Comboni Lay Missionaries

Message of his Holiness Pope Francis for World Mission Day 2020

Papa Francisco

Here am I, send me (Is 6:8)

Papa Francisco

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I wish to express my gratitude to God for the commitment with which the Church throughout the world carried out the Extraordinary Missionary Month last October. I am convinced that it stimulated missionary conversion in many communities on the path indicated by the theme: “Baptized and Sent: the Church of Christ on Mission in the World”.

In this year marked by the suffering and challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic, the missionary journey of the whole Church continues in light of the words found in the account of the calling of the prophet Isaiah: “Here am I, send me” (6:8). This is the ever new response to the Lord’s question: “Whom shall I send?” (ibid.). This invitation from God’s merciful heart challenges both the Church and humanity as a whole in the current world crisis. “Like the disciples in the Gospel we were caught off guard by an unexpected, turbulent storm. We have realized that we are on the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented, but at the same time important and needed, all of us called to row together, each of us in need of comforting the other. On this boat… are all of us. Just like those disciples, who spoke anxiously with one voice, saying ‘We are perishing’ (v. 38), so we too have realized that we cannot go on thinking of ourselves, but only together can we do this” (Meditation in Saint Peter’s Square, 27 March 2020). We are indeed frightened, disoriented and afraid. Pain and death make us experience our human frailty, but at the same time remind us of our deep desire for life and liberation from evil. In this context, the call to mission, the invitation to step out of ourselves for love of God and neighbour presents itself as an opportunity for sharing, service and intercessory prayer. The mission that God entrusts to each one of us leads us from fear and introspection to a renewed realization that we find ourselves precisely when we give ourselves to others.

In the sacrifice of the cross, where the mission of Jesus is fully accomplished (cf. Jn 19:28-30), God shows us that his love is for each and every one of us (cf. Jn 19:26-27). He asks us to be personally willing to be sent, because he himself is Love, love that is always “on mission”, always reaching out in order to give life. Out of his love for us, God the Father sent his Son Jesus (cf. Jn 3:16). Jesus is the Father’s Missionary: his life and ministry reveal his total obedience to the Father’s will (cf. Jn 4:34; 6:38; 8:12-30; Heb 10:5-10). Jesus, crucified and risen for us, draws us in turn into his mission of love, and with his Spirit which enlivens the Church, he makes us his disciples and sends us on a mission to the world and to its peoples.

“The mission, the ‘Church on the move’, is not a programme, an enterprise to be carried out by sheer force of will. It is Christ who makes the Church go out of herself. In the mission of evangelization, you move because the Holy Spirit pushes you, and carries you” (Senza di Lui non possiamo fare nulla: Essere missionari oggi nel mondo. Una conversazione con Gianni Valente, Libreria Editrice Vaticana: San Paolo, 2019, 16-17). God always loves us first and with this love comes to us and calls us. Our personal vocation comes from the fact that we are sons and daughters of God in the Church, his family, brothers and sisters in that love that Jesus has shown us. All, however, have a human dignity founded on the divine invitation to be children of God and to become, in the sacrament of Baptism and in the freedom of faith, what they have always been in the heart of God.

Life itself, as a gift freely received, is implicitly an invitation to this gift of self: it is a seed which, in the baptized, will blossom as a response of love in marriage or in virginity for the kingdom of God. Human life is born of the love of God, grows in love and tends towards love. No one is excluded from the love of God, and in the holy sacrifice of Jesus his Son on the cross, God conquered sin and death (cf. Rom 8:31-39). For God, evil – even sin – becomes a challenge to respond with even greater love (cf. Mt 5:38-48; Lk 22:33-34). In the Paschal Mystery, divine mercy heals our wounded humanity and is poured out upon the whole universe. The Church, the universal sacrament of God’s love for the world, continues the mission of Jesus in history and sends us everywhere so that, through our witness of faith and the proclamation of the Gospel, God may continue to manifest his love and in this way touch and transform hearts, minds, bodies, societies and cultures in every place and time.

Mission is a free and conscious response to God’s call. Yet we discern this call only when we have a personal relationship of love with Jesus present in his Church. Let us ask ourselves: are we prepared to welcome the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, to listen to the call to mission, whether in our life as married couples or as consecrated persons or those called to the ordained ministry, and in all the everyday events of life? Are we willing to be sent forth at any time or place to witness to our faith in God the merciful Father, to proclaim the Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ, to share the divine life of the Holy Spirit by building up the Church? Are we, like Mary, the Mother of Jesus, ready to be completely at the service of God’s will (cf. Lk 1:38)? This interior openness is essential if we are to say to God: “Here am I, Lord, send me” (cf. Is 6:8). And this, not in the abstract, but in this chapter of the life of the Church and of history.

Understanding what God is saying to us at this time of pandemic also represents a challenge for the Church’s mission. Illness, suffering, fear and isolation challenge us. The poverty of those who die alone, the abandoned, those who have lost their jobs and income, the homeless and those who lack food challenge us. Being forced to observe social distancing and to stay at home invites us to rediscover that we need social relationships as well as our communal relationship with God. Far from increasing mistrust and indifference, this situation should make us even more attentive to our way of relating to others. And prayer, in which God touches and moves our hearts, should make us ever more open to the need of our brothers and sisters for dignity and freedom, as well as our responsibility to care for all creation. The impossibility of gathering as a Church to celebrate the Eucharist has led us to share the experience of the many Christian communities that cannot celebrate Mass every Sunday. In all of this, God’s question: “Whom shall I send?” is addressed once more to us and awaits a generous and convincing response: “Here am I, send me!” (Is 6:8). God continues to look for those whom he can send forth into the world and to the nations to bear witness to his love, his deliverance from sin and death, his liberation from evil (cf. Mt 9:35-38; Lk 10:1-12).

The celebration of World Mission Day is also an occasion for reaffirming how prayer, reflection and the material help of your offerings are so many opportunities to participate actively in the mission of Jesus in his Church. The charity expressed in the collections that take place during the liturgical celebrations of the third Sunday of October is aimed at supporting the missionary work carried out in my name by the Pontifical Mission Societies, in order to meet the spiritual and material needs of peoples and Churches throughout the world, for the salvation of all.

May the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of Evangelization and Comforter of the Afflicted, missionary disciple of her Son Jesus, continue to intercede for us and sustain us.

Rome, Saint John Lateran, 31 May 2020, Solemnity of Pentecost

Franciscus

Virtual Missionary Pilgrimage with Comboni

peregrinacion
peregrinacion

Dear friend,

Do you have your backpack ready? We have prepared a virtual missionary pilgrimage. Don’t be afraid, we are not going to walk 30 km every day (well if you want to…). What we will need are minds and hearts full of passion, can we count on you?

[I have to inform you that the pilgrimage will be in Spanish]

WHAT IS A PILGRIMAGE?

Pilgrimage: From Latin. Peregrināri. 1. A person’s saying: To walk in strange lands. 2. intr. To go on a pilgrimage to a shrine for devotion or for a vow…

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?

– Visit virtually 7 places that marked the life of St. Daniel Comboni, starting in Italy and ending in Sudan.

– Get to know the Comboni Mission and St. Daniel Comboni, its founder

– Discover his passion for Christ, for the mission of the Church and for the African people.

– To have moments of silence, prayer and meeting.

– To ask ourselves what is our mission wherever we are.

WHAT IS THE JOURNEY?

1. Limone Sul Garda (Italy)

2. Verona (Italy)

3. Holy Land

4. Rome

5. Nile River

6. Malbes (Sudan)

7. Khartoum, Sudan.

peregrinacion

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?

All those who wish to participate.

HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO IT?

– You must register in the pilgrims’ registry. When you do so, you will be able to access the content of the first stage.

– In each one of them you will be able to enjoy: virtual tour, missionary testimonies, reflections, prayers, some history, many stories? and a very good atmosphere.

– Before moving on to the next stage you will have to answer a brief questionnaire. This will give you the key to access the next stage.

WHAT IS NEEDED?

– A computer or a cell phone

– At least one hour every day (x 7 days). The pilgrimage is designed to be done in 7 days, but don’t worry, if you need more time, the materials will be available.

– And above all, a lot of desire to live this experience.

DO YOU HAVE TO PAY ANYTHING?

– God’s grace is FREE! But if it has helped you, invite others, don’t keep it just for yourself!

AND WHY EMBARK ON THIS?

Because it is worthwhile to live an adventure with Jesus and with Daniel Comboni. The missionary and prophet who went beyond his time and his land. He gave up everything for the mission and consecrated his whole life to an ideal: “To save Africa with Africa”.

What better travel companion than someone who travelled through 3 continents in the 19th century without a plane! He sailed the Mediterranean Sea; he crossed Europe by train; he travelled the African deserts by camel and the Russian steppes by sledge; he even saw the crocodiles of the Nile up close and travelled on foot many of the roads of Africa! And why all this? Because Daniel Comboni lived with passion the call to make Christ known to those whom history and society had left out.

Are you ready to embark with him on this adventure?

STARTING THE MISSION: 3, 2, 1…!

If you are interested in participating:

Web: https://t.co/oZmuYlfOVE

Registration: https://t.co/ge6WNoxD5t

Book: We are mission

Libros

“Creation itself awaits with eager expectation the Revelation of the Children of God” (Rom 8, 19).

Libros

Dear members of the comboni family in the name of our Lord Jesus, we greet you warmly!

As you remember well, about two years ago, the first volume was published, entitled: “Be the change you want to see in the world“, where were collected the ideas which animate us and guide us in a particular way within the paths inherent to JPIC. These paths, in turn, were also made possible by the meetings of the World Social Forums (FSM) and the Forums organized as Comboni Family in conjunction with the FSM. In 150 years of History and Life, our Institutes have been enriched by a great ministerial experience thanks mainly to the dedication of many missionaries of our comboni family who have interpreted with creativity and apostolic passion the specificity of our Charism.

This second volume entitled: “We are mission: witnesses of social ministry in the Comboni family“, presents a significant range of concrete ministerial experiences, chosen among many others. Our desire is that sharing them will help us to value what we already do, thanks to the Gift of the Holy Spirit and our personal and community responses. In addition, this plurality of shared experiences helps us to appreciate the different Comboni ministerial actions that complement and enrich each other, revealing the richness of the Charism in a growing dynamism.

We ask our Provincial Superiors to take care in distributing printed copies to all communities and also the digital copy translated in four languages, so that all and everyone can enjoy the work done together and in collaboration with more than 40 Comboni missionaries.

We thank the members of the Commission on Social Ministry of the Comboni Family who worked with passion and expertise for the publication of this second volume and also facilitated the work of mapping of our Comboni initiatives on social ministry around the world. In December 2020, Covid-19 permitting, will be held the Forum on Social Ministeriality in Rome.

These initiatives and activities are part of a great journey of synergy and collaboration of the members of the Commission and of many confreres and sisters, who will surely bring enthusiasm and openness to newness to which the Lord is guiding us. All this requires, however, on the part of the whole Comboni Family a great opening of heart, mind, creativity, and commitment that we entrust to the intercession of our great founder San Daniele Comboni.

Mary, Woman of the Gospel teach us to announce your Son Jesus in our ministerial commitment!

Sr. Luigia Coccia, smc                        Fr. Tesfaye Tadesse, mccj

You can download the book following this link