Comboni Lay Missionaries

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A meeting to discern on the way to the mission.

by
LMC Colombia

Last October 13, 14 and 15 in the Parish of Our Lady Mother of the Good Shepherd, belonging to the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus (MCCJ), in the city of Cali, Valle del Cauca, the Comboni Lay Missionaries of Colombia (CLM), lived a very special meeting with the community; in this meeting we had planned important events; The first was to meet personally the members of the community who are in the process of formation, in the stage of discernment (because all our formation meetings have been virtual), this meeting in person this year lent us to share the feelings, meet the personalities and discover the desires of each of the members who are part of this lay process. The second moment was so that through the experiences of three kinds of missionaries in the world, we could get a better idea of what it was to discern in the life of each one of these persons. And last, but the greatest moment, was the great step taken by three CLM, who have been formed for more than 3 years in the service of the mission, choosing the last and the abandoned as our first option; Father Franco Naschinbene, spiritual advisor appointed by the MCCJ to accompany the CLM of Colombia, consecrated Yaneth Rocío Escobar, Felipe Eugenio Mora Parra and Patricia Rodríguez Cerquera, consecrated us as Comboni Lay Missionaries, so that from our lay life we would commit ourselves to focus our efforts and to give reason of the eternal love, in which we believe, through the liberating service to our poorest and abandoned brothers and sisters.

Our meeting began on Saturday, after prayer, with the support of Marco Farias, a MCCJ religious brother about to take his permanent vows. He shared with us from his life story, his moment of discernment and showed us how through daily life, God makes the call and sows the seed necessary to follow Him; Brother Marco, at this time, is in his period of preparation for his final vows, that after living two years of mission in South Africa, this fact revealed to us that formation and preparation should always accompany our journey to and from the mission. At the end of Saturday morning, we complemented our reflection with a time of meditation; we were in a beautiful park in the middle of the city of Cali, there we “eclipsed” trying to guide our discernment, helped by a navigation instrument, which was a compass, which symbolized our constant effort to seek God through the mission among the last ones.

Saturday afternoon was completed with two wonderful testimonies, which in spite of being different, complemented each other perfectly; Tito and Regimar, a CLM married couple of Brazilian origin who are in Mozambique, in one of the international missions of the CLM, shared with us their daily life and their joy of serving among the people, they showed us how to survive the “hurricane” (literal and symbolic) that is the change of life in a mission, how, day by day God is showing us the way and that even though we have estimated and planned our destiny, it is He who is giving us the guidelines to follow it; This married couple shared with us their joy of the option they have taken and that after two years in mission, they plan to renew for another two years.

Finally, at the end of Saturday afternoon, we received the testimony of Xoan Carlos, a Spanish CLM who has been living for 24 years in Brazil accompanying the indigenous communities of the Amazon and the peasant people of the State of Maranhão in the northeast of Brazil; here he is doing a mission from another point of “combat”, that of justice and peace, defending the rights of marginalized peoples, especially in the mining area of Açailândia and rebuilding the rural sector from the people themselves, through peasant homes. This testimony made us see the importance of the integrality of the mission and that although he arrived in Brazil for a three-year mission, God, in his infinite wisdom, extended it a little more, extending it to his whole life.

Marco’s testimony focused on the ability to decide for a life option in the midst of so many possibilities offered by the world and the testimony of Vladimir and Regimar and Xoan Carlos focused on two of the different services that as CLM we have for the missions around the world. To close the day Father Franco, gave us a retrospective of the process of discernment of Jesus, that from the biblical context, where he clearly identified the humanity of Jesus, the son of God in the midst of the world and the option he took to do the will of the father in the service of the poor and forgotten.

On Sunday morning during the main Eucharist, we made the act of consecration as CLM in Colombia, a consecration that has generated in us a serious and responsible commitment that also “stoked the fire and the ardor” of the longing for a missionary outing. Through the act of consecration, we were officially recognized as part of the great Comboni family and became Comboni Lay Missionaries of Colombia consecrated to the service of the last and abandoned.

At the end of the Eucharist we went out in groups of two to make some visits to families of the community, in these tours we found wonderful stories of the community, that trying to summarize them here would be a challenge almost impossible to meet; in these visits the community transmitted us mainly the joy of the personal encounter, but also gave us to know their own and different realities and how, despite so many difficult situations, they live the experience of the community serving their neighbors, their family, the parish or simply whoever requires it.

On Sunday evening we lived a moment for recreation, thanks to the animation of a trio of Andean music, offered as a detail of the host laity of Cali and the community; this moment was for the encounter with ourselves, a moment of evaluation and sharing the feelings of the whole experience.

This type of meeting and the fact of sharing personally with all the Comboni Lay Missionaries, help us to continue on our way, to continue preparing ourselves for the moment that will lead us to live our mission experience, whether here in the country, in Africa or wherever God has prepared our missionary journey.

Photo. Consecration Eucharist.

Photos. Moment of consecration as CLM.

CLMs consecrated in 2023.

From left to right in order, Patricia Rodríguez, Felipe Mora and Yaneth Escobar.

Photo. Retreat participants

From left to right in order, Father Franco Naschinbene, Jenny Trujillo, Father Alfred Mbaidjide, Brother Marco Farias, Yaneth Escobar, Luz Elena Silva, Hector Vela, Patricia Rodriguez and Felipe Mora.

By Patricia Rodríguez Cerquera, CLM consecrated from Colombia.

Knowing me (Enneagram)

by
CLM KENYA

The journey to knowing one’s self started about 2 years ago when I first heard the word Enneagram. For one reason or the other it had been so elusive until the long weekend of 19th to 22nd of October 2023 paved a good opportunity for this magic of knowing oneself.

We unusually arrived early from different parts of the country to congregate at the St Joseph Retreat Centre under the Contemplative Evangelizers of the Heart of Christ a conducive place for reflection, seminars and retreat. This retreat brought together 13 CLM, 4 Comboni Secular Missionaries, 1 friend and MCCJ. The first day was a day of preparation and briefing, carefully done by the CLM assessor Fr. Maciej preparing us for the next day. We were made to understand that the workshop is two hours intense engagement with only 30 minutes interval break. Good supper came in handy with the comfort of night prayers gave us a good sleep.

Friday being a public holiday in Kenya, we started with morning mass at 6:30am, and then at 8:20am we gathered in the hall ready for the workshop. The facilitator started the program with a quote “A beautiful appearance will last a few decade, but a beautiful personality will last a life time”. She explained that Enneagram is a system of topology that classifies human personality into nine basic types. Brief history was shared how enneagram started.it became interesting when we started exploring enneagram types; at first I thought that I had two types only later to discover that one was dominant. As we delved deeper into these nine types it came clear that everyone had identified and aligned themselves with one of the types.

It was an eye opener for most of us, I understood whom am really are, why I behave the way I do it made me be aware of myself, from the testimonies real scenarios and examples shared by most of us. It made us aware from which possible Enneagram wingers we could borrow help from. It was clear for the motivations, blind spots and how we are also connected in this web of personality test.

This was a big score for us not only for personal development but also to relate well with others in a community, our surrounding during pastoral work and our spirituality without judging them but walking with them and accompanying them with utmost understanding. Now we feel more empowered and would respond rather than react as we prepare for the mission. It’s true to the quote “when awareness is brought to your emotions, power is brought to your life”.

Martin Onyango, CLM

Little by little

by
LMC TGB

Yes, little by little, our province is moving on. Some years back, a lay person, to move on the footstep of Comboni, could only choose to be a religious. If not, you could only journey in the group named Friends of Comboni. But thank God, since 2011, after the first CLM African Assembly in Uganda, things have changed. The first meeting held officially as CLM candidate’s group was in May, 2013. Bit by bit, we are moving on. On the 10th October, 2022, three (3) candidates were accepted and made their promise as CLM. The first pioneer group in the province (Togo-Ghana-Benin) is in Ghana. But as a province constituted of three countries, it won’t be representative enough to have such group in only one country.

By God’s grace, zealous lay men in Togo with the guidance of Rev. Sister Elisabeth, SMC, came up to start a same journey, to become CLM. More than 20 in the beginning, seven of the group at Adidogome, with determination, maintained their expectation and kept on undergoing the training required for CLM candidates according to our International Formation Guide. Monthly basis, they meet for a formation which the Rev. Sister takes so seriously by inviting resource persons. Last 15th October, they met in the Comboni Sisters’ House to receive a formation on the topic “Affectivity and Human Maturity” delivered by Rev. Sister Cecilia of the Congregation of “Les Petites Soeurs de la Sainte Famille”. The Sister let them understand that affectivity engaged the totality of human life.

MCCJ are in the three countries and so should CLM candidates. Since some months, new CLM candidates are arising in Benin. Our friends Lucien and Ulrich, (CLM candidates) have started having a training too. With the help of Brother Pascal, MCCJ, training is ongoing at St. Francis of Assisi parish of Fidzrosse. On the 8th October, they met again to receive a training from Father Francisco, MCCJ. Father shared with them the “Evangelic Counsel of Chastity in the life of a Christian”. Brother Pascal is committed to give a solid foundation to our CLM candidates. Last week, through the guidance of Sister Elisabeth, a new female candidate, Rita Kebi, from Houegbo, joined the two candidates in Benin. She will soon be inserted in the group to continue with Lucien and Ulrich the journey.

In Ghana, we had the grace to rejoice with Father Shane, MCCJ, his 25th priestly anniversary at St. Theresa of the Child Jesus’ parish of Abor. It was a great celebration attended by faithful from the three countries of the province. Bishop Gabriel, SVD (Bishop of Keta-Akatsi Diocese), Bishop Anthony (Bishop emeritus of the diocese), Father Timothy, Provincial of MCCJ in the Province, religious and lay people, all came to thank God with Father Shane for the wonders and care He took the blessed of the day through. At the end of the celebration, we took the opportunity to greet the Provincial and interacted with Brother Pascal and some other MCCJ.

Justin Nougnui, CLM coordinator.

25 years of Comboni Lay Missionaries in the mission of Mongoumba, Central Africa.

by
LMC RCA

World Mission Day was the ideal setting for this celebration.

Mgr. Jesús Ruiz Molina, a Comboni Missionary of Spanish nationality and bishop of the diocese of Mbaïki, where our mission of Mongoumba belongs, after thanking the Comboni Lay Missionaries (CLM) for their missionary work, whom he named one by one – a total of 18 during all this time – highlighted some of their characteristics:

First: A lay mission with a feminine imprint.

It happens that more lay women than lay men have come to the mission of Mongoumba. Fifteen women for three men. This mission on the part of the laity has a feminine imprint since its beginning, since it was an Italian lay missionary, Marisa Caira, who opened this mission for the laity, having dedicated more than 20 years of her life to it. This feminine presence contrasts with a local church, such as the Central African Church, whose movements and fraternities, where the majority are women, are led by men.

Second: Internationality.

The mission is not of a single nationality, but Catholic, that is to say, universal. And the CLM have given testimony that it is possible to live fraternity, even with cultural differences, under the guidance of the same faith. That which makes us different, far from being an obstacle, becomes an opportunity for mutual enrichment and growth as missionaries, because the mission encourages us not to close ourselves in, but to open ourselves to the new and to assume the challenges that living with people of other nationalities implies.

Third: A specific mission.

While remaining open to the service of all, the CLM have found some fields of action in which to carry out their specific mission: education, health, and the Aka or Pygmy people. This requires an adequate preparation in the professional field and an attentive sensitivity in dealing with a sector of the mission such as the Aka, historically marginalized and discriminated against in the national context.

Bishop Jesús Ruíz encouraged the CLM not to lose heart in the face of the trials to which we are continually subjected as missionaries. For this reason, he reminded them of the experience of the disciples of Emmaus to allow themselves to be accompanied by the Lord who, with his word and the Eucharist, opens our eyes to recognize him alive and to feel him walking among us. Jesús Ruíz, “If we forget the Eucharist, source and summit of our Christian being, our mission will be reduced to humanitarian or philanthropic work, but not that of witnesses of the Risen Lord who spread new life”.

Cristina Souza, CLM, from Portugal, accompanied by the laywomen Elia, also from Portugal, Cristina from Brazil and Anna from Poland, on behalf of the lay people who have carried out their missionary service in Mongoumba, thanked everyone for the support and trust received, as well as for their patience in approaching and understanding the people of the mission. She mentioned the commitments made by the laity in education, health, caritas and the Aka people that would not have been possible without the accompaniment of all.

Father Victor Hugo Castillo, delegate of the Comboni Missionaries in Central Africa, recognized the work of the CLM for a mission where personal interest is not enough, but faith in the Lord Jesus who has called and sent them. He invited the people to reflect on the witness of the laity who have left their country, their people and their culture to insert themselves in a very different reality, often overcoming the difficulties that this entails, as well as living fraternity with people of other nationalities. He encouraged the young people of the mission to decide to serve as lay missionaries in other countries, since they also have riches to share in other latitudes from their own culture. Finally, he encouraged the CLM to see this Jubilee year not as a point of arrival, but as a point of departure, to continue the work of the Lord who never ceases to invite his chosen ones to give it continuity.

Fr. Fernando Cortés Barbosa, Comboni Missionary