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The celebration of the 10th October in Ghana

21 October, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

For the first time, we celebrated as lay group the Solemnity of our Founder. We took the opportunity to talk about the founder, ourselves and the process of formation.

Everything started on Wednesday, the 7^th of October. Mr Adze Daniel, an old Comboni student, presented the life of Comboni. He talked about his birth, his parents, his vocation and mission. The presentation was so seducing that the workers, the youth and children around were filled with admiration towards the zeal of Comboni.

On the second day, the 8^th, Rev. Fr Joseph Rabbiosi, MCCJ, presented the Comboni Family. He presented the four branches, the Priest and Brothers, the Comboni Sisters, the Seculars and the Comboni Lay Missionaries. He emphasized a little upon the history of the male Congregation, the MCCJ, how it has started and how and when they came to the Province Togo-Ghana-Benin and what they are doing.

On the third day, the 9^th, Mr Justin Nougnui talked about the formation process for the MCCJ priest and clm. He insisted on the need of having a spiritual director, the disposition of community life, the disposition to witness the good news to the poor and vulnerable for both MCCJ and CLM; the academic performance so necessary to journey towards priesthood and the professionalism necessary for the CLM. The CLM can be married or single and we do not make any official vows. To a question, he explained clearly that some of the works we do cannot free us to give ourselves totally for the proclamation of the Good News and to fulfill what is required for a CLM candidate. Nevertheless, such workers can be friends of CLM and support them financially for achieving their goals.

The 10^th was a diocesan programme for priestly ordination. So the 10^th Mass was celebrated on Sunday 11^th to thank the Lord for giving us a so committed person in the name of Daniel Comboni who did not spare any effort to work for the regeneration of Africa. We prayed for the Comboni Family and especially for the CLM in our province that the Lord may strengthen them and provide them with means to carry out their activities.

Justin Nougnui, coordinator.

Kingdom of God, Myth or Reality?!

20 October, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

“… God reveals to man the immeasurable riches of his being, his power, his goodness.

Creation and Revelation are their language…”

(Paul VI)

Love is not a myth!

Then the kingdom of God is not a myth! Because talking about love is talking about God! His Kingdom is not a space, a place, a hierarchy system. He is within us, like love! We are (all) a particle of His Kingdom.

We have an obligation to care, to feed it; Each with their responsibility and form, but always with lots of privacy! We are all different, it is true! But diversity is the wealth that God gives us to know and let us been known!

It is in this relationship of exchange that God is present, revealing, making us feel the unconditional love that makes us believe in our ability to grow with him and for him; That love that melts and transforms us into a beautiful unit, transcendent that makes us see in the other his face!

A unique love, great, merciful, that provokes us constantly!

However, it is necessary and essential that this Love is installed in our guts and sprout in our hearts through the words, thoughts, actions and ambitions to be active particles and of his kingdom!

For the kingdom is real, the love that is not always true! (The correct question would be: Love: Myth or Reality?!

Cristina Sousa (Portugal)

It’s not power but service

17 October, 2015 by Antonio Villarino

A comentary on Mk 10, 35-45 (XXIX Sunday O. T.; October 18th 2015)

With the help of Mark, we follow the steps of Jesus already approaching Jerusalem. On the way, as members of Jesus’s group of disciples, we take part in an interesting dialogue between Jesus, the sons of the Zebedee and their mother about power and service. On the other side, today we celebrate the International Day for Missions, which is giving us a special reading perspective: the missionary service that all disciples of Jesus are called to do in favour of humanity.
Let us reflect briefly on this story of the sons of the Zebedee and their mother:

– They want to occupy the most important places on the project of Jesus. And who doesn’t? We all wish to be considered as important, to be applauded, and to have authority… And on my view, that’s all right, that’s part of our nature and, surely, a certain ambition is positive for us and the community. What we have to do is to transform that need to be important into a positive energy that pushes us to do good and to do it well.

– They seem unconscious of what that really implies. On one side, they do not know well the project of Jesus, which consists in giving life to the poor an sinners; and on the other, they are not aware of the sacrifices that their wish is leading them to.

-Jesus takes the opportunity to make them progress in their discipleship. Starting from their request and sincerity, Jesus helps them to grow in their awareness and generosity. To be disciple is not to a matter of occupying the first or the last places. It’s a matter of being ready to “drink the chalice”, that is, to assume a service with all the consequences: good and bad, glad and not so glad. It may happen that people recognize your service, but it may happen the contrary and you have to be ready for it, as Jesus was.

-In any case, they and the other disciples learn that in Jesus’ kingdom authority is not power but service. The service of authority (necessary in the family or in the community) is not to be considered as a right to impose one’s views or privileges over the others, but a service to people who are equal to those in authority. Who should have the command over a city, a family, a community? The one who is ready to serve better.

All of us have authority in one or another way. So, once we red this Word as disciples, we are reminded that we are called to do it in Jesus’ style: being servers, not dictators. And this is precisely the missionary vocation of the Church: to serve Humanity with the Word of Truth and Actions of love, made concrete in actions of help to any one in need: charitable help, schools, health centres, brotherly communities… Celebrating the Eucharist, we pray to the Holy Spirit to enable us to be true disciples of Jesus by way of serving our spouses, our brothers and sisters, our neighbours, the members of our community, especially the most needed.
P. Antonio Villarino
Roma

German CLM Group Meeting in Nuremberg, 9th to 11th October 2015

14 October, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

It was nice to start the Comboni Day, on 10 October, with the celebration together with the Comboni Missionaries of the house. After that we worked in the encyclical “Laudato Si” of Pope Francisco. Pia Schildmair explained the theological basis of the document. Steffen Riedel gave us, from the point of view of a technical advisor for energy, the good news that we can meet the challenges of our land and preserve it in the broad sense. Of course, there was a discussion about it. In addition to the encyclical we perform the program for 2016 and have taken the first steps to participate in the 100. Katholikentag in Leipzig, where the Comboni Family from Germany wants to present. On Sunday Mass in the community of Kunigunda we celebrate again St. Daniel Comboni. The Provincial, Father Karl, spoke of the charism of Daniel and the main points of the General Chapter in Rome. The CLM enriched the mass with songs and texts of the encyclical “Laudato Si”.

CLM Germany

Italian National CLM Assembly. Verona 2015

11 October, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

From the 18^th to the 20^th of September took place in Verona, hosted by the Comboni sisters, the third national assembly of the Italian CLM.

We discussed mainly about the places and the times the CLM are called to witness their vocation to be missionaries according to the charisma of St. Daniel Comboni. The second important aim was to meet each other and to share the experiences, the problems and the joys that every group faces during its daily commitments in its own territory.

We were warmly welcome by the Comboni sisters. There were many different groups coming from all over the Country: Venegono Superiore, Milano, Padova, Verona, Bologna, Firenze, Palermo, Agrigento and Bari. There were also other “special guests”: the coordinator of the CLM international committee Alberto de la Portilla, the referent for the Italian MCCJ province Fr. Massimo Robol, the MCCJ in charge for the missionary animation of the Italian province Fr. Giorgio Padovan and others Comboni fathers and sisters.

The first positive aspect was the high number of people who attended the assembly. We were about 90 people and many of these were new faces and, moreover, they were young. This means that the charisma of Comboni still fascinates and appeals people of different ages, different places and with a very different background.

Friday afternoon was dedicated for welcoming the participants; after a short official welcome from the national secretary and the special guests, we met for a starting prayer. Thanks to some songs and symbols we entered in the theme of the meeting. After dinner, we had a special game so that we could know better each other. During Saturday, we developed the main theme of the assembly: after a short prayer, we met Maria Soave Buscemi who guided us explaining some verses from the Bible. These explanations helped us to read deeply and with a new point of view the scriptures. During the afternoon, we organized four workshops in order to deep four different aspects of our Charisma: missionary animation, immigration, new styles for living, Justice and Peace. We divided the big group in four smaller groups. Inside the group, the leader gave some good information about the theme and later there was the opportunity for sharing. Though it was not so easy, the workshop allowed us to share some good ideas that each and every group can apply to its own reality following some common criterion. In the evening, we could luckily see a show presented by a group of youth coming from Mali.

On Sunday, after the morning prayer, we met all together and the four different groups reported to the others what came out during the discussions of the previous day. After this, we celebrated together the Holy Mass. During the celebration, we have the opportunity for “sending” officially Barbara and call upon her the protection of the Holy Spirit. Barbara is a CLM who is preparing for leaving in August 2016 for three years in Mozambique. After the Celebration, Federico (Italian representative in the European committee) and Alberto de la Portilla presented the European meeting of August 2016 that will take place in Portugal.

It was very important during the assembly, to hear from the voice of many different MCCJ that they have the need and the will to cooperate more with the lay. We were asked to take part in some national committee and give our support to Nigrizia (the main national magazine of the Comboni family).

At the end of the assembly was very clear that it is not so easy to find the way and the time for living our missionary charisma but the only possibility we have to achieve this goal is to build a net in order to keep in contact and support each other.

CLM Italy