Comboni Lay Missionaries

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Beyond the time

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Misionera en UgandaExactly a year ago I was still in Poland, now I am in St. Jude Children’s Home but not only.
Since my return to Gulu has not passed another year yet but everything looks different than it was before. Just like everyone thinks the return is easier- familiar place, people, culture. Despite this, I am still learning something new. This is also a result of changes in my mission- I’m not only in the orphanage but also in the school running by St. Monica community, in the prison and also in the house for our older boys.

The area of ​​our missionary service has expanded considerably, not only mine but also Asia’s and Carmen’s – each of us has found new places of commitment which enriches our community in sharing and experiencing mission.

As I mentioned above, besides my daily activities with children in St. Jude (the redeemining the level of education, motivational support and self-esteem of children, feeding and caring for children with disabilities, having fun and praying together with young girls) I have engaged in other projects as well.

St. Monica is a place running by one Community of Sisters. They have many different projects-activities like School of Basic Literacy for Adult Women, Tailoring school, Clinic and Kindergarten. At this Kindergarten, twice a week, I have classes with children who have learning difficulties. Our classes take place in the classroom where I try to show the child, within a half hour (classes are held individually) that he is able to write, count or answer questions. However, the most important is to make the child feel accepted and that someone believes in him. Unfortunately, the biggest problem among these children is very low self-esteem, they are timid and they do not feel like special. They come from many families where everyone is the same and if you are slower in learning or writing, it means you are worse, stupid.

The another place is a prison where I’ve already spent two weeks together with a prayer group celebrating Mass or sharing the Gospel with the prisoners – so far this is the beginning, so I am still new in this but I am so glad I can be there. I also hope to go to the prisoners-women but it will start after Easter.
The boys’ home is the part of St. Jude but this is separated house situated about 2 km from the Orphanage. On Saturday afternoons, I go there to read with them the Gospel of coming Sunday, to talk about their problems, help with study. For example, one boy is in P.3 class (Primary School) but still has problem with writing his name, concentration or memorization – but this is not due to his laziness. His difficulty of acquiring the knowledge is caused by the boy’s mother who was drinking alcohol during pregnancy. Unfortunately, alcoholic fetal syndrome (FAS) and AIDS (drugs are very strong and have side effects) have a great impact on their ability and functioning in the life and also in school.
Time goes by very fast, each day is similar but events, faces, other situations are different. Everything teaches something – mainly about myself. I am grateful to God for the gift of this vocation, sometimes difficult but surely full of His love and power. Because no one of us would do anything if it were not His will.

For this extraordinary time of Holy Week I wish all of us moments of silence and desert – that in our organized daily life we ​​find time for Him and on the Day of Resurrection let our souls be filled with Faith, Hope, and Love.

Misionera en Uganda

Ewa Maziarz, Polish CLM in Uganda

Missionary Exhibit and Meeting in Guatemala

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LMC Guatemala“Saints and able, making common cause with the poor and the needy” (St. Daniel Comboni)

We, the CLM of the PCA in Guatemala want to let you know that on the Saturday, April 1, organized a mission exhibit and a meeting at Casa Comboni, Guatemala. We joined with the missionaries of the parish of St. Catherine of Alexandria, with whom, since February 2016, we are cooperating in their missionary formation.

The parish is St. Catherine of Alexandria is in Santa Catarina Pinula, a municipality of the department of Guatemala City, located about 10 miles from the capital.

In some areas, this population is subjected to extreme poverty and crime because of the gangs, It is one of the “red Zones” of the city.

LMC GuatemalaThe objective of our activity was to invite the Comboni Missionaries living in Guatemala city so that their two communities, the CLM and the “missionaries of Catherine (as we call them with affection)would share with words and through visual aids, some of the experiences of 2016 and the missionary projects we have in store for 2017.

We enjoyed the presence of the Comboni Missionaries Fr. Pasquale Miniero, Fr. Carlos Rodríguez, Fr. Antonio Maria Bruyel, Fr. Vicente Clemente and, of course, our moderator Bro. Humberto Rua. The one who thought up this event was also present: Fr. Walter Santizo, a Guatemalan diocesan priest and the pastor of St. Catherine of Alexandria.

At the end we shared a delicious lunch.

The basic idea by which the CLM of the PCA in Guatemala started this year is” “Saints and able united in a common cause to help the poorest and most needed.” This is how St. Daniel Comboni wants his missionaries to be.

We trust in Providence and entrust ourselves to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, just as St. Daniel Comboni taught us to do. God always walks ahead of us, shedding light on the path leading to the most needy.

CLM Guatemala

Third Formation Meeting of the FEC – Mission, Cultures, and Religions

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Curso fec PortugalThe third formation session of the Faith and Cooperation Foundation (FEC) on the topic of Mission, Cultures and Religions took place on March 11-12. This time it was held at the Capuchins’ house in Fatima. The moderator was Bro. Vítor Lameiras, a member of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God.

We can only confront our culture when we know another.

Saturday began with the theme of inculturation, as a way to approach. The speaker gave a brief explanation of the concept of inculturation. He stressed that it presupposes the ability of starting a dialogue with other cultures rather than imposing our own. It is strictly connected to the values of Christian faith and to its adaptation in a different cultural context.

The afternoon program followed a shared meal. We spoke of mission and culture in dialogue. Here we had the opportunity to reflect on the many pre-conceived ideas that can exist concerning other cultures and, above all, on the Gospel values that are evident across the world and in all cultures, as being the same. They are not “solely Christian” values, but rather universal. And what are these Gospel values? They are the values that allow a dialogue between cultures: first of all love (“to love to the point of loving the enemy and give one’s life”), tolerance, humility, spirituality, giving, acceptance, sacrifice, trust, faith, fidelity, the capacity of active listening, opening to those who are “different,” detachment. We are called to sow, not to reap.

Knowing that mission does not exist as a mechanism of escape and flight, this requires great integrity on our part, a heart open to what is new, total availability of our soul, it also requires honesty and humility, values deeply rooted in a greater commandment: “Love one another as I have loved you.” The only certainty that accompanies us is the certainty of love, gratuitous love, as the principal value that will give life to mission.

Following, we saw a video on the mission experience of Catarina Lopes of the FEC team of East-Timor. From this video, we are left with the image of a great missionary. Let us be honest: in all the segments of formation Catalina surprises us and makes us think of something else, of her missionary experience and the fruits that came of it. From the video, we were left with some sentences that she was writing in her diary during her mission there and that she shared with us:

Here (in East-Timor) we cry over death because we celebrate life.”

“Our job is to sow, not to reap.”

“I thought that I was going to save the world (…) I discovered that the world saved me.”

Following this moving video, we began to work: we started with a hands on activity “face to face. Which means that Bro Victor challenged us to share our values as a couple by using our hands. This turned out to be an interesting exercise of knowing the other and of the other’s way of making oneself known through the hands. First of all, it requires an attitude of active listening devoid of judgment of the other. At the end, each one told the group what the partner had said both in words and with the hands. We came to the conclusion that both the hands and the way we relate to the world speak volumes about ourselves and we need to look at the other without prejudice. This is something that is certainly necessary when we try to relate to other cultures, in inculturation, when we try to enter another culture.

Bro Victor also proposed another group activity. There was a group representing a specific Portuguese population with specific needs, and another representing missionaries. The objective was that the group with specific needs would alert the group of missionaries. Then the missionary group had to identify their abilities/capabilities/gifts, how the needs could be answered, the characteristics of that population (rhythm of life, culture, traditions, customs, education, etc. and, secondly, together with the asking group, come up with a plan of action/a mission with objectives, a methodology and a time line. Several conclusions emerged from this activity, namely: difficulties in communication between the two groups and within each group, the importance of humility in order to learn how to say “I can’t do it.”

In the evening we listened to the missionary testimony of Daniela Pereira of the Hospitaller Youth, who shared her missionary experience of a year in Mozambique. The experience marked her for life, as it was reflected in her eyes and in the frailty of her voice.  Saturday ended with prayer in the Shrine of Fatima. Thus, together with Mary, we had the opportunity to reflect over all that we had heard and to offer her the next day.

On Sunday we began with group work, just as on Saturday: here again we had two groups – a group of missionaries getting ready for mission from which four candidates were picked to go; the other group picked to represent an African people of their choice. The “African” group picked the Democratic Republic of Congo, identifying the problems of child exploitation, and the health situation. While presenting the problems to the missionary “candidates,” they in turn introduced themselves with their motivations/talents/gifts. It was a very active exercise that allowed us, among other things, to realize the difficulties involved in formation, namely: difficulties in facing the real needs of the country, since we do not know many of the specifics of the other culture. There may be many candidates, but not everyone can go. This is a difficult moment in formation: to accept our own frailty, of being incomplete, on a journey, unable and that it is not all bad. When we lose the ability to ask questions, we lose the capacity to live fully the gift of life.

Those who love, make mistakes

The meeting ended in the best of ways, with the celebration of the Eucharist in the Shrine of Fatima.

Curso fec Portugal

By Carolina Fiúza y Neuza Francisco.

CLM of Portugal

 

The miracle of Blessing

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LMC Awassa EtiopiaIn the Mother Teresa Home where I work, most patients stay for only a few weeks – months, just for treatment. However, there is also a small group of people for whom the center is home. They are mainly people with intellectual disabilities who do not have any relatives, who were found by the sisters on the street. Among them is Bereket (which means Blessing) – man with Down syndrome. He has been living here for many years, so since I came to Awassa I have been meeting him almost every day – either at the center or somewhere in the street when he comes back from school or in a church where he serves the Mass… Every time he greets me, usually with a wide smile and great joy, he likes to talk about various things, such a cool moment for me was when once he came and said he’d like to show me something… He led me into the room, opened the cabinet and proudly presented a collection of stickers with football players 🙂 Such a small thing, but for me it was very touching that he wanted to share something important to him, such a sign of friendship.

But recently, Bereket has started to get seriously ill. One day when I saw himself alone in the room and feeling a little better, I came with the Picture Bible and together we started to read and tell biblical stories, it was so beautiful! His faith in God, so simple and so strong! And it seemed to me that he was in quite good health, that he was getting back to strength … But when I returned to the center the next day, he was unconscious, with a face full of bruises, with people gathered around him in prayer. It turned out that he had epilepsy all night (for the first time in his life), fell out of bed and got some wounds and bruises. For following few days, his condition worsened, epileptic attacks were repeated, he did not want to eat or drink anything, the sisters tried their best to help him, but the drugs did not work … The priest came and gave him the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. It seemed like he was going to die soon… It was very difficult time, filled with prayer and hope. And I was so surprised when, after coming back from Addis, where I was staying over the weekend, Bereket greeted me at the gate! Except the bruises on his face, he was looking totally healthy! Miracle! And when we started talking, the first thing he showed in the image of Merciful Jesus and said – “thanks to him I’m healthy! After the priest came with Holy Communion, I felt much better.” Such strong testimony of God’s power and power of prayer. And then when we continued the conversation he asked when there will be the Way of the Cross from Awassa to Gethsemane (a retreat center located about 7 km outside the city), because he is already looking forward to go there. Hearing it from a man who was barely alive a few days earlier … Amazing … Glory to the Lord that works such miracles! And I’m so thankful for the testimony of Bereket’s faith, which is also very strengthening for my own faith.

Madzia Plekan. CLM Awassa (Ethiopia)

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