With joy and gratitude, we are writing to you news directly from Mozambique. Our first month passed very quickly, intensely and with great depth. Right from the start, we were welcomed with great enthusiasm, by the people of this land who are still suffering from injustice and have no hopeful outlook for the future. The Macua people, really have a big and generous heart, despite the suffering in their gaze.
In this first period, where we are still trying to figure out where we are, we had a great gift, that of sharing with them, the four most important days of the Easter season, from Holy Thursday to Easter. We left home early Thursday morning and until Easter Sunday afternoon, we lived in the village in close contact with the people. We took few things with us, the essentials to get through these days. Obviously in these communities, we were welcomed with open arms; and village living with them, meant no water, no light, sleeping on the ground with scorpions, bats etc… without all the comforts that we in the West now take for granted.
For us, it was four days of true essentiality, of pure love that allowed us to love their story even more and to question ourselves about the way we are close to each other, about the importance of the style with which to be on mission. How much richness we received, how much we learned from them once again, to live the essential in depth and richness that the Lord continues to give us every day! Right away, our lives are being shaped to a new form, the one that our brothers/sisters are teaching us every day. Our lives, are really experiencing an Easter Resurrection, thanks to them and thanks to what the Lord teaches us every day thanks to his Word which is Life and lifeblood to make a path in his Will (and not in what we instead seek to fulfill ourselves, to give answers to our sense of being here by only executing projects). For us, even before we came, it was very clear that the beauty of life and of being a mission is precisely to share our whole being with them, on the same plane with them. I think this point for us is fundamental and above all it is a way of life that each of us can feel inside, but it takes great courage to live it in simplicity and love of each other. We are strongly convinced, that the greatest witness we can give, is precisely the Christian way and attitude and not words… instead so many times we just go and get lost in this without a true witness of who we are, but especially of Who we love.
We feel that this presence of ours here is really accompanied by the presence of the Lord. We really missed re-embracing poverty, essentiality and total sharing with the most lonely and abandoned. It is a great gift to live the mission because it is Life, it is joy, it is courage, it is going out of oneself to give oneself totally to the Other.
For this richness that we are receiving in our lives, we want to thank all the people who are supporting us, who are accompanying us with prayer and with their becoming close, because this is also an outgoing Church, where the problem of a person, becomes the problem of a community. We believe very much in this dream of life, which the Lord has placed in our hearts, and we always trust in Him, who knows better than us the way and the ways to build a new different way of being in mission. And let us always remember that: “if I exist it is because the other makes me exist” and this should be a fundamental point on which to build bridges and not walls.
We embrace you with much esteem, gratitude, affection and we really hope that all our joy, may come to you to build something different together, where you also together with us are in communion in this journey of life. We continue to pray for all of you and carry you in every step we take always looking for the Face of God; we also rely on your prayers. See you for the next post…
On the evening of May 9, Regimar and Tito shared with the GEC (Comboni Spirituality Group) of Nova Contagem about their first mission period in Mozambique.
Through photos and videos, they recalled various moments from their memories.
The people present interacted, asking questions and commenting.
One of the highlights of the sharing was the help given to the families with the donations received from Brazil and Poland after the cyclone that hit the region in 2022. The couple thanked them for their collaboration and stressed how important it had been.
They talked about the seed project, which worked very well, where they gave the families a quantity of bean and corn seed to plant and after the harvest, the families returned the same quantity. Although not everyone returned the seeds, the overall balance was positive, with beautiful signs such as families returning larger quantities than they had taken, as a sign of gratitude. And this cycle is continuing for this harvest too.
They talked about the culture, the challenges, the joys and the future prospects.
At the end, we prayed together and ended with a shared snack.
The GEC is grateful for the sharing and the missionary enrichment!
With much enthusiasm we prepared ourselves to celebrate the major week, being obedient to the call of God we set out to San Luis, Petén, Guatemala, Adrián Chacón Aspirant to CLM, Jorge Zamora Candidate to CLM and this servant José David Rojas Quesada Comboni Lay Missionary.
On Saturday March 23 we left Guatemala City together with Father Juan Diego Calderon, Provincial of the MCCJ for the Province of Central America to San Luis, carrying many expectations of not knowing what would be the task that God would have, but with much enthusiasm and love to make of this small experience a tool to make love grow among us children of God and also to be that living testimony of bringing God to all parts of the world, with the same confidence with which Jesus speaks to his disciples and tells them;
…and teach them to fulfill all that I have commanded you. I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28, 20…
When we arrived in San Luis we were welcomed by Father Aubert, Comboni Priest, coming from CAR, he invited us to have lunch and then he told us that two of us would go to a village called Cansis and another one would go to another one called Cain, the coordinators of each village were waiting for us, we said goodbye to Jorge since he was going to Cain, Adrian and myself went with Don Eliseo to the community of Cansis.
It is admirable for me to see the dedication and disposition with which the Coordinator of Lectors, Coordinator of Acolytes and Catechists met at the time of the Convocation. A very great joy was the reception with which the children who were in Formative Catechesis for their Consecration as Acolytes received us, that same Saturday we met until almost 9.30 pm, where we talked openly and extensively about a somewhat complicated situation that the population was going through, we also planned the whole Holy Week, trying to respect the way in which they do their celebrations, and with the consent of the community add some elements. In this meeting we understood why the assignment that Father Aubert (Alberto) gave us when we left the parish house, I can not deny that at some point I felt like my partner, unable to successfully accomplish that task, however with the commitment of the Catechists and Coordinators and the confidence that God would be with us, we assumed with fear but with joy that task, where we had to go to visit house to house, talk and fight for that community did not give up the service and surrender to the almighty.
Cansís is a community that in that area of the Petén is called mixed, since they speak both Spanish or Castilian as they say and Quetchi, for us it was very striking to hear them speak in their dialect.
On Palm Sunday Consecrated Lectors held the Celebration and in it they introduced us to the whole community explaining a little of the agreements we had made the day before, after the celebration we greeted everyone, and on Monday we began to visit Lectors who were not exercising their ministry, on Tuesday we did it with the children acolytes, Wednesday with catechists and other faithful who were not congregating.
The purpose of the visit was to motivate them, encourage them and invite them to resume their dedication, their consecration, their service, and like everything in the ways of the Lord, children who said YES I want to continue YES I want to consecrate myself as others said they were sure they did not want to continue, however, they were encouraged and if they definitely did not want to continue they were invited to participate in the celebration of the Word that Monday and Holy Wednesday were held, and since Monday we began to see those people who said they did not want to serve coming to the celebrations, That day we had the Eucharistic Celebration, Father Juan Diego and for the infinite grace of God 3 of the Consecrated Acolytes, including the girl from the last house arrived, it was very gratifying to see that all the fatigue, walking, sunshine had its reward and hope in the Lord of the harvest, that this motivation would continue.
On Holy Thursday being Eucharistic day and of great importance for us Catholic Christians since as we know we celebrate the institution of the Holy Eucharist, we proceeded to visit all the elderly and sick people who can not gather because of their health condition, walking through dusty trails now that it is summer, but reflecting on the work that the Ministers of Communion should do when the winter comes. Each house that we visited with Jesus Eucharist was a great joy, when we were leaving the temple the men collaborated with the construction of the provisional tabernacle to make the transfer of Our Lord, finished that task we returned to the Church at about 2 pm and to our surprise the men had already finished their work and only the women were left to make the floral arrangements and other details, then we set out to prepare the Celebration of this day, The men first washed the feet of the women and then the women washed the feet of the men, as a sign of humility, respect, fraternity and community. Once the celebration was over, we had a time of community prayer and then we moved the Blessed Sacrament to where it had been previously placed to pass and pray as a family, I must mention that they kept vigil from that moment until Holy Saturday before communion, the commitment is beautiful.
For Friday, we were called at 8:30 AM to make the Holy Way of the Cross, in each assigned house they decorated their station, one in Castilla and another in Quetchi, with great faith meditating on what we were doing we went station by station, half way through the owner of a store gave us a glass of cool to all participants and reduce the heat a little, we kept walking meditating performing songs for the occasion, after walking another little while some brothers invited us to another cool …. Then we went on until we reached the church, where we prepared ourselves for the Celebration of the Word and the Veneration of the Holy Cross, entering into a meditative silence of that reading of the Passion in Quetchi.
On Saturday, maintaining an atmosphere of meditation, we met with the children of the community, the meeting was very beautiful to hear them talk, but above all to see the desire with which they want to serve the Lord, we took the opportunity to tell them in the form of a story about the call of Samuel, so that they understand that each of us has a special calling, and that this call is the same God who makes it to us. In the afternoon we finished fine tuning details for the celebration of the Easter Vigil, the Solemnity of Solemnities, we began at 7 pm, with the blessing of the fire, the Easter Candle, we took the opportunity to burn some papers that in the previous Catechesis we made where in a symbolic way the participants placed those things that weigh on the heart of each one, We entered the place prepared to proclaim the Easter Proclamation, each child and each adult with great faith having in their hearts that light that reminded us that everything was paid and that through God’s mercy we can come out of the darkness of sin, Already in the Temple we presented the Paschal Candle as the Light of Christ, saving light, purifying light, the readings and psalms were made both in Castilian and Quetchi, at the end of the readings of the Old Testament we sang the Gloria with great joy, the lights of the temple were turned on, We continued with great joy the reading and psalm of the New Testament as the Gospel, Truly He is Risen Alleluia Alleluia. With our hearts more disposed, the Communion Ministers entered into the Eucharistic Jesus where we received Him again in His Temple where He is present in Flesh and Blood and as I expressed to those present, He will be waiting for them with open arms and full of love and mercy. The celebration lasted four and a half hours, at the end we shared the food brought by the attendees, so we all celebrated in community the beautiful night we shared.
On Sunday from 8 AM the choir was singing praises that gladdened our hearts, at 9 am we began the Liturgy of the Word and also our farewell to the Community of Cansis, sharing a community lunch.
Truly the word THANK YOU, is small and encloses all the feeling that this community gave us, every house visited, every breakfast, lunch, shared dinner, every animation expressed, make the fatigue, effort and sun have a meaning and it is the Faith, a Faith that for some situations the enemy wanted to take advantage and destroy, however the Love for God and commitment, makes them continue to stand up for the fight, every sign of affection that they gave us, every shared laughter, and very special for that YES that each one delivers in their service… BANTIOX (thank you in Quetchi).
We pray to God the Father, that our little work done during the past Holy Week, will bring its fruits and hope to the Community of Cansis…
Surely you will ask yourself why the title: Fallen Angels from Heaven… that is how we were called, as angels we do not have much and we lack a lot to have such honor, what is certain is that everything, word, gesture that we gave Adrian and this servant was with the heart being obedient to the voice of God.
To transform our reality by sharing the good is to live a constant Easter, the missionary life is a constant breath on what Easter is, it gives us the opportunity to know the life of people in realities different from ours and to discover other challenges of humanity. In the places that we are sent to, known in the Church as places of FIRST EVANGELIZATION, if we are attentive we can meet God, discover that his LOVE is a constant in OUR LIFE, know that we can all feel his presence and give of what he gives us to those we meet every day or those he entrusts to us in the mission. It makes, from a greeting, a sweet, food, rest, games, skills, prayer, living together, accompanying, serving, simply a smile… In the middle of two languages that separate us and united by the desire to know God more, to know what Jesus Christ taught us and to receive the sacraments. I was able to experience all this in Xacundutia. A place where time moves slowly and you can give yourself the opportunity to take a DEEP breath.
Xacundutia is one of the seven communities that were entrusted to us CLM in Mexico. It belongs to the parish of San Miguel Arcángel, in the Mixteca zone of the diocese of Tlapa, Gro. We visited the parish during Holy Week to experience with the people these days that are so significant for us as Catholics. It is to rediscover a way of life, where in order to have the basics one has to work every day, in the fields, in the house, in most of the occasions to emigrate for seasons to get more. THERE ARE MANY LIMITATIONS EVEN FOR EVANGELIZATION. Knowing that there are places where it is still difficult for the word of God to reach for various reasons commits us to be available to help as much as possible from our lay vocation in this area.
In our assembly we began the reflection on having a continuous presence, we accepted to open the mission again in this area to work with the people, in their integral development, where we can all make our contribution. We have already taken the first step, where we have noted the challenges that exist, God help us to be aware and available to give the best of each one and support this concrete reality. Starting from what we have and being sincere in what we have to be able to bring a favorable response to the desire to have the word of God in the community and make possible the construction of His Kingdom in the Mixtec area, identifying the cultural richness, the appreciation of the handicrafts they make, the care of the environment and supporting learning with school reinforcement, they are the protagonists of their own growth and development.
Wrapped up in her mother’s lap, the cloths covered a little heartbeat!!!
Her body was thin, almost transparent, and you could see the cry coming from her tiny breasts.
Her mother, with a serene, delicate smile, was silently asking for help!
A few days earlier, hope had won the fight against a barely cured malaria and Annie had returned home.
But in this war of unequal combat, equity and inequality of completely irrational values, Annie couldn’t resist!
At her side, Jean Luca, with all the resources possible, in this remote part of Africa, is fighting the fight of his life!
There are no losers or winners here.
Heroes, yes! Many of them!
The hospital in Mongoumba in the Central African Republic is currently seeing many cases of malaria.
I suppose that perhaps because of the floods during the rainy season last year, the malaria mosquitoes have tripled in number and resistance to drugs has also increased.
My Easter was spent here:
Between the Sigh of Hope of Dying or Living!!!
My God! My belly bursts into tears at the sight of the breath evaporating from these fragile bodies!
Bodies so “Jesús”!
When will I cry these tears?
I don’t know, only He knows!
Because now what I see are the smiles of the children passing by on the street…!!!
And “He” once again makes me Believe…!!!
Cristina Souza, LMC Mongoumba
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