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.
A commentary on Jn 20, 19-31 Second Sunday of Easter, April 12th 2015
In this second Sunday of Easter we continue Reading the 20th chapter of John’s Gospel, which tells us what happened in that “first day of the week”, that is, at the beginning of the “new creation”, the new time in history that we are living as communities of Jesus’ disciples and missionaries. The experience of Jesus’ living presence among the disciples happens again eight days later, specifically meant for Thomas…, and it continues happening each Sunday (every eight days), when the Christian community gathers to celebrate the Lord’s presence.
The Gospel tells us that Thomas did not believe till he could see the hands and the wounded side of Jesus. It is precisely out of this “broken” side of Jesus, his totally self-given heart, that the Church springs up and the Spirit flows out into humanity with the wonderful gifts of peace, joy, forgiveness and mission. Let us see briefly:
1) “Peace to you”
Jesus says the traditional greeting words used by Jews and some other cultures even today. Nowadays, we would maybe say something like this: “Hello, how are you, I wish you peace and wellbeing”. Not too much? Well, I think it is quite a lot. I remember when Pope Francis, just elected, came out at the St. Peter’s balcony and simply said: “Buona sera” (Good evening). It was enough for the crowd to react with enthusiasm and great joy. There was no need for a big and profound speech; only that: a simple word of greeting conveying an attitude of openness and friendship.
With this, I consider the importance and beauty of a simple but loving greeting among the members of a family, re-asserting each day that care for each other that gives joy to life; I think of a respectful and positive greeting at the working place; I see that stretched out hand that we give during Mass recognising in our neighbour a brother or a sister, even if we do not know each other; I observe that kind of welcoming gesture or word to the foreigner… I think of the World peace that we need so badly in these times of violence and conflict. In all these situations, Jesus is the first one to tell me: “Hello, peace to you”. So that I myself can repeat the greeting to others.
It’s interesting to note that, as He was greeting the disciples, Jesus shows his hands and side with the signs of the torture He suffered. That means that the peace Jesus is offering is not a “cheap” one. It was “bought” with His own blood. That means that peace in the family, in the community, in the working place, in the world, is not always easy, it’s quite often a difficult task… But Jesus –and we with Him– was not a coward, but a “warrior”, with no fear to suffer if necessary.
2) Joy: “The disciples were glad when they saw the Lord”.
The presence of Jesus, with His peace, produces joy, as it does the arrival of a friend, or the mutual acceptance in the family or in the community. It’s not a “superficial” joy, that hides difficulties, problems or even sins; it’s not the joy of the one who lies to himself in a false reality or in unawareness.
It’s the joy of the one who feels respected and able to respect; the one who knows He is loved and able to love; the one who believes He is really a blessed child of the Father. It’s the deep joy of somebody who found a sense and a mission for his/her life. It’s the joy of somebody who met Jesus as a faithful friend, a trustful master, and a Lord that wins wrong with goodness.
3) Forgiveness: “If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven”.
The joy of the disciple is not the joy of somebody that considers himself “prefect” or pretends to do everything perfectly. It’s the joy of that person who accepts to be forgiven and is ready to sow seeds of forgiveness. Jesus gave to His Church the Spirit of forgiveness, mercy and reconciliation. Pope Francis re-instated in our times this “mercy principle”. The Church is not a place of lawful righteousness or a Court of Justice; the Church is a place of mercy and reconciliation, a place where everybody has a chance to try a new beginning. Without mercy, humanity becomes impossible to live, because all of us are in need of mercy. Peace, mercy, brotherhood… we need them so much; they are a fruit of the Spirit the Risen Lord gives out to us.
4) Mission: “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you”
The community of disciples, pacified, pardoned, built up as a house of mercy, becomes a missionary community, sent to the world to be precisely that: a house of mercy, reconciliation and peace. And really, how much does our world need that! How necessary it is to increase and spread out the communities of disciples that, as humble believers, become in the world spaces of peaceful greetings, forgiveness and deep joy!
Fr. Antonio Villarino
Roma
On 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
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.
Our Lay Community has lived in St. Jude for few months. We work here, but we also live with mothers and children. In our orphanage live more than 130 children of different ages. Over 40 children are disabled to varying degrees, including deaf and blind children, children with cerebral palsy, children suffering from paraplegia and two young that have had various accidents. Also children with HIV and tuberculosis live here in St. Jude. Other children, although healthy in physically sense, they are sick in the spiritual sense- after the experience of rejection from family and experience of the war.
Despite all these diseases and difficult experiences our children are full of life, joy and smile. Every morning we hear their play, laughter and singing. Our children are simply made for inventing new games, especially for making toys out of nothing. They can find a piece of cardboard, a circle and a stick and a new “modern” racing car is rushing through our compound. The old tires are the best toys for them- turning them into racing gives them an extraordinary joy. However, girls really like to play in the imitation of mothers. They find a teddy bear, they quickly wear him on their back and pretend to have a child. It’s better when they find a piece of material to attach the bear to the back and keep their hands free, then it’s called “byelo”.
Older children help mothers in their homes. The girls learn how to take care of the house, cook typical Acoli dishes like “malakwan” or “boo”. The boys help in the store where we keep food- corn, rice and different varieties of beans. That’s all during the holiday. When the school stars most of them attend classes from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
The life of children with disabilities is more monotonous. We try to enliven it. During the day we take them for a short walk in the yard, they have rehabilitation, we play with them in a special room with toys to awake their imagination and change scenery. And despite that some of them have a high degree of disability they have learnt to recognise us. We also recognise their interest, for example Gerard likes tractor coming back from the farm. Then he touches the tires, watches how the cabin looks like. While Geoffrey likes when you stroke him on the cheeks. Bridget smiles when you tell her “good morning my beautiful Bridget”. Our children are full of joy and show it through smile, some even scream and in their eyes we can see friendship and trust which put in us.
Our life here is focused on the children, the time passes very quickly, but sometimes it happens something what “freezes” us for some time. More than one month ago, Isaac died. Isaac was a little boy with disability. He loved when you carried him to exhibit his face to the wind to feel the brush. He had an unusual smile. When he was carried he clung and when you put it back to the wheelchair he clenched his small lips-like a warrior-so as not to cry. Today he is gone from us but this experience has stuck in our hearts.
Every new day begins the same way, full of energy we face new challenges. In the evening we thank God in our small house chapel for the strength and love that we received. Tired but happy, we look forward to a new day.
Commentary on a John 20, 1-10, Easter Sunday April the Fifth 2015
In this Easter Sunday, we read the first part of John’s chapter 20th. There we can meet a community formed by three disciples: Mary Magdalene, Peter and “the other disciple” (let us call him John, following a long tradition). They, apart from being themselves, represent us all, disciples who try to learn from our Teacher the new life that He is showing to us. I invite you to read carefully, meditate and contemplate this Gospel. Let us go a bit into detail:
Mary Magdalene: unconditional love
Mary was, doubtless, an extraordinary woman. We do not know much about her previous life, but we do know that she has found in Jesus her faithful Friend, her undisputed Teacher and the Master of her life… She went after Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, in good and bad moments, and she stayed by Him till death, more, beyond death.
In fact, according to John (and other evangelists), she went to the place where Jesus was buried out of pure faithfulness, even in spite of not knowing how to remove the big stone and presuming that Jesus was dead. That was not important for her, because her love was absolute and unconditioned. And this definitive, unbroken love was rewarded with the stone removed and the vision of Jesus as He really is now, in his most authentic reality, not as a dead man but as the ever living Son of the Father.
Contemplating this woman, we are inspired and moved to imitate her in this radical, total love, and to give ourselves up to Him, in good and bad moments, no matter what kind of stones are put to separate us from Him, knowing as she did that Jesus is worthy of our love and our trust; and that Jesus is revealing Himself alive and present in our life, in our Church, in our World. It is this experience of Jesus alive in us that makes us missionaries, witnesses to the world.
Peter, a sinner ready to learn
Peter was, somehow, the chief of that small group of disciples, but it does not seem to be the one, who believed most clearly, or the cleverest one, or the one to understand things quicker. He was not the first one to go to the tomb; neither was he the first to arrive… He rather was the latest one to arrive, to understand things, to catch God’s signs… But he was humble, he was able to acknowledge his errors and sins, he knew how to open himself to others and how to learn from them.
Contemplating Peter, many of us feel represented in him. We, also, have our own history of sins, errors and unfaithfulness; we too are quite often slow to understand God’s ways; we too find it difficult to see the presence of God in our today’s world, in our Church, in our community; we also lack confidence and are afraid to be deceived. But, as Peter did, we can open ourselves to the help of others, allow ourselves, once more, to be accompanied and to be conquered by Jesus, and then say humbly: “Lord, you know that I love you”.
The “other disciple” was able to see the sunrise in the first day of the new Creation.
“The other disciple”
Among the disciples there was one (let us call him John), who was quicker and readier to see the new action of God in the world, able to go over the superficialities of live. There are many things that only love knows how to see, and it seems that John had that type of love that was enabling him to see beyond superficialities.
Also among us today there are some who seem to be quicker and smarter than the others: they are able to discern the signs of the times; they feel where the “wind” of God is pushing humanity; they have the capacity to look further… These ones are a gift for the community with one condition: That they learn to be members of a community that they do not go on by themselves alone, that they accept and adapt to the rhythm of the others. Only in that way the community is built up, only in that way Jesus reveals himself alive, only in that way we become real missionaries, starting with Jesus the new “week” of regeneration for Humanity.
In fact, as God created the world in a symbolic “week”, according to the book of Genesis, in the same way in Jesus He is creating a new Humanity. As Mary Magdalene, Peter and John, we too believe in this new creation, this new sunrise, no matter how big are the stones on our way. God’s love is stronger than sin and death. In God everything is re-created, re-generated, re-“newed”. And we are part of this project.
Fr. Antonio Villarino
Roma
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