Alberto de la Portilla – Page 180 – Comboni Lay Missionaries

My experience of mission in Arequipa – PERU

21 July, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

This 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

The relevance of the social teaching for our society

14 July, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

On July 11^th, we held our formative meeting at Abor. Pierre Ngayo, a comboni Scholastic doing a pastoral experience at IMFH shared with us on the topic: The Comboni charism and the Social Teaching of the Church.

At the beginning of the meeting, Rev. Fr Joseph Rabbiosi welcomed everybody and wished to the group to grow and be engaged.

The Scholastic started by mentioning the credibility of the Soc. Teach. of the Church that is the theological, which is to respond to the appeal of Jesus in Mat 25 about the final judgment and the second is social, the proximity of the Church to the daily life of the society. He later continued by presenting the Topic into three parts.

The first part is the Relation between the Soc. Teach. and the Word of God. In Lk 4, 16-21 and Is 61, 1-2 the Scriptures speak about bringing good news to the poor, to free prisoners, to bind up broken hearts, give sight to the blind and to proclaim God’s year of mercy… The Soc. Teach. finds here a biblical foundation.

The second aspect he developed was the relevance of the Soc. Teach. for the Church in Africa. What is the role of Christians in our society? Issues of corruption, Human right, poverty, rural and urban migration, Human dignity are met all over our continent. Why is it that most of our countries which are populated by Christian in majority are experiencing such things, very high rate of corruption? Two synods were held to reflect upon the challenges that the Church is facing in our continent. The first one was held in 1994 during a period whereby there was a socio political instability all over Africa. The conclusion was published the post Synodal Exhortation Ecclesia in Africa. The second synod held in 2009 and its conclusion was published in Africae munus. The hope of the Church is that we Christians, mostly lay faithful should make our society a better place to live in: “You are the salt of the earth, the light of the world.”

The third aspect is JPIC and the Comboni charism. Comboni came in Africa where slavery was going on, a reality that made him so sensitive and close to Africans. The aspects then of Justice, Human Dignity were so needed and Comboni engaged himself totally for it. The Scholastic suggested that the aspect of JPIC could be well developed by lay comboni missionaries in the province of Togo Ghana Benin. He then added some guidelines for us which are first to be fond with the Soc. Teach. of the Church by reading the Magisterium, especially those encyclicals and Apostolic Exhortations that treat the topic e.g. Populorum progressio, Rerum novarum, …Africae munus,… The second one is to take time to study the Word of God. The third one is to be sensitive towards the needy and vulnerable and the fourth is to develop fund raising activities. In the conclusion, he left with us three questions for our meditation:

How can our encounter with the word of God help us to change our society?
Why do we think that the Social Teaching of the Church is relevant for our situation as African Christians?
What is our experience in the domain of JPIC and what are the challenges to develop it in our Province?

After this presentation, we were clarified about the kind of services we can render to In My Father’s House Institution by the Administrator of the Institution. We agreed to meet on the 8^th August and proceeded with the concluding prayer followed by the community food.

Justin Nougnui, coordinator.

Missionary joy

12 July, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

The June monthly meeting of the CLMs of Mexico DF It was held in the house of the Comboni Missionaries in Cuernavaca. A beautiful and quiet place next to the famous devil´s alley. Yes, you read that correctly, the devil. According to the legend, more than five centuries ago, the intrusive devil helped to jump Hernán Cortés on his horse Rucio, a ravine five meters long for safekeeping of tlahuicas ancestors who closely followed his footsteps to kill him.

Juanita, CLM for several years and frequent visitor of the seminar for many others, was in charge of preparations for our arrival. The reception was warm although a little rainy, which did not stop performing activities under an atmosphere of friendship and joy. In the morning, we did the prayer of Lauds. The main theme for those who came to know the group was the action of the laity in the church. And in the afternoon Father Joseph Infante, brother of Pedro Infante, as he presents always with a big smile, shared with us the devotion to the Sacred heart of Jesus who lived St. Daniel Comboni and how he trusted that divine heart all his projects and concerns. In the evening, we had the celebration of the Eucharist and in our prayers we do not forget all the Comboni family, absent CLMs, and the election of the following day.

On Sunday, some had to leave early. Others took a little walk around the cathedral, where indeed we received the blessing of Bishop Ramon Castro for all CLM Group. So our meeting this month invited us to advance in prayer, sacrifice and keep walking united by the mission, encouraging one another. Thank God for his presence.

CLM México

Contrasts

9 July, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

Since I came to Ethiopia still surprises me how full of contrasts is this place … In the past few days I had two such experiences about it. On Sunday, I was invited by my friend to the graduation of kinder garden of her son. They make a great party and it looks almost like a graduation of the university! The kids presenting what they had learned (mostly in English – whether it be a song, or counting, or alphabet …), then dressed in special clothes, received a certificate of completion of kindergarten. Overall for me it was so funny, especially seeing how seriously people treat it 😉

And yesterday evening I went with the Salesians for the night outing. These are meetings on the street with the boys living there and thinking about going to join the project and try to change their lives, go back to their family, to school, to the society. In Addis Abeba there is enormous number of children living on the street, every day they are encountered at every step. But this meeting in the evening, when the streets were far more empty than usual, with children (some of them even 7-8 years old!), The majority of which was carrying and inhaling glue (because it allows them not feel hunger, cold, pain, etc.), it was incredibly striking. While having before my eyes image of their peers who two days ago graduated kindergarten, who are studying, who have family, who have a house…

Magda Plekan

Retreat of the Comboni Lay Missionaries of Bologna and Florence

24 June, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

Accompanied by Fr. Giorgio Padovan (standing in the photo), Comboni Missionary recently arrived from Brazil, about twenty Comboni Lay Missionaries (CLM) of Bologna and Florence met on 13 and 14 of June, in the house of Pax Christi in Florence, to pray and reflect together on the theme “Disciples, missionaries and Combonis in the path”. These days, according to some lay people, “encouraged some of us to share, to continue the missionary journey with more enthusiasm and joy, and to renew our heart, sometimes tired and wounded.”

The joy and beauty of being Christians and missionaries is the phrase that can summarize what has been lived in this two-day retreat in Florence. Guided by the motto “Disciples, missionaries and Combonis in the path”, the image of the path accompanied the laity in the reflections, sharing and prayer. A path that is not easy, they said, because sometimes it is uphill and very tired, but gives “sense and taste to our life and vocation.”

Fr. Giorgio Padovan, who returned a few months ago from the mission in Brazil, helped the group with simplicity, to deepen from the standpoint of the missionary, the path of laity, the baptismal vocation, personal decisions, the love to the mission and the Comboni charism.

“The thoughts and shared experiences – comment the laity – encouraged some of us to go forward, to continue the missionary journey with more enthusiasm and joy, and to renew our heart, sometimes tired and wounded. The seeds were sown for each CLM group to program with renewed creativity, the way to follow in the next year”.

How to be CLM where we live and work? How to be Christians and missionaries in the world of migration, among the excluded, through our commitment in the activities of justice and peace? in parishes and some missionary churches closed and afraid to go out? These are some of the questions that the Bologna and Florence CLM tried to answer, so they can return home enlightened and willing to make a “good missionary journey”.

Bologna and Florence CLM