Another one of the inherent difficulties of an action for Justice and Peace, is the resistance that comes from our brothers and sisters in community. Although these internal reactions are not always negative nor systematically opposed to the project, they can be terribly discouraging to those who are not sufficiently convinced, particularly if the initiator is new at this kind of action. With a good dose of humor one usually manages to survive!

Of course there will always be the inevitable defeatist brother or sister, who has seen it all before, for whom everything has already been tried and failed. It might be wise to listen to what they say in order to know what to do and to avoid making the same mistakes!

Many of the brothers and sisters are adamantly opposed to any type of commitment to the work of Justice and Peace. They say we attend too many meetings, spend too much time talking or traveling to conventions as compared to the amount of time we actually spend doing what we should be doing. "Dominicans", they say, "should not intervene in such matters"...

We have to listen to them to a point... but then ask ourselves if it would be possible to call others to action if first we ourselves had not been moved by the anguish and pain of the poor, if our life had not been touched, even the slightest bit, by their suffering ? Can we honestly forget the compassion of Christ and Dominic?

Fortunately, the majority of the brothers and sisters are not as pessimistic and demonstrate greater sensitivity and compassion. They are usually more receptive to the poor and are concerned about the environmental crisis we face. The coming together of Justice and Peace and the practice of mercy should help us to communicate how important our Dominican presence is to those we call the victims and the voiceless.

Of course, many of them will act aggressively when they hear purely ideological discourse, or are confronted with a series of slogans. Maybe we should make sure that the words Justice and Peace do not carry with them the negative connotations of the past, but that they be focused on spiritual attitudes (that we ourselves have to live!) and on the tradition which calls us to action against injustice, against all that goes against the dignity of the person.

Let's go back and listen to what the delegates said at the 1992 Chapter held in Mexico, on the theme of Preaching (# 66, Bb).

"The commitment to the service of justice and peace should imbue every aspect of our personal and communal life. One of the requirements of our vocation as preachers is... that our community be a veritable school of justice and peace for its members and for all of those with whom we enter into contact. Never forget that the commitment to justice and peace is the commitment of the entire community."

The Sisters of the Roman Congregation of St. Dominic say it well:

"In order to fulfill God's plan of love, Jesus by his incarnation became the mediator between God and humans. At the example of Christ, the love of God inseparable from the love of neighbor urges us. In the light of the Gospel, we discover the action of the spirit constantly at work within our human realities. At the same time our faith, hope and charity are challenged by what we perceive to be lacking, by our individual and communal acts of injustice, by the massive number of poor, by our lack of faith and the presence of atheism, by the results of our analyses of needs and the protests of the people. These issues penetrate our prayer and send us out to new mission territory, where the Gospel will be proclaimed and thus touch the very core of human development."

Criticism from colleagues should always be taken seriously, for they are often a reflection of a malfunction that should be corrected, ex. the manner in which you communicate the development and unfolding of the project.

Three difficulties are most frequent and should be anticipated when organizing a project:

• Discrepancies between the logic of the project and the logic of the community. The community has a life of its own, (prayer, meetings, ministry), do not expect that life evolves only around your project. Other members of the community have ministries that are just as important as yours. The community will not take kindly to being disrupted, marginalized, or being converted into your hotel (or worse still, the ones who have to bear the brunt of your tirades and aggressiveness due to over-fatigue).

• Invasion of the community. You may be tempted to invite often those with whom you are working; they will visit your community and may be numerous. These visits can happen at all hours jarring the life of the group, monopolizing the telephones... The other members will begin to feel they have no more home and this could lead to the rejection of the project.

• Crisis related to confusion between leadership and finances. If a clear distinction is not made between leadership and accounting responsibilities you are headed straight for a catastrophe! It is utterly important to make sure that each one knows exactly what he/she has to do, so as not to blame the other when difficulties begin to surface. The leadership of the community should be distinct from the leadership of the project, even if the entire community is involved in the project.

On a more positive note, it is good to recall that some of the members in whom the Order takes great pride today had serious conflicts with their brothers and sisters due to their commitment to Justice and Peace. Think of Martin de Porres, or Catherine of Sienna. Catherine, for example, was a serious problem for the brothers, so much so, that they had her come to the Chapter and subjected her to severe interrogation about her ideas, because they could not accept that a woman such as herself could have so many followers...

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