The mosaic symbolizes faith, humility, and trust in God.

Lima 12/19/13 (Sodalit News – Peru). Every year those whom live in the Sodalit formation center, Our Lady of Guadalupe, make a mosaic which makes up a key part of a very important formative activity. Three of them were able to share with us their experience during this special time

“We wanted to symbolize three important aspects of the community: faith, humility, and trust in God. All these are aspects that our Superior General has been emphasizing,” said Daniel. It was the way the formation center wanted to sum-up this time in which the Year of Faith came to its end and in which Pope Francis is invigorating the Church. Daniel Vargas is from Arequipa, a city in southern Peru. He graduated with a degree in Law and is in his first year in the Formation Center Our Lady of Guadalupe in San Bartolo.

“It occurred to me that the best way to represent these aspects was the passage of the multiplication of the loaves, as portrayed by John the Evangelist. There a boy who had five barley loaves and two fish gives them to Jesus. The boy believes in Jesus, he gave what he had and trusted. With this humble offering the Lord works a great miracle,” explained Daniel. “I understood more and more the greatness of God, who, despite our lowliness, bestows on us a great mission. We also wanted to represent the Eucharist in the mosaic, at the same time intensifying our participation in the Eucharist and Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament throughout this time.

Although he is specialized in the arts, Johan Chon likes to draw and has been developing his artistic skills in his free time. Upon finishing high school in Ecuador, he served some time in the military in Finland where his mother. After finishing his college degree Johan entered the formation center. This is his second year in a row participating in the construction of the mosaic and the formative activity of which it makes a part.

“The boy, whom represents the sodalit, carries to the Lord the little that he has and it is He who works the miracle of feeding so many people. This is a clear symbol of the Eucharist which nourishes us in our daily Christian life. It is an image that expresses that it is from the act of generous giving that God pours out his riches upon us.” said Johan, explaining the artistic perspective. “We wanted to make in such a way that whoever sees the image would be alluded to the Eucharist. It is a gift that God gives to the Church, to the entire spiritual family,” he added.

“The liturgical season that accompanied us was very important. We started to make the mosaic on the day of the of Presentation of Mary, and we finished on the day when the mass readings recalled the second multiplication of the loaves,” recalled Piero, a publicist who is completing his time in the formation center. “It was not planned, we understood this as a sign that God was accompanying us during this time.” Piero, who participated in the reflection about what the image should be and which were the most important elements that ought to stand out, knew that the community, “wanted to emphasize humility. We are aware that the fruits come from God, like the multiplication of the loaves when they were given to God.”

The making of the mosaic in the formation center is a tradition that began in 1994. Since then many images have been created in this dynamic activity within the formation process that integrates artistic, community, labor, and spiritual aspects.

This year’s mosaic took its inspiration from a passage in the Gospel of John:

“When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?’… Philip answered him, ‘Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?’ Jesus said, ‘Have the people recline.’ Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.”

The image shows a young man giving five loaves and two fish to the Lord, who raises his gaze to heaven, to the Father. In the middle of the scene a large setting sun illuminates the horizon, which represents the Sun of Justice, Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament who illuminates and nourishes the lives of Christians. The young man’s mantle is made of sodalite stone, a blue stone with white veins, which represents the members of the Sodalitium.

“When we see that the Lord asks us to feed so many with so little, when we experience ourselves overwhelmed by the mission—explained Daniel—the Lord himself shows us the way: ‘You give them something to eat.’ In the picture the young man, who has his eyes fixed on Lord Jesus, shares Jesus’ gaze who, at the same time, has his eyes fixed on the Heavenly Father. The faith opens us to the love of God and to others and it invites us to trust and to give generously with complete freedom”.