Alberto de la Portilla – Page 172 – Comboni Lay Missionaries

House-community, “Emergency hospital”

6 February, 20156 February, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

A Commentary on Mc 1, 29-39: Sunday, February 8th 2015

We continue, in this fifth Sunday of the year, reading the first chapter of Mark, which narrates a Jesus’ Day at Capernaum. Last Sunday we read the first part, contemplating Jesus at the synagogue confronting the “impure spirit”. Today we see him outside the synagogue. For my commentary, I will put my attention on four words:

The house:
Jesus leaves the synagogue and enters a house, Peter’s home, with Andrew, James and John, apart from Peter himself, whose house becomes an operational centre for the first community of Jesus’ missionary disciples. The gospels mention quite often this experience of Jesus entering into peoples’ homes, especially public sinners’ homes: Zacchaeus, Levi, the Pharisee… His meals become a sign of fraternity and feast, pardon and new life. Also the first Christian communities used to gather in someone’s house: this was giving the Church an style of nearness and fraternity, of a life connected to the joys and sufferings of ordinary people.
Today, I know families that welcome the Lord in their homes in so many ways, transforming their houses into places of encountering for Jesus’ disciples and for everyone in need of support. They are real disciples. With them I dream of a lay people’s church, a “homely church”, very much in touch with peoples’ lives; a church, community of communities, made of friends who visit each other, help each other, protect each other in moments of distress, listen together to the Word and praise the Lord with one voice.

The house, “emergency hospital”.
With Jesus’ presence, Simon’ s home becomes a place for the revelation of God’s mercy and free love for all, but especially for those in distress and need. A love that heals, dignifies, forgives, reconciles and invites to serve.
This is what Pope Francis, in his direct language, has called “the Church, Emergency hospital”, a server church in a violent world, that produces many wounded people, physically, economically, morally. Fortunately, many of us haven known a Church like that: So many health centres in every corner of the Earth! So many schools for poor children! So many elders cared for! So many persons listened to, consoled, pardoned!
Somehow, we can be “proud” of a Church that is serving in so many ways: with our money, with our time, with our live, with our love. But, at the same time, I feel this Sunday a strong call to conversion. There are in the world so many wounded people in need of attention; my Church (my family, my community, my parish) cannot be a locked up and indifferent castle, but it must be a home transformed into an “emergency hospital”, like the house of Peter in Capernaum.

Sunset and sunrise: work and prayer, word and silence.
At sunrise, Jesus goes to a solitary place, evidently to meet in intimacy the Fountain of his interior life, to re-establish the love links with the Father, to discern all that is saying and doing. Avoiding to get lost in a “foolish” and senseless activism.
Somebody has said that the future belongs to contemplative people, no to those who run from place to place, multiplying empty word and dry hearts. I think that to invest in prayer and contemplations, is the best investment that we can make for ourselves and for our community. Without that prayer we are like dry leaves carried away, without any direction, by the strong winds of our time.

New frontiers
In today’s Reading, the disciples, together with the crowds, want Jesus to remain with tem, trapped in a web of interested affections and egoisms. “We are so well together! “Let us build a place where to enjoy our being together!”, they seemed to say. But Jesus does not allow himself to be trapped by these “reasonable” words; he remains free to go to other places where the announcement of the Kingdom is needed, not confusing mission with auto-satisfaction or the shallow joy of being applauded…
Success can be a danger, a trap, that makes us accommodate to what has been already acquired. I think of so many parishes that are so happy because their church is full at Sunday masses. But those people going to mass are a minority among the thousands of people living in that area. Where are all the others?
I think that the Jesus’ missionary passion is pushing us to go further, over our barriers, to open ourselves (individual disciples and communities) to new people, new human groups, new places, new “areopaghi”; not to be happy with what we already have, but to look always for new horizons, in private life and in community life.
Fr. Antonio Villarino
Rome

Child Pastoral today

31 January, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

This work is done in Brazil voluntarily by 218,000 people participating in this network of human solidarity that unites faith and life. Thanks to this volunteering Brazilian reality has changed. To this story of success were incorporated different complementary actions, such as income generation, literacy, community playgrounds, food security programs, mental health, etc.

This large network of human solidarity has spread throughout Brazil and today is present in 3,616 municipalities, accompanied by approximately 79 thousand 500 pregnant women and more than 1 million and 630 thousand children. The national average is 12 children per leader, more than 90% of community leaders are poor women.

“THE WORLD WILL NOT BE BETTER IF RICHER, BUT IF EVERYONE GROWS IN EQUALITY” (Zilda Arns)

Thanks to the team of 189 sector leaders, who enthusiastically and with great fellowship throughout 2014 made possible the Child Pastoral in the area of Renza in the parish. Santo Domingo, Icaivera and Jesus Obrero.

By Maria de Lourdes, Lay Comboni Missionary

Meeting of the General Councils of the Comboni Family

29 January, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

This past Saturday, January 24, we came together as a Comboni Family in Rome at the level of the three General Councils and of CLM representative.

We spent the morning reflecting on the challenges presented by the missionary life in the context of the places where we work. Each of the branches shared on the challenges we are facing in the mission.

It was a reflection that touched on points such as the need to live and to do mission starting with being close to the people: being close to their needs, walking according to the rhythm of the communities and accompanying everyone according to their stride. Keeping the necessary balance between human development and help to meet the most immediate needs. Ensuring that projects do not come before the people and that we, as missionaries, are not only seen as development agents but above all as bearers of joy, the joy of the gospel and the desire for a better life for all, which flows from the Father’s love. Save Africa with Africa, as Comboni said, always seeking the leadership of the people and not of the missionaries. Relying on the skills of the others, enhancing their strengths and discovering new ways of doing things, open to the new ways proposed by the people.

We also reflected on our decreasing numbers, of being fewer missionaries than we were years ago; at the same time we reflected on the greatest diversity of our members, fewer Europeans and more Americans and Africans, prompting us to treasure our greater diversity and the resulting new style of mission. This reduction in numbers requires us to ask the people around us and working with us for more involvement.

It is a challenge to deepen our spirituality, which allows us to have a solid foundation for our doing. A challenge to make of us agents of reconciliation, especially in war and post-war situations, by our continuous presence, by speaking of peace, love and forgiveness as the basis for a better future.

Along with this, the need to rethink the ministries that we carry out, and receive the necessary training to better adapt ourselves to the needs of men and women of today in the different continents. Being missionaries in the context where each one of us is located. Updating our charism, which after all is the only way to remain faithful to our vocation. Talking the new language that reaches people today. Remaining open to young people and offering them a life worth living, embodied, with its struggle and sacrifice, but also with its happiness and joy. Providing our members a formation that will help them grow from the heart, which does not remain superficial or self-interested but which also helps us grow as people, individually as well as a Christian community.

Finally, we are invited to reflect on our own reality as charismatic Family. Our style of presence and especially our commitment as a family has to be the seed of a community church where priests, religious, secular and lay people can share responsibilities and, according to our abilities and specificities, serve the people by being seeds of new relationships as brothers and sisters in our Christian communities.

We ended the morning with the Eucharist, placing on the altar all these reflections and the life of all the missionaries scattered around the world and of the people they serve.

In the afternoon we took time to share the most important events of this past year 2014 for each of the branches. The committee in charge of preparing the celebrative event, informed us of the 150th anniversary of the Plan of Comboni to be held from 13 to 15 March in Rome.

We ended the day with a prayer and we fixed the date for our next meeting towards the end of the year. We hope that these meetings and every little encounter we have in our communities will keep us walking and serving the mission as the Comboni Family.

Inequality in the world

21 January, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

We share with you a short video from OXFAM explaining how inequality is growing in the world.

Experience in Mozambique

5 January, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

Beloved Missionary Family:

In the joy of receiving the Baby Jesus in our hearts transforming everything that we can not do by ourselves and hurt us, having closed our calendar year in harmony with ourselves and our brothers. I start this new year sharing with you what I’ve lived in this mission until today.

I end this 2014, making community with the Comboni Lay Missionaries, Flávio Schmidt (Brazilian) and Márcia Costa (Portuguese), and joining forces with the Mozambican CLM in formation Francisco and Margarida better known as marriage Martinho, Ancha (all three are teachers) Zeferino (young from the community); working in harmony with the missionary team of the Comboni Missionaries (Fathers and Brothers) and the Comboni Sisters, in the parish of Carapira.

As relates to me, I do what it takes to stay well in the human, spiritual and mental. Even with the care I take, I do not escaped common diseases of this area. I have had my moments of spiritual weariness for neglecting my personal prayer however; I try to take it up again, to achieve inner peace. In relation to the study, the local language for me has been a limiting factor because I cannot take the time and concentration to study, most of the time people speak Portuguese. Personally, I feel blessed by God for allowing me and entrust this mission where by my presence and contributions will give the message that God has for this people leaving in the heart of the people I meet every day.

The community for me has been the home that we are built, we have a community day a week distributed as follows: 1st retreat, 2nd free, 3rd issue of training, 4th evaluation and when there is a 5th free. We recognize that it is not always easy. We are limited in our communication and integration for teamwork; important to work together as entrusted to us. We centralize our gaze on the person of Christ, our engine, our source for announcing “The Joy of Gospel”. Going through times of trial where each of us show our strengths and our limits. Pooling areas for improvement has been a way in which we manage to restore dialogue when we’ve moved away from each other, we’ve managed to walk together in this time, making in the best possible way our work and commitments. We have gone through different stages where we have learned to respect, act in solidarity and support us in what we are required or permitted, in times of illness, home activities, needs work, apostolate in the parish, days off, etc.

The CML in formation have been an important support in putting me on my missionary walk, in tune with the reality of the community that frequently, naked eye, is not seen. It is a challenge for me to be responsible in forming them, following a proposal made by international committee. We developed a training plan that meets the needs of the group and thus get to be in tune with the CLM of the world. With them, we make Morning Prayer Tuesday and Thursday one week in each house. They have participated in our annual meeting enriching the results we achieve because they always made their contributions to decision making. We did some missionary animation in the Comboni parishes and Women’s School of Nacala where the Comboni Sisters work, we find a group of Lay accompanying the sisters in Nampula; in some of the animations we put some religious accessories on sale to raise funds for the realization of our missionary work.

We had a missionary week in the community of Namajuba. We met another reality as it is an area where they are exploiting minerals from the earth and also some of the problems of our community (water, schools, land) are repeated and especially forming a good team with two young students of the ISC who joined the CLM group.

In the school, my work has been in accordance with what it is needed. Mainly in the Secretariat, from there you can do any work: cleaning at different school locations, sales, inventories, operating manuals, counseling and vocational guidance to students, etc. Always in coordination with the management, administration, pedagogical and head of boarding school; with the arrival of two workers, who sends the district, has boosted the tasks.

I am part of the vocational parish team with Brother Luis (Ita), Sister Lily (Mex) and in her absence Sister Maria Pia (Ita) joined. We organize monthly retreats with young people who want to have a vocational guidance to enter the seminary or religious congregations. It has been a missionary space I’ve always liked to work.

It was a jubilee year full of parties, starting with the opening of the 150th anniversary of the Comboni´s plan. We had our bimonthly meetings where we used the method see-judge-act to analyze the reality of our mission. Continuing with the diaconal ordination of MCCJ José Alberto and Abelino Diocesan, and also had their priestly ordination in May and December I participate in both of them. The perpetual vows of Sister Lily, the 50th anniversary of Carapira Parish, the Comboni assembly, the assembly the Comboni Missionary Sisters celebrating its 60 years in Mozambique. Celebrations of the Sacred Heart and St. Daniel Comboni, the 50 years of the School Carapira Industries, farewells, welcome and anniversaries.

In the village of Carapira I always learn something new: their patience and availability committed me every day to give my best in performing any activity. It is not easy because I do not know the language, but training the leaders, in each of the different ministries, has being our main activity. All missionary experiences that I lived in Mexico have served me very much, allowing me to share what I have with respect for what they have, without imposing the way to live the faith, but enriching. We have great challenges as a missionary team in this sharing and receiving.

I sincerely appreciate your help and cooperation. We will keep in touch, united in prayer for the good of the mission, your Sister in Christ Missionary Beatriz CLM

P.D Jesus Missionary, who was born to show us with simplicity to be a Human Being in the Love of God, grant us the graces we need for this 2015.