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“Do not forget me”

6 June, 2015 by Antonio Villarino

A commentary on Mk 14, 12-16,22-26: Corpus Christi solemnity, June 7th
The Corpus Christi solemnity -celebrated on Thursday in some places and on Sunday in others- is an excellent occasion to reflect and become aware of this great Christian reality. After having read the piece of Mark’s Gospel that the liturgy offers us today, I share with you three points of meditation:

1) To remember a loved person
As we grow in age, we tend to keep a set of “things” that remind us of people we love specially. We gather a set of memories that usually “materialize” (take “flesh”) in pictures or other objects that acquire for us a meaning and a value that go far beyond its physical value. It happens to me, for example, with my father’s cap; after his death I kept it as a very special and meaningful object. I look at it, I handle it on my hands, I cover my head with it… and all this makes me feel in communion with my father.
It occurs to me that something similar happened to the disciples after that last supper, when Jesus, before confronting his death, ate with them the Passover meal, broke the bread (real image of his broken body), passed the cup of wine (image of his split blood) and said words that sounded more or less like these: “Do not forget me, remain united, love each other, go on with the work of the Kingdom. I am with you to the end of the ages”. The disciple took seriously those gestures and words, as a testament of love, and kept them alive, generation after generation, up to our days. Now we are part of that sacred faithfulness to the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
The Eucharistic celebration is not a “heavy duty”, a clerical affair, a magic rite or any other similar false appreciation. To celebrate the Eucharist is to be in communion with our Friend, Brother and Master Jesus and, in Him, enter in communion with the Father, enjoy His presence and renew the certainty of His love that nourishes us and pushes us to love and serve others, specially the most abandoned.

2) The best part is still to come
Jesus’ last supper is part of the Israel’s secular tradition. For Jews it was quite clear that God has acted in their history: liberating them from slavery, supporting them in the difficult crossing of the dessert, helping them to overcome the exile… All this was celebrated –and continuous to be celebrated– every year with the Pascal meal, as a feast of memory and hope. If God was with them in the past, his help will be there also in the future.
For us the Eucharistic celebration moves on the same lines: celebrating the memory of Jesus we renew our hope (in spite of our sins and failures) and our engagement for the future: Jesus was with us in the past, but He is with us now and He will always be in the future. In a sense, as we celebrate the Eucharist, we are sure that the best of our live is still to come; that, every day that passes by, we are approaching the Kingdom of God more and more.

3) The room in the upper floor
To celebrate the Passover, Jesus needed a room in the upper floor… These words make me remember when Joseph was looking for a room in Bethlehem where Mary could give birth to his Divine Son… It seems that God cannot be born in our humanity, cannot be transformed into “bread and wine” without a place ready to welcome Him. As a matter of fact, it is quite difficult for a community to gather without a place for it (under a three, in a family’s living room, in a rural church or a cathedral), but , more than a physical place, God needs a human heart, a person, an open community, a family, a people… ready to welcome Him and accept Him. Only in that way, the miracle of His presence can happen. Am I this open person, where God can come and renew His Alliance with me and humanity?

Fr. Antonio Villarino
Roma

[Portugal] We live the call to mission as Christians moved by faith and not by work

3 June, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

On Friday May 22, we had another meeting of the CLM candidates in Viseu. The theme of this training unit was Laity in the Church – a lay and missionary spirituality presented by Carlos Barros.

We started watching a movie that touched me very much “Selma march of freedom” which chronicles the struggle that Martin Luther King had to fight to grant the right to vote for every person, which ends with an epic march from Selma City to Montgomery, Alabama, and prompted President Lyndon B. Johnson to sign the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

On Saturday Carlos told us of spirituality, has talked a lot, but some of the phrases that marked me were “spirituality is a path to God,” “is a love relationship with Christ,” which is “life fed by Christ”. Christian spirituality is not just for some, it is a lifestyle…

We had the opportunity to reflect on the identity of the CLM in Articles 4 and 5 of the directory in which they asked us to think of some questions:

How do I evaluate my spirituality in the light of these Articles of the CLM directory?
Through this training process, have I gained awareness about some aspects contained in these articles?
Are there any points in these articles where I feel that I have not yet succeeded? What are they? Why?
Do you think that someday you will guide your life by the principles contained in these articles?

During the Saturday morning, we were still surprised to receive the visit of Palmira Pinheiro – Comboni Missionary Secular, newcomer of the mission; she shared some of her missionary life.

After the meal, which was nice, and with reinforced powers, it was time to return to work. Carlos continued talking about spirituality, and more specifically Lay Spirituality where we discussed the role of the laity in the Church and, indeed, following Jesus is “a demanding and challenging task”. We must take an active role, being available to serve and not to be served. We must be radical to assume “the call to live the mission as Christians moved by faith and not by work”.

During the evening prayer we reflect on “Go you also into the vineyard,” where Jesus invites us to be part of his vineyard, not just religious, but all the faithful laity, all the baptized, because we are united by Baptism. Each of us is part of the Church, when someone is not present, the church is poorer.

Jesus also invites us to live a different life as Lay, he invites us to live detached from material goods, family ties (which is for me the most difficult to think or imagine …) and have the courage to go … not be afraid to say “Yes Father, I am here…”.

In the evening we received the testimony of Fr. Ginno Pastor in Skype (new technologies do wonders like this) where we hear his mission experience, always in Mozambique, where it showed that Fr. Ginno talked about it with love. His smile when talking about the mission, his words radiated love for others, an example of which was poor with the poor, someone who was certainly one of them while living in the mission… The phrase that touched me more of his testimony was “the smile of the other pays for everything 🙂 .”

The night dragged on because it was a great night, Pentecost, where we had a small vigil where each of us was able to share what is “being Church” writing in a bunch of grapes when we feel as Church…” I am church when…”.

On Sunday morning we participate in the Eucharist with the community of Viseu, and was nice to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit … it was a very special moment. I felt again the desire to be radical, to be different and do what I do by faith and not by obligation, as someone said, “If it is inside and not out of obligation this reflected”. It is necessary to believe in the words of Pope John Paul II: “Christ takes nothing away, only gives” and is with the certainty of this love for us, which I continued commitment as a Christian… and I hope every day to say the Lord “Here am I…”.

Andreia Martins (CLM candidate)

Churches and mining in Latin America

2 June, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

A video of outcry and hope: open-pit mega mines, deforestation, eviction of families and whole communities. Indigenous peoples and traditional communities threatened by those interested in mining their territories. Pollution of the water, the land, and the air. Mining transportation channels impact hundreds of communities living along the pipelines or railways that export the vast majority of our minerals. Conflicts and protests, illegal surveillance and criminalization of leaders. Death and persecution of people, families, and entire communities.

Despite all of this, mining in Latin America continues to increase. National governments tied to the interests of big business have proven themselves to be allied with the multinational mining corporations—putting the country’s intelligence systems and security forces at their service and relaxing legislation to facilitate the expansion of these projects.

A number of affected communities are supported, advised, and defended by the churches, which have taken courageous positions in a variety of contexts. Recently they have been able to denounce these violations in a hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Christian leaders in Latin America are coming together to search for alternatives to the aggressions of mining.

“Churches and Mining” is a clamor of survival, resistance, and hope; the clamor of the communities, the clamor of life that will not let itself be uprooted.

http://youtu.be/uEKLw3x41qY

Churches and Mining is an ecumenical group of lay and religious women and men, committed to defending communities affected by mining in the different countries of the continent. Since 2013 the group has brought affected communities together amongst themselves, with the hierarchy of the churches that want and are able to support them, and with international human rights institutions.
[iglesiasymineria@gmail.com]

Aspirants CLM in Ghana meditating on faith

1 June, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

This 9^th May 2015, at our Centre, we reflected upon Faith through the help of our Chaplain. In fact, this meditation is the continuation of the topic we have started at our last meeting. The Rev. Fr shared with us some authors view and experience about Faith.

According to Thomas Merton:” Ultimately, faith is the only key to the universe. The final meaning of human existence and the answer to the questions on which all our happiness depends cannot be found in any other way.” For another author, faith is related to love and the two find their meaning in God. “For faith, says St Ignatius of Antioch, is the beginning and the end is love and God is the two of them brought into unity. After these come whatever else make up a Christian gentleman.” Faith says Father is not against reason. He supported that view quoting Armiger Barclay and Blaise Pascal. The early one said:” People only think a thing’s worth believing if it’s hard to believe.” The latter one declared that: ”Faith declares what the senses do not see but not the contrary of what they see. It is above them not contrary to them.” Father insisted on faith as a gift from God. We are capable of nothing, said Soren Kiekegaard, it is God that gives us everything. He is the one who gives us faith. Faith determines what we are and we are what is our faith says a Hindu proverb.

After this time of reflection and meditation, we were introduced to some lay people from Spain. They belong to an Association called Youcanyolé. They are Christian motivated by their faith which witness the Good News to the poor through their work. Indeed, they did marvelous works here at In My Father’s House especially at Lume where IMFH is having a clinic. Our encounter with them is to arouse our collaboration. They can constitute a link between us and the CLM group in Spain. We can also gain some of them to join our International Movement. After the short encounter with them, we moved forward. We got the feedback of our two friends that had some accidents. We also now have a Bank Account for our group. We decided of having the coming meeting on the 13^th June at Dadome, an out station of Mafi-Kumase where our chaplain resides. After this, we have our community meal.

Justin Nougnui, coordinator.

The mountain and the name of God

29 May, 2015 by Antonio Villarino

A commentary on Matth 28, 16-20: Holy Trinity Sunday, May 31, 2105

This Sunday dedicated to the Holy Trinity is, somehow, the highest point in our liturgical year. The disciple missionary, who tries to identify himself with Jesus Christ, receives today, in adoration and contemplation, a proposal to approach the mystery of God, a reality that is close to his most intimate identity (S. Agustin), but at the same time overrides every frontier and every human dimension. The Church offers today a reading of the last verses of Mathew’s gospel, where mention is made of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Let us reflect a bit on a few concepts that we can find in these last verses of Matthew:

1) To go up the mountain
Jesus meets his disciples on a mountain, in Galilee. It may seem an irrelevant geographical note, but I do not think so. In a sense, all of us are marked by geography. At least, on my side, I must say that some mountains have left a definitive mark in my personal life. I remember, for example, the Sinai majestic pics: there I could understand quite easily how Moses and Elia could feel the extraordinary presence of God (Cfr Ex 19, 20; 1 Kings 19, 8); I remember also the fantastic Machu Pichu in Peru, where I had de impression of being at the centre of our Planet and to enter into communion with the ancient Peruvians… In fact, for many religions and cultures mountains are a place of God’s revelation (theophany). And that can be easily understood: mountains help us to come out of ourselves, to overcome routine and superficiality, looking for the highest level of our personal conscience. And it’s precisely there, in the highest level of our conscience, that appears as a presence that cannot be expressed in words, but it’s clearly perceived as very real and authentic.
Jesus, on his side, used to go quite often to the mountain, alone or with the disciples, reaching, as the son of Mary, the highest level of conscience and communion with the Infinite Love; such an experience has become an extraordinary gift also for us, his disciples and brethren. Following his steps, we need also to climb continuously the mountain of our conscience, with the help of a place which invites us to overcome routine, noise and superficiality.

2) Adoration and doubt
Confronted with Jesus, identified “on the mountain” as the Son of God, the disciples experience a double movement of adoration and doubt. On one side, they feel the need to prostrate themselves and acknowledge the Divine presence in the Master and Friend, because only in adoration we can approach the mystery of God; word do not help and even sometimes they may sound almost like a “blasphemy”, in the sense that no words can contain that reality that one can just glimpse from our deepest conscience. That’s why, together with a sense of joy and adoration, the disciples experience also uneasiness and doubt: they are quite aware that they cannot reach to God and that all or words and concepts are limited and , in a sense, not completely truthful. All our concepts about God are inadequate and must be continuously corrected, with the help of the doubt, which lead us not to “sit” over what we have understood and to be ever open to new insights. God is awaiting us always in front of us on the way of history.

3) The name of God
Different people, cultures and religions, “grope about” for the mystery of God, giving Him different names according their own cultural experience. Israel, on his side, decided rather not to pronounce God’s name, because really no human being can “name” God. When somebody gives a name to something or somebody, somehow, he takes possession and manipulates the “named” object. But God cannot be possessed or manipulated. Nor even Jesus gives a name to God; what he does is to reveal his relationship with God as his Father and his Spirit. And He commands his disciple to go to the world and baptize “in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit”. When we are baptized, following this mandate, we do not name God, but we are consecrated to become members of that divine “family”. We –and the whole humanity- are called and consecrated to be in communion with this divine mystery of relationships and love.

4) God-communion
The most important religions have reached the idea of a unique God and this is an important step in the history of mankind. But Jesus, from the “mountain” of his human conscience, teaches us that God is unique, but not “single”; not “lonely”, but communitarian. In the same way, we, human beings, created on God’s image, are made to live in communion. None of us is complete; we need to be completed by others before reaching the image of God: Father-Son-Spirit. When somebody denies a member of the community is denying God. To adore God means to welcome Him/Her in the sanctuary of the conscience and, at the same time, in the concrete reality of every human being, in its marvellous singularity and diversity.

Fr. Antonio Villarino
Roma