Comboni Family – Page 84 – Comboni Lay Missionaries

The first three days of the XVIII General Chapter in Rome

14 September, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

The XVIII General Chapter of the Comboni Missionaries, currently taking place in Rome, started on Monday morning with the presentation of the By-laws for the Chapter by Fr. Pietro Ciuciulla, a member of the Pre-capitular commission. This document is the instrument that will guide the operating methods of the Chapter and help in the planning of the different phases.

In the afternoon, there was group work, at continental level, in order to suggest changes and amendments that could improve the final text of the By-laws.

When all came together in the Chapter hall, there was a sharing of their ideas and proposals. Every Chapter of the document was voted upon and the final text approved. The main change of the By-laws, compared with the one that guided the previous Chapter, concerns the section on discernment, to which more time has now been allowed and it is to be done in groups. Also the methodology has been adapted to fit the flow of the work. There has been a desire that the Chapter concentrates on the content which should focus on some priorities of the Institute, thus avoiding the need to produce long documents.

After the approval of the working calendar, the Tuesday afternoon session took place in small groups to discern on the suitable candidates for the different offices that the Chapter needs. At the end of the day the four tellers where elected.

On Wednesday, 9^th September, the session started with the election of the offices, a process that took the whole day.

Council of Presidency: Fr. Enrique Sanchez (president), Fr. Giuseppe Moschetta and Fr. Manuel Augusto Lopes Ferreira.

General Secretary: Fr. Pietro Ciuciulla.

Moderators: Fr. Pedro Andres Miguel, Fr. Joseph Mumbere Musanga, Bro. Alberto Degan and Fr. Rogelio Bustos.

Special Commission: Fr. Rafael Ponce (coordinator), Fr. Dario Bossi and Fr. Jeremias dos Santos Martins.

The Central Commission is made up of the General Secretary, the four moderators and the coordinator of the special commission. Their task is to coordinate the work of the Chapter.

Tellers: Bro. Matthias Adossi, Bro. Dessu Yisrashe, Bro. Humberto da Silva Rua and Fr. Felix Cabascango.

Communication: Bro. Alberto Lamana (coordinator), Fr. Jean Claude Kobo and Fr. Efrem Tresoldi.

Liturgical commission: Fr. Roberto Turyiamureeba, Bro. Jean Marie Mwamba and Fr. Alcides Costa.

Cultural and recreation commission: Fr. Juan Armando Goicochea, Fr. Karl Peinhopf and Fr. Ramon Vargas.

The day concluded with the celebration of vespers of the solemnity of Saint Peter Claver, patron saint of our Institute.

A dream come true!

9 September, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

Mission in Africa, a dream. Something that I have wanted to live and finally got. I was 17 when I started to dream about Africa when I started to want to learn more about the “world” of the mission. In August, I went as part of Faith and Mission group with another four young and two missionaries of the Comboni Family, we went to Mozambique, to the mission of Carapira. I always thought that the mission was to bring Jesus to others, but when I got to Carapira He was there with open arms to welcome me and tell me that He had chosen me and that was His people.

It was an indescribable experience, but I will try to share: I found a warm, generous, cheerful, full of smiles people. A people without hurry, where time is a detail.

People always have time to talk; they stop to greet each other. You do not feel the stress, if my neighbor is sick, I am not indifferent.

I found a great team of missionaries who does an excellent job, every day gives his body and soul to the people of Carapira.

Brothers, sisters, priests and Comboni lay missionaries, give their best as educators, trainers. They accompanied dozens of young, regardless of their beliefs. Accompanying communities, trying to be the presence of Christ among the people. I knew about the work of lay missionaries, who work to support the various activities in the Industrial School, where they have a very active role. They lay people involved as someone who educates, cares, as someone who loves, as the young people attending the Industrial School left their homes to study. The laity are a friend and even maternal presence. Lay also help in pastoral, help children and young people to discover Jesus.

With all the missionary community that I met and beside whom I worked and learned a lot, I met that a missionary gives a true love, is capable of love, is capable of unconditional love. I keep me every time I lived, I appreciate the confidence they have placed in my colleagues and me.

The biggest challenge we faced throughout this month was certainly living in community.

The whole experience was extraordinary, impossible to remain indifferent, I really liked all the work we did with young people of the Industrial School. On the Laudato Si, I loved being with the girls in the boarding school, I liked working with the youth of the community, “Save the Youth by the Youth”..

It really touch me a conversation I had in the early days, when I arrived at boarding school to work to support the girls in the study and clarification of Portuguese and math. Nelson, a girl aged 13-14, who attends seventh grade, she didn´t get much closer, always watching me, but always a little distant, when I went to try to stop her reserves, she said “I don´t wanna be your friend, because you will be gone in a few days and I will never see you again”. This cut my heart, let me stop, I wanted to say something, but could not find words, I wanted to tell the girl that it would not be like that, but I would be lying because it was true, I had a scheduled trip. I accepted her choice and I decided not to insist. And during the 15 days worked in the boarding school, we talked little, we study together, we discover new and difficult words, we do our homework.

But I know that I interacted with Nelson, I’m sure, she smiled and even joked when I spoke something wrong in Macua, or when I said I was afraid of getting sick from malaria. And the day came when I had to say goodbye to her and all the other girls. And Nelson asked: “Teacher will you forget me now?”

She is an expert in letting me “locked”, is beautiful, has big, beautiful, bright eyes, and they were full of water and I thought how could I forget this, Lord? I will not do it. I hugged her and told her that “I will not forget you”.

What also impressed me a lot was the Eucharist, celebrated with much joy, sing, clap, they are strong, very beautiful. Mozambican women, I cannot stop talking about it, she is struggling, hardworking, always in charge of the most complicated tasks. It plays a fundamental role.

This is what I experienced; it was a good experience that I really want to repeat.

It was very important to me, every day had significant facts that I cannot forget.

And do not forget that dreams come true. We just have to make 5%, God does the rest.

Sofia Coelho

XVIII General Chapter of the Comboni Missionaries

7 September, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

This last Sunday has officially started the XVIII General Chapter of the Comboni Missionaries with the Holy Opening Mass.
The chapter members had a previous week of preparation.
The chapter will end next October 4th. During this time, we will remain in prayer for the good progress of it, for the good of the Comboni Family and the mission to which we are called.
For a constant information you can visit the official website of male religious institute www.comboni.org where besides daily news, you may find a series of videos called “Voci the capitolo” where the chapter members provide some important aspects they are treating and the progress of the sessions and meetings.
United in prayer.

[Mozambique] Arrival of the youth group “Faith and mission”

1 August, 2015 by Flavio Schmidt

Chegada01 Today arrived at the mission of Carapira a group of 5 young portuguese to stay 1 month of missionary experience in this reality. They are part of the vocational group called “Faith and Mission”, and since October of last year they have come through a process of reflexion and discernment of their missionary vocation. This vocational path culminates with this moment of sharing in a factual mission.
They arrived animated. Three boys, Germano, Leonardo and Pedro, and two girls, Sofia and Mariana, followed by father Jorge, combonian, and the secular Paula Clara, that are members from the training team of them.

Thereby, at this night we had a brief moment of welcome and sharing as missionary team.
Let us pray that this will be a “time of grace” in each of their lives.
We are together!
CLM Mozambique

The joy of Gospel the source of mission spirit

28 July, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

Polish CLM celebrated a greatly unusual thing. Three girls from our community officially entered to the CLM community. God bless them!

During the meeting from 12^th till 14^th June we co-organized and participated in 4^th Mission Congress of Poland. On Friday we began with the Holly Mass and entering of Katarzyna Tomaszewska, Magda Fiec and Anna Obyrtacz to CLM movement. Friday Mass was the very beginning for girls to join our community. They had arrived to Warsaw the day before to have some spare moments for prayer and meditation in silence. During the mass, the girls our friends have been reading the special prayer prepared by themselves for this particular occasion and undersigned the official declaration of participation. The Delegate of the General Father of Combonians fr. Gianni Gaiga submitted girls’ declaration with other Comboni’s fathers celebrating the mass. It must be emphasized that we hosted a family and colleagues of Kasia who arrived especially for this day from Silesia province. Kasia is willing to go to Mozambique, Anna is designated to go to Central African Republic and Magda is still making decision about destination about her mission. Later on the day there was a time to take care about stomach as well – we organised big barbeque. Fr. Guillermo Aguinaga Pantoja who is the superior of the house said that we are always very welcome and the Warsaw community is always open for the CLM. There had appeared our first missionary – Danuta Krol who shared with us the experience from Uganda. We took the possibility of speaking “last minute” with fr. Andrzej Flip who serves in Mozambique and had a return flight the day after. Our well known sister Ula Bayer with the group of children from Mosina near Poznan was also present.

We were in the city centre the next day. The organiser of the congress was Polish Episcopal Commission on Missions and Papieskie Dziela Misyjne (The Catholic Church’s official charity for overseas mission). “The joy of Gospel the source of mission spirit” was theme of the congress with a patronate of John Paul II. It was an unusual meeting because such congress is not a regular one and takes place in ten of fifteen years or even few decades.

Three forms of participation was prepared up to the age of visiting people: for children, youth and adults, so we had divided into three groups to work in parallel. All locations had been in the centre of Warsaw and the adult part was held just in front of the central church. The place and the open nature of the meeting had attracted many people. We promoted the CLM and missions in general, giving leaflets and promotional materials. We had an opportunity to speak and encourage people to this forms of actions in the Church. We had met many orders, congregations and communities also lay organisations involved in mission ad gentes. In the neighbourhood we had met our familiar mates from Akademickie Kolo Misjologiczne w Poznaniu (Mission Academic Circle in Poznan). We spoke with the representative if MIVA (Mission Vehicle Association) who sponsor all kinds of the vehicles to the missions to help missionaries. One of them will go to Equator to fr. Adam Zagaja MCCJ in the nearest future. The congress hosted many NGOs (Non-Government Organizations). One of the most attractive was Szymon Holownia’s: The Kasisi Foundation. Holownia is one of the most popular catholic journalist, writer, blogger and TV presenter who is involved in many actions in Africa now. In the conference panel Holownia emphasized the essence of the lay mission and real meaning of brotherhood help not only in Africa but also here in Europe e.g. for the present massive African immigrants in south Europe. There was also one point of the World Youth Day with youth people from east Europe. They encouraged us to help people from East willing to participate with Pope Francis next year. We met also Karol Pawlowski who had been inspired by Saint Adalbert and the pilgrimage way of Santiago de Compostella and now is trying to establish and promote the way of Saint Adalbert from Gniezno in Poland to Magdeburg in Germany (the web: http://www.droga-swietywojciech.pl). All those meetings helped us to understand that our Church is so rich and diverse and there is still a lot of things to do.

At the end all participants joined the Holly Mass leaded by cardinal Fernando Filoni – Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The homily was told by Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz from Warsaw. Cardinal emphasised that every single man who believe in Gospel must live as a missionary. All walked to The Holy Cross Church in the procession with the cross and icon – the signs of World Youth Day. The day was fulfilled by worship concert and finished with singing the Appeal of Jasna Gora (Jasna Gora is the place of pilgrimage to Virgin Mary).

That rich day and all of the meeting gave us a joy the same as Gospel. Let us joy then and move together on our mission ways keeping the smile and Gospel in heart!

Tomasz Wierzbicki

CLM Krakow