
To stran sem naslovil Stalno na poti. Najprej seveda zato, ker sem v trenutnem obdobju življenja dosti bolj na poti kot doma. Pa tudi zato, ker vse bolj razumem, da podoba poti vsebuje nekaj blazno resničnega o življenju. Kakorkoli, sem privrženec Poti (Apd 9,2), ki glede na mojo izkušnjo ne bi mogla biti bolj stalna, zatorej stalno na poti. Lahko pa se zgodi, da komu stalno na poti pusti določen neprijeten priokus. Spominja namreč na dejavnost, ki se nikoli zares ne preneha, niti časovno niti zemljepisno, in na nek način nakazuje utrujenost. In točno to želim, saj je približno takšno življenje. Dejstvo je, da hrepenimo po počitku in ustalitvi, a povsem dokončno ju kar ne moremo doseči. Izkušamo lahko čase in kraje, v katerih izstopimo iz te velike stvari, da smo stalno na poti, in kot v zrcalu vidimo našo dejansko željo: da bi se enkrat dokončno umirili. Le v Bogu se spočije moja duša, od njega prihaja moja rešitev (Ps 62,1).
V kolikor želite finančno podpreti naše delo v mladinski pastorali, lahko to storite na strani PayPal, na mBills na številko 051.607.157 ali na Flik na naslov janez.rus/afna/me.com. V kolikor želite alternativni način plačila, mi to sporočite preko kontaktnega obrazca v meniju desno zgoraj. Za vsak dar vam bomo hvaležni.
Pripis poleti 2021. Končno sem se lotil branja Austena Ivereigha. Ko bi bil vedel, da je njegovo pisanje tako zelo navdušujoče, bi ga bil v roke vzel že prej. Začel sem z The great reformer, za katero ne vem, če je prevedena v slovenščino. Austen precej na začetku omeni Jerónima Nadala, enega Ignacijevih tovarišev. Menda je rekel, da imajo jezuiti različne vrste hiš in nastanitev, najmirnejša in najljubša hiša pa je pot, zaradi katere celoten svet postane naš dom. Menda je dobro preveril vire, a tudi če ne. Ta izjava se jezuitom dobro poda, z moje strani sem pa vesel, da sem osvojil nekaj malega njihove karizme.
English
I am a catholic priest and in charge of the young adults in the Emmanuel Community. The decisive verse of the Bible for me was: The leader of his brothers and the pride of his people was the high priest, Simon son of Onias, who in his life repaired the house, and in his time fortified the temple (Sir 50:1, NRSV). I was a student, not quite at the end of my studies, but pretty close. While studying ethnology and cultural anthropology, I got passionate about the domain, but I couldn’t imagine that this profession would also be my mission. What’s more, I remembered that I often flirted in a child’s heart with the thought of becoming a priest. One fine evening, I turned to the Lord, who spoke to His people, and accidentally opened the Bible laid by my bed. After a single verse read, I received certainty: I want to become a priest. It was this very word that was decisive: the priest. I was ordained on June 26, 2011, in Ljubljana. I spent the years as a beginner as a chaplain in Ljubljana and Domžale. After three years, the bishop suddenly sent me to Blagovica as a pastor due to the current staff shortage. What should I do there, in the middle of the countryside, I asked him. I didn’t like the idea at first. But it turned out that I could have a double ministry: the bishop allowed me to lead the pastoral care of young adults in the Emanuel Community in Europe in parallel with the parish. After four years, in August 2018, I quit the parish and became the leader for all young adult programs of the same Community. Due to the service’s size, it was better to leave Slovenia and dedicate myself entirely to the new mission. Besides, I wanted to settle in a place with better connections than Ljubljana has. So I landed in Munich.
The Emanuel Community is an organization with 12,000 members in little over 60 countries. According to Canon law, it is registered as an international association of faithful of pontifical right, and often also under the local civil legislation. Its members strive for living, personal spiritual life and committed life in the local environment. We have no political goals or ambitions, but we want to be witnesses of inner freedom in our environment, as understood by Christian anthropology: to always follow the person’s greater good, free from our own or current social ideas. Many of us have joined the Community to share experiences and base our life choices on them. On our Christian journey, we came across an encounter with the person of Jesus Christ, whom we recognized as the Son of God and Savior. We know that Christianity is burdened with many errors and deviations, historical and contemporary. But we love the Church for what she is and not for what she does.
So what does my current job look like? I work with/for young adults who are laying the foundations of their personality. They are also entering the world as adults. I do not produce or deal with projects, but I am in constant contact with young adults or people in touch with them. We accompany them to help them form into free persons. People who know themselves and are reconciled with their past and with their roots. Who know their faith, and who have decided to want to be an active part of this society, according to the Jesus model. I do many things: meet, discern, monitor, travel, edit papers, plan, but all this with one central purpose. I am encountering a pretty wide range of people. Those are my closest collaborators or participants in one of our projects:
1. Territorial committees for young adults’ activities. The Emanuel Community is divided into six geographical zones (coinciding with continents), each with a team of 5 to 10 people in charge of a specific territory. We have six teams on five continents with a total of 37 members, who oversee the local programs with a specific regular rhythm and elements that include spiritual growth, faith formation, life in a community, and service. Young adults stay involved in their everyday activities, be it studies, employment, or something else.
2. Youth teams watching over events. In the case of more significant events (e.g., WYD, which happens once every 3-4 years), the teams are more extensive and exist longer. In the case of smaller events, the teams are minor. Currently, there are about four active international teams for significant events and at least 30 teams preparing local events. If they are one-off events they almost always aim at larger groups. Sometimes they are regional, but often they are vast and international. In this way, they embrace a substantial circle of young adults. I embedded a video clip from one of such events. We organized a European gathering in Ljubljana. The event is called EEYM.
3. We have seven houses in which we accept young volunteers for a year. Each of the places accommodates between 10 to 20 volunteers, which makes a total of just over 100 young adults per year. Each of the houses also has its team, in which we have 25 team members. Young adults choose the program because they want to give a part of their lives and break from everyday life. I embedded a video clip from our house in Salvador, Brasil. We present it through the testimony of one of our young missionaries.
4. The international leadership of the Community of which I am a member. The team consists of 22 people: an international moderator (as we call the person in charge of the Community), his delegates for the continents, and those responsible for specific areas, such as young adults. The team is called the International Bureau and meets for 2- or 3-day working meetings ten times a year.
I titled this page Always on the go. First of all, of course, I am much more on the road than at home in the current period of life. But also because I increasingly understand that the image of the path contains something insanely real about life. Anyway, I am a follower of the Way (Acts 9:2), which in my experience could not be more constant, therefore always on the go. However, there might be people who don’t feel comfortable with this idea of always. It is reminiscent of an activity that never really stops, neither temporally nor geographically, and in a way indicates fatigue. And that’s exactly what I want because that’s life. It is a fact that we long for rest and stabilization, but in this life, we cannot achieve them ultimately. We can experience the times and places we step out of this great thing and look at our actual desire: to calm down once and for all. For God alone, my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation (Ps 62:1, NRSV).
In case you want to support our ministry with young adults, you can do it via PayPal. We will be very grateful.
PS in the summer of 2021. I finally started to read Austen Ivereigh. If I had known how great of a read is he, I would have taken him before. My first book was The great reformer. At the beginning of the book, Austen quotes Jorónimo Badal, one of Ignatius’s companions – Nadal once said that Jesuits have different kinds of houses or dwellings. Still, their most peaceful and pleasant house was the journey, and by this last, the whole world becomes our house. I assume he checked the sources well, but even if he had not, that quote fits in the Jesuit genius pretty well. On my side, I am glad that I have interiorized some of their charisma.
stalno na poti 