Comboni Lay Missionaries

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A Retreat that Leads us to Savor Life

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El silencio es un don de Dios, un don capaz de dar mucho fruto a los que se atreven a "perder" tiempo para ganar calidad de vida, una vida plena que sólo Jesús puede darnos. Todavía estoy saboreando todo lo que escuché, medité y sentí en el retiro de Cuaresma organizado por los Laicos Misioneros Combonianos y orientado por el Padre Horácio Rossas, MCCJ. Como hemos mencionado anteriormente, este tiempo de Cuaresma y, en particular, el tiempo que estuvimos en el retiro, es un tiempo que Dios nos ha regalado para "perder" tiempo con Jesús. Pero en el fondo, quien quiso pasar tiempo con nosotros fue el mismo Jesús. Es increíble, ¿no? Jesús quiso pasar tiempo conmigo y con todo el que se atrevió a salir a su encuentro. Alguien tan importante como Jesús, alguien que es Dios, no sólo quieren saber de mí y quiere estar conmigo, ¡es él quien quiere pasar tiempo conmigo! Se nos invitó a reflexionar sobre varios pasajes bíblicos que nos propusieron. ¡Fue intenso! ¡Fue emocionante! Como ya he mencionado, ¡la vida espiritual necesita momentos de gran silencio exterior y gran trabajo interior! Y este retiro fue muy fértil en momentos de reflexión, en momentos de encuentro personal con Dios y en momentos donde sentir Su amor puro, de una manera tan grande, como aquel momento en que dejó nuestro corazón limpio, después de que el sacramento de la reconciliación. Nada es por casualidad y seguro de que no fue un accidente empezar escuchando al comienzo del retiro, las palabras del Salmo 63: "¡Oh Dios, tu eres mi Dios mío! ¡desde el amanecer ya te estoy buscando! Mi alma tiene sed de ti". Recuerdo como reflexionamos sobre nuestra insistencia en querer hacerlo todo por nosotros mismos. ¡Los discípulos echaron sus redes y no pescaron nada! Pero cuando Jesús aparece... Ah, cuando Jesús aparece, ¡todo cambia! Después de todo, ¡es Él que hace todo posible en nuestras vidas! Qué bueno es entender que todos mis miedos, mis inseguridades, todos los obstáculos pueden ser superados si confío en Dios, un Dios que es amor y que nos ama hasta la última gota de amor. Por otro lado, fuimos invitados a meditar en qué medida permitimos que Dios nos ame... El discípulo amado puedo ser yo, ¡puedes ser tú! ¡El discípulo amado es todo aquel que permite que Dios entre en su vida y se deja amar por Él! ¡El amor de Dios es un regalo gratis! ¡Él no nos ama porque seamos guapos o porque sólo hagamos el bien! ¡Él nos ama tal como somos! ¡Él nos ama con nuestras limitaciones! ¡Él nos ama con nuestros errores! Honestamente siento que Dios me ama a pesar de todas mis debilidades y todos mis errores, me da una alegría y una paz interior que sólo puede venir de Dios... ¡Nunca nos debemos resistir al amor de Dios! ¡Debemos dejarnos amar como somos! También nos invitaron a reflexionar sobre el Cristo resucitado porque quien no hace la experiencia de Cristo resucitado todavía no dio un saltó de fe. La fe en la resurrección nos da una nueva mirada a la realidad. ¡Llegamos a ver la vida de otra manera! ¡Creo, sinceramente que este retiro me ha ayudado mucho en el crecimiento de mi fe! Yo, en realidad, me encontré con Dios varias veces este fin de semana: en las diferentes explicaciones de la palabra de Dios; en las meditaciones personales; en misa; en la reconciliación; en la contemplación de la naturaleza... Terminamos el retiro con la celebración de la Eucaristía dominical. Como la mujer samaritana, todos pedimos a Jesús: "Señor, dame de esa agua". ¡Al final todo es por Él! ¡Gracias Jesús por invitarnos a pasar este hermoso retiro contigo! ¡Eres importante para mí, Eres importante para nosotros, Laicos Misioneros Combonianos! ¡Te queremos! También en la Eucaristía del domingo, la LMC Cristina Sousa, con la familia LMC, declaró su compromiso. También ella hace parte del plan que Comboni soñó, también ella es una de las mil vidas para la misión. LMC PortugalSilence is God’s gift, a gift capable of bearing much fruit for those who dare “waste” the time in order to gain quality of life, the full life that only Jesus can give us. I am still enjoying all that I have listened to, meditated upon and felt at the Lenten retreat organized by the Comboni Lay Missionaries and led by Fr. Horácio Rossas, mccj. As we already mentioned, this time of Lent and, in particular, the time we spent on retreat, is a time that God has given us to “waste” time with Jesus. However, in the end it was Jesus himself who chose to spend time with us. Incredible, no?! Jesus chose to spend time with me and with all those who dared to come to meet him. Someone as important as Jesus, someone who is God, not only wants to know about me and stay with me, but chooses to spend time with me!

El silencio es un don de Dios, un don capaz de dar mucho fruto a los que se atreven a "perder" tiempo para ganar calidad de vida, una vida plena que sólo Jesús puede darnos. Todavía estoy saboreando todo lo que escuché, medité y sentí en el retiro de Cuaresma organizado por los Laicos Misioneros Combonianos y orientado por el Padre Horácio Rossas, MCCJ. Como hemos mencionado anteriormente, este tiempo de Cuaresma y, en particular, el tiempo que estuvimos en el retiro, es un tiempo que Dios nos ha regalado para "perder" tiempo con Jesús. Pero en el fondo, quien quiso pasar tiempo con nosotros fue el mismo Jesús. Es increíble, ¿no? Jesús quiso pasar tiempo conmigo y con todo el que se atrevió a salir a su encuentro. Alguien tan importante como Jesús, alguien que es Dios, no sólo quieren saber de mí y quiere estar conmigo, ¡es él quien quiere pasar tiempo conmigo! Se nos invitó a reflexionar sobre varios pasajes bíblicos que nos propusieron. ¡Fue intenso! ¡Fue emocionante! Como ya he mencionado, ¡la vida espiritual necesita momentos de gran silencio exterior y gran trabajo interior! Y este retiro fue muy fértil en momentos de reflexión, en momentos de encuentro personal con Dios y en momentos donde sentir Su amor puro, de una manera tan grande, como aquel momento en que dejó nuestro corazón limpio, después de que el sacramento de la reconciliación. Nada es por casualidad y seguro de que no fue un accidente empezar escuchando al comienzo del retiro, las palabras del Salmo 63: "¡Oh Dios, tu eres mi Dios mío! ¡desde el amanecer ya te estoy buscando! Mi alma tiene sed de ti". Recuerdo como reflexionamos sobre nuestra insistencia en querer hacerlo todo por nosotros mismos. ¡Los discípulos echaron sus redes y no pescaron nada! Pero cuando Jesús aparece... Ah, cuando Jesús aparece, ¡todo cambia! Después de todo, ¡es Él que hace todo posible en nuestras vidas! Qué bueno es entender que todos mis miedos, mis inseguridades, todos los obstáculos pueden ser superados si confío en Dios, un Dios que es amor y que nos ama hasta la última gota de amor. Por otro lado, fuimos invitados a meditar en qué medida permitimos que Dios nos ame... El discípulo amado puedo ser yo, ¡puedes ser tú! ¡El discípulo amado es todo aquel que permite que Dios entre en su vida y se deja amar por Él! ¡El amor de Dios es un regalo gratis! ¡Él no nos ama porque seamos guapos o porque sólo hagamos el bien! ¡Él nos ama tal como somos! ¡Él nos ama con nuestras limitaciones! ¡Él nos ama con nuestros errores! Honestamente siento que Dios me ama a pesar de todas mis debilidades y todos mis errores, me da una alegría y una paz interior que sólo puede venir de Dios... ¡Nunca nos debemos resistir al amor de Dios! ¡Debemos dejarnos amar como somos! También nos invitaron a reflexionar sobre el Cristo resucitado porque quien no hace la experiencia de Cristo resucitado todavía no dio un saltó de fe. La fe en la resurrección nos da una nueva mirada a la realidad. ¡Llegamos a ver la vida de otra manera! ¡Creo, sinceramente que este retiro me ha ayudado mucho en el crecimiento de mi fe! Yo, en realidad, me encontré con Dios varias veces este fin de semana: en las diferentes explicaciones de la palabra de Dios; en las meditaciones personales; en misa; en la reconciliación; en la contemplación de la naturaleza... Terminamos el retiro con la celebración de la Eucaristía dominical. Como la mujer samaritana, todos pedimos a Jesús: "Señor, dame de esa agua". ¡Al final todo es por Él! ¡Gracias Jesús por invitarnos a pasar este hermoso retiro contigo! ¡Eres importante para mí, Eres importante para nosotros, Laicos Misioneros Combonianos! ¡Te queremos! También en la Eucaristía del domingo, la LMC Cristina Sousa, con la familia LMC, declaró su compromiso. También ella hace parte del plan que Comboni soñó, también ella es una de las mil vidas para la misión. LMC PortugalWe were invited to reflect over various Bible passages that were proposed. It was intense! It was moving! As I have already mentioned, spiritual life needs times of interior silence and a lot of internal work! This retreat was very fertile in moments of reflection, moments of personal encounters with God and in moments where we felt his pure love in such a deep way, such as the moment when he purified our hearts, after the sacrament of reconciliation.  Nothing happens by chance and for sure it was not a coincidence when we listened, at the beginning of the retreat, to the words of Psalm 63: “O God, you are my God. From the dawn of day I look for you. My soul thirsts for you.”

I remember how we reflected on our insistence to do it all by ourselves. The disciples cast their nets and caught nothing! But after Jesus appeared… Ah, when Jesus appears, everything changes! After all, he is the one who makes everything possible in our lives! How good it is to understand that all my fears, my insecurities, my obstacles can be conquered if I trust in God, a God who is love and who loves us to the last drop.

Retiro LMC PortugalOn the other hand, we were invited to meditate in what measure we allow God to love us… The disciple who is loved could be me, or you! The disciple who is loved is anyone who allows God to enter his/her life and consents to be loved by him! The love of God is a free gift! He does not love us because we are good looking or only do good things! He loves us as we are! Loves us without limits! Loves us with our mistakes! Honestly, I feel that God loves me in spite of my weaknesses and mistakes and gives me a joy and the interior peace that can only come from God… We must never put up a resistance to the love of God! We must allow ourselves to be loved as we are!

We were also invited to reflect over the risen Christ, because those who have not yet experienced it have not yet experienced the leap of faith. Faith in the resurrection gives us a new view of reality. We come to see life in a different manner!

I sincerely believe that this retreat has helped me a lot in increasing my faith! I, in fact, met God many times during this weekend: in the various explanations of the word of God; in my personal reflections; at Mass; during reconciliation; in contemplating nature…

We ended the retreat with Sunday Mass. Together with the Samaritan woman, we asked Jesus: “Lord, give us of this water.” In the end qall is for him! Thank you, Jesus, for this invitation to spend this retreat with you! You were important to me, to us, CLM! We love you!

During our Sunday Eucharist the CLM Cristina Sousa, with the entire CLM family, made her commitment. She too is part of the plan Comboni dreamed of, she is one of the thousand lives for mission.

Retiro LMC Portugal

CLM Portugal

Annual Assembly of the Comboni Lay Missionaries, CLM, Peru.

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LMC PeruThe Comboni Lay Missionaries of Peru have had in Lima the Annual Assembly in our headquarters in Chorrillos, from February 24 to 26. It was attended by 11 active members, two postulants and two Comboni priests. Among the assistants, two were from Arequipa and two from Trujillo.
The main objective was to know and study the Conclusions Document of the CLM American Continental Meeting, held in Mexico, September 2016. We try to adapt it to our reality, and according to it, we have taken several agreements to start living it as soon as possible.
The main topics covered were: Identity of the CLM, Peruvian reference group, mission fields, mission ad gentes, communication among us and through the media, economy and other issues related to the current context of Peru.
We have seen in this meeting that we need to advance more in terms of the identity of the Comboni Lay Missionary. It was emphasized in the different dialogues that being a Comboni laity is different from being a member of another parish group. The charisma of Daniel Comboni must always be present in our activities.
In mission´s field, we agreed that it is necessary to give continuity in the places where we are present; we decided that all the CLM (Trujillo and Lima) will maintain as a priority: San Martin de Pangoa in the central jungle, Villa Ecologica in Arequipa and one in “La sierra” of Peru.
We also conclude that it is necessary for the lay Comboni to witness their missionary experience in all spheres, using social networks as means of missionary animation, diffusion and promotion of CLM vocation CML. Likewise, we are called to spread in all our activities the missionary spirit of St. Daniel Comboni.
We concluded the Assembly with the solemn Sunday mass, in which we pledged to redouble our efforts to live better our missionary charisma.

LMC Peru

CLM Peru

UP AND DOWN

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LMC RCAMbi bala ala…
Greetings to you in Sango…
Here also begins Lent… prayer time!
Listening to Combonis stories one of the problems of Central African Republic is that it does not exist! It is not in the news, it is confused with Congo or it is thought to be a LAND in Africa not well defined, nevertheless it exists and it is a LAND with clear limits and a history. When I have been told, although myself had to search for information in the atlas, because I did not know of its existence, it seems strange, but in this globalized and technological world we discover in the SKY new planets similar to EARTH, but in EARTH there are corners of HEAVEN ignored!… we do things UPSIDE DOWN we look at the SKY… and we forget the EARTH…
For two Sundays I went with Fr. Gabriele to Mass in the convent of the Benedictine Sisters where we celebrated in Sango (local language), and as we can imagine it was a party with drums, guitars, songs, as a concert, but during the Our Father’s Prayer is sung a cappella, clapping hands, almost out of place in the midst of everything else, is like a lament, a heartfelt prayer of a people dwelling in this EARTH and that it will not be forgotten by the Father who is in HEAVEN … a cry that goes from DOWN to UP… and a bread that descends from ABOVE to DOWN…
On the first Sunday of Lent, on the other hand, I went to Mass in the Cathedral of Bangui, where Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of the Jubilee of Mercy. Here, also the heavens (roof) and the earth (the ground) have the same color… almost like a sign of UNITY… RED LAND of Africa! In the cathedral there are no paintings, no gold, no picture frames, no luxuries, very simple (see photos)… the House of HEAVEN like the houses of the EARTH, built with red clay, a sign of communion between EARTH and HEAVEN…
“Today Bangui becomes the SPIRITUAL CAPITAL of the WORLD”. The Holy Year of Mercy has advanced on this Earth. A LAND that has suffered for several years from war and hatred, misunderstanding, lack of peace. Bangui becomes the SPIRITUAL CAPITAL of PRAYER for the mercy of the Father. All of us pray for peace, mercy, reconciliation, forgiveness, love. For Bangui, for the Central African Republic, for the world, for the countries that suffer the war and seek peace, and together we ask for love and peace. “Doye Sirirí!” (Pope Francis at the Opening of the Jubilee of the Mercy on November 29, 2015 in Bangui).
Even here, tomorrow is women’s day… on the grass in front of the cathedral they have placed a stands (I heard that will remain for some days), to raise awareness about the plight of women in the Central African Republic… They also ask not to be forgotten in this EARTH … where even the moon grows from UP to DOWN …
A greeting, a hug, a kiss, a prayer and a thank you … (in particular to women in their day).
LMC RCA
Simone CLM Central African Republic

María Augusta writes from Mongoumba (Central African Republic)

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Maria Augusta LMCDear CLM, friends, family …
Anna and I are fine, thank God. The fathers in Mongoumba have malaria; we hope that with the medical treatment they will recover soon.
Fr Jesus has been in Spain. The first fifteen days accompanying the Cardinal and the Imam of Bangui who were receiving the prize of “Fraternity” offered by the Comboni magazine “Mundo Negro”. He also takes advantage of the journey to make missionary animation and sensitize about the reality that we are living here. He has also spent some time with his family.
The small Merveille returned on the 13th of this month after two months of hospitalization. I was impressed because of the way she came back. She has recover the weight she had with four months 3.5 kg when she already weighed almost 5… She suffered a lot! They have also found her tuberculosis and are treating it. I hope she quickly regain the lost weight. May the Lord do what is best for her.
The stay of the CLM Irene, from Congo, was very good. She wants to return to share her life with this people for a longer period. I learned many practical things with her on health issues, with medicines and products from nature. I liked being with her, I think she’s a real comboni. On January 2, when she had to return the barge broke in the middle of the river and went down the river with four cars, stopping after two kilometers. Only after three days it returned to its place and we were able to recover the car. Irene had the plane on day 3 so a father from Mbaiki had to come for her. She managed to pass the river by canoe. That night she slept in Mbaiki and very early in day 3 she left for Bangui, getting thus to travel to Kinshasa. It was a great adventure!
From January 23 to February 15, Anna’s father and sister were with us. They came to visit her. Communication was difficult because they only speak Polish. Through gestures and with the translation of Anna we made ourselves understood. How nice it would be if there was a language that everyone may talk…
In the month of January, we sent to Mbaiki to 5 young fellows from the parish to take training and then teach children around 3-5 years old (pre-primary). If it goes well, we will open three classes in three villages.
Yesterday, I brought from Mbaiki 3 couples, responsible for the chapels, with their 8 smaller children, they leave everything… The Lord will reward them!
We are helping a pygmy woman who has breast cancer. We took her to Bangui, stayed in the hospital for two months, where they did many tests and finally brought her to Mongoumba worse than she was. Every day he comes to eat with the Pygmy students who come to school. We also took the time to heal the breast. We give her tea that she says is helping her. Only a miracle can save her, pray for her, please. May Mary intercede for her along with her son Jesus!
For two months I have not left Mongoumba. Traveling tires me a lot because the roads are in very bad condition, full of bumps.
I wish all the laity and the family a good Lent and a holy conversion.

Maria Augusta LMC
Always united in prayer.
A Missionary Embrace.
Maria Augusta. CLM in Mongoumba.

Hymn for the 150th anniversary of the Foundation of the Comboni Institute

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LOGO 150 aniversario MCCJThe Comboni missionaries of South Sudan have composed a Hymn for the 150th anniversary (1867-2017) of the Foundation of Comboni Institute. “It is a simple sign of celebration from our land – said Fr. Guido Oliana, one of the principal promoters of the initiative –. We have recorded it with our poor means. Maybe the result could be better, but it has an original and rustic South Sudanese touch and flavour. A group of seminarians of the Major Seminary of Juba and a Comboni Sister and her friend sing it.” You’ll find the “song” in the attachment and on the Comboni Website.

WE ARE CALLED TO GO AND PREACH

We are called to go and preach the joy of the Gospel.
The pierced Heart of Jesus kindles us in love.
We are called to go and preach the joy of the Gospel.
The pierced Heart of Jesus kindles us in love.

1. We are moved by Saint Comboni’s spirit
to be a cenacle of prayerful apostles.
We are born from Jesus’ pierced heart,
and enkindled by his tender love,
and inspired by his divine Spirit,
to go and preach his Gospel of joy

2. We are called Comboni Missionaries
of the Heart of Jesus Christ the Lord.
This indeed is our inspiration,
and our pride, our cross, and our glory.
We are told to be holy and capable,
well prepared to give our life for Christ.

3. We are called to contemplate the cross
so as to know how God has loved the world.
We are moved to reach out to people
and proclaim the power of the Gospel
that frees people from any evil spirit
and empowers them as children of God.