Comboni Lay Missionaries

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Youth Gymkhana

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Last Sunday the gymkhana was performed with the theme: “we are called to live young.” It was organized by the coordinators of youth of the parish of Santo Domingo and aimed to promote integration, encouraging youth engagement in the way of faith and building the Kingdom of God through the civilization of Love.
During the meeting and as a proposal for the month of vocations, some stalls were organized by the Comboni Missionaries, Salesian Sisters, Brothers of Saint Gabriel and Lay Comboni Missionaries.
The organization of the gymkhana began with the Mass in the community of San Judas, the offertory of the Mass has been donated to the settlement Rosa Leon as a concrete gesture of action: “I come to do, with pleasure, your will Lord.”

Reflection upon the new encyclical « Laudato Si » of the Pope

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CLM Ghana

Having meditated upon the relevance of the Social Teaching of the Church at our last meeting, we thought to start realizing the suggestions of the Scholastic Pierre Ngayo. One of his suggestions for us was to be fond with the Social Teaching of the Church. It’s for that matter that, this 8th August, we invited him to share with us about the concern of the Church about the Care for our Common Home which the Pope has shown through the Encyclical “Laudato si”. The Scholastic presented the topic into three parts.

  1. Overview of the problem of the environment.

In the Encyclical, he started, the Pope is calling the earth our common home, our mother (from the Canticle of Francis of Assisi). The name should arouse in us a relationship of love towards it. Instead, our mother, the earth is crying. We are destroying the earth, over-exploiting the resources. Everybody agrees that the earth is facing a serious degradation which has never occurred. This suffering of the earth is correlated to the suffering of the poor.

  1. Relation of the environmental degradation and poverty

The current situation of the earth is compared to the poor state of the vulnerable. We do not care for the earth likewise we do not care for the poor. And again, the degradation of the earth is also the degradation of the vulnerable. They are the ones suffering first of all of the overexploitation of the resources. The development, said the Pope, should consider the effect on the earth. It should arouse from a new ecological spirituality.

  1. The moral implication of the exploitation of resources

The Pope affirmed that the degradation of the earth is not at random. Human beings have then a role to play. A new ecological spirituality is necessary. Creatures are gift from God, and so by,  have a certain purpose.  They speak about the love of God and we should not prevent them of this. “For human beings,… to destroy the biological diversity of God’s creation, … for human beings to contaminate the earth’s waters, its land, its air, and its life -these are sins.”(L.S. 8) The Pope is calling us to think about the future generation. “The world we have received also belongs to those who will follow us… What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up? Leaving an inhabitable planet to future generation is first and foremost, up to us. Leaving debris, desolation and filth… “

The Scholastic left with us again three questions for our meditation.

  1. How does the issue of environmental degradation affect you and your family?
  2. How do you know about the relation between the environmental degradation and the issue of poverty?
  3. How can you contribute, as a Christian, to the improvement of the environment where you leave?

After this briefing about the Encyclical, he presented on a Power Point a concrete example of the negative effect of the plastic rubbers on our health, the farming lands, the danger the plastic rubbers  cause to  aquatic life and the threaten on birds.

 

After this theoretical aspect, we resolved to:

  1. Form local groups: Due to the distance between the members, we feel that forming local groups will be advantageous. They will have time for community prayer and their involvement in the life of the Christian Community close to them.
  2. JPIC Committee: At the local level again, members should collaborate with the Committee Justice and Peace if it exists. If not, they should try to create it. In some of the parishes, the apparent activity of this Committee is to resolve conflict. We, as CLM aspirants, will arouse the concern for the care of our Common Home and let people know about the Social teaching of the Church.
  3. Mission Animation: We have decided also to be engaged in the ventilation of the Magazine New People for the awareness upon Mission.
  4. We have planned few things for the month of October which we will unearth later.
  5. We formed a Committee of six (6) members to reflect on the creation of An Advanced Vocational School at Abor (IMFH).
  6. All the members should account of how far they have gone at the coming meeting as far as those decisions are concerned.

After all, we agreed to meet on the 12th September at 9 o’clock at Abor. We prayed and Rev. Fr  Rabbiosi blessed us. We had our community meal before we departed from the place.

Justin Nougnui, coordinator.

“Mission in the world today”: Meeting of the Comboni Lay Missionaries (CLM) in Mellatz on 3 and 4 July 2015

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German CLM

On 3 and 4 July 2015, some members of the Comboni Lay Missionaries (CLM) met with the Comboni Missionaries Fr. Franz Weber and Br. Friedbert Tremmel in the mission home in Mellatz to exchange views on the theme “mission in world today”. On Saturday, some members of the “Mellatzer Weggemeinde” arrived at the group and we increase at least 15 persons.

At the beginning of the meeting Fr. Franz Weber gave a brief introductory presentation: the term “mission” is quite negatively affected by the history of the conquest and colonization that sometimes went hand in hand with the evangelization of the peoples of Africa, America and Asia. Today, this term should be rediscovered. The mission must come from the heart from where one can live and act as missionaries, that is, the mission begins with me.

Jesus was the “first missionary and the source of all missionary work” brings good news to the poor, and this is testified by his life and his cures. The core mission is the Good News, the Kingdom of God is present with Jesus. “We have to speak about the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).

After this introduction to the topic, the group began to think about how they can act in the sense of Jesus, as individuals and as a group. One of the options that can be done starts in the family, with friends, at work or in the parish.

In conclusion, we can say that the mission is made by and for men and women. The essence is given by me. It is give and take. The day ended with a Mass in which we thanked God for our skills and talents.

The next time the CML Group will meet in the Comboni house in Nuremberg will be on Friday night (9/10/2015) till Sunday (11/10/2015) at noon. The theme will be the new encyclical “Laudato Sí” from Pope Francisco. All people who are interested are invited.

CLM Germany

The joy of Gospel the source of mission spirit

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LMC Polonia

Polish CLM celebrated a greatly unusual thing. Three girls from our community officially entered to the CLM community. God bless them!

During the meeting from 12th till 14th June we co-organized and participated in 4th Mission Congress of Poland. On Friday we began with the Holly Mass and entering of Katarzyna Tomaszewska, Magda Fiec and Anna Obyrtacz to CLM movement. Friday Mass was the very beginning for girls to join our community. They had arrived to Warsaw the day before to have some spare moments for prayer and meditation in silence. During the mass, the girls our friends have been reading the special prayer prepared by themselves for this particular occasion and undersigned the official declaration of participation. The Delegate of the General Father of Combonians fr. Gianni Gaiga submitted girls’ declaration with other Comboni’s fathers celebrating the mass. It must be emphasized that we hosted a family and colleagues of Kasia who arrived especially for this day from Silesia province. Kasia is willing to go to Mozambique, Anna is designated to go to Central African Republic and Magda is still making decision about destination about her mission. Later on the day there was a time to take care about stomach as well – we organised big barbeque. Fr. Guillermo Aguinaga Pantoja who is the superior of the house said that we are always very welcome and the Warsaw community is always open for the CLM. There had appeared our first missionary – Danuta Krol who shared with us the experience from Uganda. We took the possibility of speaking “last minute” with fr. Andrzej Flip who serves in Mozambique and had a return flight the day after. Our well known sister Ula Bayer with the group of children from Mosina near Poznan was also present.

We were in the city centre the next day. The organiser of the congress was Polish Episcopal Commission on Missions and Papieskie Dziela Misyjne (The Catholic Church’s official charity for overseas mission). “The joy of Gospel the source of mission spirit” was theme of the congress with a patronate of John Paul II. It was an unusual meeting because such congress is not a regular one and takes place in ten of fifteen years or even few decades.

Three forms of participation was prepared up to the age of visiting people: for children, youth and adults, so we had divided into three groups to work in parallel. All locations had been in the centre of Warsaw and the adult part was held just in front of the central church. The place and the open nature of the meeting had attracted many people. We promoted the CLM and missions in general, giving leaflets and promotional materials. We had an opportunity to speak and encourage people to this forms of actions in the Church. We had met many orders, congregations and communities also lay organisations involved in mission ad gentes. In the neighbourhood we had met our familiar mates from Akademickie Kolo Misjologiczne w Poznaniu (Mission Academic Circle in Poznan). We spoke with the representative if MIVA (Mission Vehicle Association) who sponsor all kinds of the vehicles to the missions to help missionaries. One of them will go to Equator to fr. Adam Zagaja MCCJ in the nearest future. The congress hosted many NGOs (Non-Government Organizations). One of the most attractive was Szymon Holownia’s: The Kasisi Foundation. Holownia is one of the most popular catholic journalist, writer, blogger and TV presenter who is involved in many actions in Africa now. In the conference panel Holownia emphasized the essence of the lay mission and real meaning of brotherhood help not only in Africa but also here in Europe e.g. for the present massive African immigrants in south Europe. There was also one point of the World Youth Day with youth people from east Europe. They encouraged us to help people from East willing to participate with Pope Francis next year. We met also Karol Pawlowski who had been inspired by Saint Adalbert and the pilgrimage way of Santiago de Compostella and now is trying to establish and promote the way of Saint Adalbert from Gniezno in Poland to Magdeburg in Germany (the web: http://www.droga-swietywojciech.pl). All those meetings helped us to understand that our Church is so rich and diverse and there is still a lot of things to do.

At the end all participants joined the Holly Mass leaded by cardinal Fernando Filoni – Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The homily was told by Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz from Warsaw. Cardinal emphasised that every single man who believe in Gospel must live as a missionary. All walked to The Holy Cross Church in the procession with the cross and icon – the signs of World Youth Day. The day was fulfilled by worship concert and finished with singing the Appeal of Jasna Gora (Jasna Gora is the place of pilgrimage to Virgin Mary).

That rich day and all of the meeting gave us a joy the same as Gospel. Let us joy then and move together on our mission ways keeping the smile and Gospel in heart!

Tomasz Wierzbicki

CLM Krakow

My experience of mission in Arequipa – PERU

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KikeThis first year has just flown thanks to the Father. All mission experience is rewarding because you share your life and surely is more what you get than what you give, or we better say “share”. Jesus invited me through St. Daniel Comboni to recognize the African Mission in the Comboni parish of “The Good Shepherd” in the city of Arequipa and more specifically in the community of St. Daniel Comboni in Villa Ecológica. You have to encourage yourself, especially with prayer asking that we can discover the way where He wants to lead us and be docile to follow. The CLM brothers of Spain Gonzalo, Isabel, Jose and Carmen left a living experience in the community of Villa, they cannot forget. They allowed my arrival to be warm and now I feel increasingly identified with the community.

I began my service teaching a course in electricity and plumbing to a group of high school students. We hope to repeat this year in the new environment that is being completed to build. With Brazilian sister Sharliman Alencar Lobo, who stayed with us for six month and started the project at the library to help children with their homework. A single mother or father alone constitutes many families. Many parents go to work because of low income, so many of these young families cannot afford the time to be with the children in the afternoons to help with their homework and to complement the education received in schools. In some cases, they ignore their responsibilities as parents to their children. Many children are not well fed and are in need during the evenings until the arrival of their parents. The learning experiences in the communities of HUARIN and RONDOS in the Sierra de Huanuco has served us well, and therefore we share a glass of milk and a piece of bread to complement the opening hours of the library, doing more bearable daily life of children. The truth is that we are missing hands and would be nice to have help from a CLM brother, to form a community, tired together with happiness and feel that we are in community returning something that gives us the Lord’s love.

I also assumed the catechesis of adults. I accompanied a group of 12 adults in Villa in preparation for confirmation and two couples were married. It is a great joy to see them eager to know their faith and I always ask the Holy Spirit to give me the necessary lights to share the issues and my life experience with my limitations, trusting in the presence of God who gives us the strength to continue this work.

Due to the circumstances I have happen to be alone. I live in the parish house and make community with the priests of the parish, this has allowed me to continue strengthening me spiritually and be part of the parish reality, but I’m a little distant from the reality of the community of Villa Ecológica. My mission is divided in two. On one hand my profession as plumber and electrician and a bit more knowledge allow me to serve the needs at home and in the parish. All this is performed mainly in the morning. On the other hand, the development of pastoral work in the afternoons or evenings as required. The community of Villa is young, is learning to walk with the help of its own people and is necessary to let them have their own experience of being church and simultaneously accompany to further deepen their faith and help them to discover the style of St. Daniel Comboni “Save Africa with Africa”. I try to encourage them and help them discover how the Lord is working in their lives.

This month ends the collaboration of Anna, the German Lay young volunteer who came for one year to assist in the “cradle St. Daniel Comboni” in Villa Ecológica. She has participated in choirs and brought some economic aid to the most needed families of the area brought from her German home parish. Anna has collaborated with Pamela in the catechesis sector called “Canteras”. In Arequipa there is a pending work, to encourage the formation of a CLM Group. Mary our mother, who cares for me and my family, care also to help you, brothers from the group of Lima to pronounce the Yes to the mission, so that this mission can continue and others start.

Pedro Enrique García H. CLM Peru