Comboni Family – Page 22 – Comboni Lay Missionaries

Feast of Saint Daniel Comboni: 10 October 2022

10 October, 2022 by Alberto de la Portilla

“I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him bears much fruit” (Jn 15,5).

“Have courage; have courage in this difficult hour, and even more for the future.
Do not desist, never give up. Face without fear whatever storm comes.
Do not be afraid. I die but my work will not die”
(The last words of St Daniel Comboni pronounced shortly before dying on 10 October 1881)

Dear Confreres,
Happy Feast Day of our Father and Founder Saint Daniel Comboni! Fraternal greetings to you all, wherever you may be, for the celebration of this feast which is always a fount of grace, of blessing and also an opportunity to return to the source of our existential consecration according to the Comboni charism.

On 10 October 1881, like “the grain of wheat fallen on the ground …”, our Founder Father died in the land of the Sudan, but that “good seed” has sprouted and even today continues to bear much fruit! On this recurrence of his and our feast day, we cannot fail to remember the words of Father Francesco Oliboni, on 26 March 1858: “But you must not be despondent, do not turn aside from your goal, continue the work you have begun; and, even if only one of you should remain, let him never give up hope or withdraw”. These words, as we well know, have brought courage to a whole generation of missionaries to Africa, among them Comboni; and these are the same words that inspired the plea our Father and Founder made to his missionaries shortly before his death: he asks us “to be faithful to the mission”. It is this special grace of fidelity to the mission that we wish today to ask of God and of Mary, the Mother of Nigrizia.

The context of the feast of Comboni this year 2022 brings with it much grace and blessing. First of all, almost three months after the celebration of the XIX General Chapter of our Institute, today, we have officially published the Acts of the Chapter. On November 20, exactly in forty days, the beatification of Fr. Giuseppe Ambrosoli will take place in Kalongo (Uganda). Finally, in this moment of grace, the Comboni Missionaries are celebrating their General Chapter in Verona, enlivened by the sacrifice of Sr. Maria De Coppi, killed in Mozambique on 6 September. All these anniversaries are, for us, occasions of grace and growth that contribute abundantly to giving taste and the odour of holiness to the feast of St. Daniel Comboni. At the same time, they become an occasion of recollection and intense prayer to renew our Comboni identity, to build an ever more intimate relationship with our Father and Founder and with the entire mission of the Church.

The example of life of our Founding Father continually challenges us to go beyond our limits and fragility and to embrace “holiness” as a gift of God that is transformed into a way of life. Today, Comboni wants to speak to the heart of each of us with the same words with which he challenged, instructed and encouraged his missionary men and women and the laity, sometimes using sweet expressions, at other times harsh, but always with the words of a father who loves his children. Let us therefore refine our capacity to listen and open our hearts and minds to accept his words as a father so that our relationship with him may become ever deeper, more stimulating and fruitful.

On this feast day, let us dedicate some of our time to contemplate and meditate on his example of life, on his choices, on his determination; let us humbly ask for his intercession so that we too may continue to be faithful to our vocation as consecrated persons and missionaries at the service of the People of God. Let us keep our gaze always fixed on the Heart of Christ and love him tenderly so that he may continue to be the only source of our life and the driving force of our mission. Certain that without a radical return to Christ and to the charism of Comboni, our mission will not bear fruit.

Let us make our own the desire of St. Daniel Comboni that our communities may become small cenacles of apostles where brothers and sisters can meet together to celebrate, reflect and pray, in a synodal spirit, involving, where possible, the laity with whom we work in the missions and in the local Church.

Let us also ask for the intercession of St. Daniel Comboni in the process of discernment regarding the choice of circumscription superiors and their respective councils, so that God may give us holy and capable superiors, in love with the Comboni mission and the Institute, to animate and accompany the confreres and to promote and coordinate the activities/priorities of the circumscription, also bearing in mind the orientations of the XIX General Chapter.

May Mary, Mother of the Church, intercede for us.
We wish all of you a Happy Comboni Feast Day.
The MCCJ General Council

Prayer Intentions of the Comboni Family October 2022

2 October, 2022 by Alberto de la Portilla

We pray for the XXI General Chapter of the Comboni Missionary Sisters that, after 150 years, transformed by the Charism, they may live as Missionary Disciples among the existential peripheries. Lord hear us.

With joy we began our last day of Assembly.

15 September, 2022 by Alberto de la Portilla

The biblical reflection of the day, led us to a commitment to transform the realities where we are, from the Gospel, and with all this we filled the map of the entire continent with rose petals, which invites us to think that, from the fragility of them, we have to be transmitters of the Good News from the environment in which we find ourselves.

We continue working in groups, sharing the commitments that were assumed as a result of this Assembly.

A methodology that perceives the realities, illuminates with the word, has concrete actions and leads us to celebrate as missionary communities.

Given the importance of this vocation and its relevance in the world, we are invited to reorganize our countries, to contribute to the Comboni family, without losing sight of the missionary dimension for humanity.

A special moment of the day was the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, presided by Fr. Joselin, Provincial of Peru, who reminded us of the importance of concretizing in our groups the results of this Assembly, and for this we have to remember the Synodality to which Pope Francis calls us.

It is very important to rename the Parish of Chorrillos, which has been chosen by the Archdiocese as a Model Parish in its Pastoral Plan.

We thank Father Joselin MCCJ provincial of Peru, the community of Chorrillos and the CLM of Peru, for the welcome and concern to make us feel at home.

Also our thanks to Mireya, CLM of Guatemala, for the love and dedication given during these years, and we wish Rocío, CLM Peru, who together with Beatriz, CLM Mexico and Father Ottorino, MCCJ responsible for accompanying the CLM in America, make up the new coordinating team of the American committee.

On Sunday we celebrated the Eucharist together with the communities of Pamplona Alta, it makes us reflect on the mission and when we should commit ourselves to this missionary call of a Church on the Way Out.

María Cristina Paulek and José David Rojas Quesada

Brazil – Costa Rica.

Once again sent

14 September, 2022 by Alberto de la Portilla

Day 6 of our meeting, an important and definitive day, today we finalize the topics to be discussed, consolidate a document and elect the new continental committee.

Our day began with a beautiful prayer led by the team of Colombia, where through the biblical text Ezekiel 34; 1-15 we meditated on our roles of being shepherds in the midst of the community and as Pope Francis said sometimes also as shepherds in front of the flock and depending on the reality can be behind them, but always there, next to them, smelling like sheep at the service of the mission; Through thanksgiving we filled the map of the American continent with rose petals, painting it with its beautiful colors and the fragility of a people suffering from war, indifference and inequality.

During the day we meditated a little on the task that each of the participants will take back to their countries, because finally the systematic review that was made of the agreements of Rome 2018 exposed the realities that each country lives, we have evaluated the commitments and finally we have made a simple document that will help to take firmer steps towards the fulfillment of what was agreed, which ultimately is the ideal of our Comboni Lay Missionary community.

Before the evening Eucharist in assembly we elected the new American committee, where our companion Mireya Soto LMC from Guatemala handed over her responsibilities of 6 years ago and gave way to new ideas to move forward; Beatriz Maldonado CLM from Mexico who kindly accepted to continue as part of the committee for another period together with Roció del Carmen Gamarra from Peru and Father Ottorino Poletto MCCJ from Ecuador; we have a new American committee. In the evening Eucharist we prayed for them so that guided by the light of the Gospel they may continue to accompany the CLM of America.

We thank Peru excellent host, it is not easy to achieve the reception for approximately 30 people, they have really made us feel at home, thanks also to the old continental team Mireya, Beatriz, Father Ottorino and the always and unconditional support of Alberto de la Portilla and we also receive with joy the new coordinating team of America, welcome.

Sharing like community, one family.

12 September, 2022 by Alberto de la Portilla

As every morning we started our day with an encounter with God. Today in our Eucharist we remembered St. Peter Clavel, the man who became a slave of the slaves to help teach and win souls for God from people who were denied.

Peru continues being a great host. Today as part of the program we went to the historic center of Lima; visiting the cathedral, the house of St. Rose of Lima and St. Martin of Porres (the saint of the broom), the catechumens of the Franciscans, and the great beach pier in the area of Chorrillos along the coast of the capital. It was a nice space to walk together getting to know the place but also getting to know each other a little better.

Today our day ended early to recharge our energies for the last days of assembly.

We invite all of the Comboni family of the world to continue praying for our meeting so that with a committed spirit we return to our communities, ready to move forward improving our weaknesses and strengthening our commitments.