Comboni Lay Missionaries

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Formation

First recollection of the aspirants CLM in Ghana:

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LMC Ghana

As decided at the preceding meeting, we had our recollection on this 21st at Mafi-Kumase where our chaplain resides. The theme of the recollection was RECONCILIATION. The schedule of the day was as followed: first talk, a breakfast, confession and personal prayer, lunch, personal meditation, second talk and mass.

The development of the topic took three main parts: the definition of reconciliation, fertile grounds for reconciliation and the obstacles to reconciliation. Reconciliation is a gift from God. He is the initiator who searches for the lost ones for the restoration of harmony. Reconciliation is needed to better our relationship with God, each other and with ourselves. Father said that sins separate us from God. Among the fertile grounds, our Chaplain mentioned the admittance of responsibility, making up of the relationship, the need for the offender and the offended to see the necessity to better their relation, patience and tolerance, humility. The offended has to give to the offender the benefit of doubt. Those are some of the attitudes that lead to reconciliation. For the obstacles, he mentioned the stubbornness of the offender, the pride of both, shame, the sense of righteousness, intolerance, anger, guessing people’s hidden motives and the fact to retaliate. Sometimes, the culture also does not create a conducive environment for reconciliation. It is a fact where e.g. it is believed in some cultures that the elderly person cannot be wrong. For a younger one who is truly right to accept this part of the culture up to reconcile with his offender is a great challenge.

Before the mass, we decided on the coming meeting on the 11th April. We also elected Vivian Mackenzie to be our treasurer. Just after the mass, we departed from the place.

Justin Nougnui, coordinator.

EASTER CLM Spain 2015: “Listening to God where life calls”

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Under the slogan “Listen to God where life calls” met last week in Madrid the group of Comboni Lay Missionaries of Spain to celebrate Easter as a community.

There have been some intense days of prayer and encounter with the Lord in His Word, brothers, in nature … but not forgetting to look at the world and reality, with their hopes and pains, desires and proposals, with their stories … because as missionaries we are called to discover and listen to God where life is crying out.

From here, we thank everyone who made this event possible. Thanks for sharing and for being partners in our path.

Spanish CLM

We cannot bury our missionary spirit!

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BrasilOn March 15, we met in the city of Curitiba to continue the meetings with people interested in the Comboni missionary lay vocation of this region. At this second meeting, continuing with the theme of vocation and mission, we had the opportunity and commitment to pray together on the birthday of St. Daniel Comboni. United with all the Comboni Family we dedicated to pray and reflect on his life and our commitment to the mission for humanity.

It is inspiring to see that Comboni did not measure efforts to meet Christ in the face of African brothers, traveled great distances, helped encourage the Church and make visible where life was threatened. His testimony managed to attract many, he was to meet the people, he put himself on the way, used all the resources available at the time and was not afraid of difficulties.

To reflect on the importance of the missionary call, we also saw the documentary “Mission and ecclesial communion” of the Missionary Campaign of 2010.

The Mission also nowadays requires an urgent and courageous response. Mission beyond our borders and Missionary Animation, two essential points of the vocation of all baptized. These moments are important to rekindle our missionary call and help to create missionary awareness in the Church, with the hope that more people awaken to this vocation BrasilBrasil

We also share how the organization of the CLM in Brazil was born, a brief overview of these almost 20 years of existence. It always good to remember what the Pope Francis recommended in the message of the missionary month “remains of the great urgency of the mission ad gentes, which are called all members of the Church, because this is, by nature missionary: the Church was born in “exit”.

Let us continue walking, being a small sign, sharing life and in the defense and promotion of Life for everyone.

CLM Brazil

First months in Ethiopia

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Madzia-AdisIn the beginning of January I came to Ethiopia, beginning my mission! I’ll work as a physiotherapist in Bushullo Health Center, near Awassa (in the south part of Ethiopia). Joining there Maggie & Mark with their children!

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But now the first months I’m spending in Addis Abeba (in the community of MCCJ) on the language training – trying to learn Amharic. It is the second-most spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic.  The graphs of the Amharic writing system are called fidel. Each character represents a consonant+vowel sequence and there are more than 230 of them! Now it’s such big joy for me to be able to read something (finally!). So wherever I go I try to decipher the texts around me – on the buses, on the buildings… 😉

After school usually I spend some time for voluntary service, using my physiotherapy skills and at the same time improving Amharic through communication with the patients 🙂 . People here are so friendly for me, helping a lot with everything, always smiling and greeting. I really enjoy it! And also they teach me their culture – like for example inviting for coffee ceremonies or for enjera. I also had the possibility to be here for Timkat – one of the biggest feasts of Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which celebrates Epiphany and Baptism of Jesus. For me it’s so interesting to experience the variety of churches here – catholic is only 1%, the biggest is Orthodox church, then protestants and Muslims. But the religion seems to be very important part of live, even in the language all the most common expression include God – like for example the answer for greeting is “I’m fine, thanks be to God”.

peopleSo slowly I’m getting to know this place, these people, this culture, this language. And day by day I’m more and more happy that God sent me here!

Madzia Plekan. CLM in Ethiopia

Called to live and be community

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During the weekend 21 and 22 of February, the Comboni Lay Missionaries gathered in Viseu for the sixth formation meeting on the theme: “Community: Challenges and Opportunities” oriented by the community-life of Oporto. The meeting was held at the Monastery of Santa Beatriz da Silva, who graciously welcomed us and we are very grateful for that.
During this meeting, we had the opportunity to reflect and understand in depth what is community life. The community appears at the beginning of the Bible, when God says, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2, 18). So, in fact, we are called throughout our life to live and be community. As Susana said: “The world is our structure. People are our home. Without this world we cannot have another, without people the human been does not live”. Thus, it must be with people and for people that the community exist.

 “We have to be parts of one body”

IMAG0618 The community is everywhere, in every field of our life: school, work, family, friends, church, catechesis and mission. However, we can only speak fully of community if we accept Jesus Christ as a member of our community, as the brother who loves us so much to die on the cross with the weight of our sins. Jesus loves us and is part of our community and together with the Father and the Holy Spirit are the center, the heart of any community. Like them we must be one voice, be one soul, we must be parts of the same body. This is the real challenge of being community. This is because we are all different in our weaknesses and qualities. And God calls us individually by name. God calls different, sinners. God calls us. And we are, with all that characterizes us, who form community.

 “We have to be parts of one body”

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And the question we ask many times is: Does the community work despite the differences between people? Yes, it is not easy but it is definitely possible. It works if we know our center, if we are honest with each other, if we use the gifts of each to serve in things where we’re good. It works if we have the humility to share tasks. But not to divide but to unite. Thus, the community goes through faith in the other. The community is a matter of love in which there is only one heart, one mind and one voice. Stop being “me” to be “us”. Where everything is put together.

 “The community is love”

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The community is undoubtedly love. The love that comes from God, born of Him who loves us first in an overwhelming way. It is this love that moves the world we are called to be for our brothers. And as S John Paul II said: “Love is an act of will.”

So depend on us to forgive, excuse, want to love the others, choose to love despite all its faults and errors, which I also have, and love with our differences and our weaknesses.
By: Paula Sousa