Comboni Lay Missionaries

The vine, the branches and the pruning

A commentary on John 15,-18, Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 3

Last Sunday Jesus used the image of a Good Shepherd, connected to the culture of cattle raising; today he chooses an image connected to the culture of vine growers. Vine growing is not a universal culture, but it is spreading quickly to many parts of the world and wine is being increasingly consumed, even if many do not know the plant itself. Anyway, I think that it is not difficult for anybody to understand the deep meaning of this allegory that Jesus is telling us today, based on the culture of Israel and many other peoples in the world.
Let us proceed then on this allegory. To have grapes and wine, we need, apart from the land itself, three esential elements:

P10102511. The vine that carries new life
Jesus compares Himself with the vine, and the Father with the wine grower who prunes the branches of the vine. Jesus, whose personality is rooted in the Father’s Love, gives life to new “branches”, “members of his body” (as Saint Paul says), called to bear plenty of fruit in communion with Him and with the Father.
Some people seem to think today that they can give fruit by themselves, as if they were the “autonomous” sources of life, as if the branches could grow without the vine or as if a vine could grow without a land and a grower. But the true disciples of Jesus know that without the caring Love of the Father given to us in Jesus Christ, the “vine” to which we are attached, our life becomes fruitless and it ends up in a useless fire.
Some seem to think also that the Church is little more than a social, political or humanitarian organization. But the Church is, in the first place and above all, the community of those specially related to God in Jesus Christ. Certainly, the Church is and does many things; it runs, for example, thousands of schools and hospitals and its ministry has many social economic, cultural and political effects… Certainly, but lets us not confuse the effects with the causes. The Church is, first of all, an space of faith and relationship with God the Father in Jesus Christ. If that faith disappears, all the rest will disappear sooner or later.

gesu-e-vite2.- The branches that, springing up from the vine, bear fruit
Jesus says that we, his disciples and friends, are those “branches”. Saint Paul uses another expression, but the meaning is the same: We are members of his body. It is quite evident that the branches of a tree or the members of a body are nothing without the tree or the body. So to have life and bear fruit, we, the “branches”, have to avoid two dangers:
-To be broken and separated from the vine: I remember when I, as a young man, used to go with my father to the vineyard. We were very careful not to break the branches. If that happened, we knew that we have just lost part of the fruit we were so eager to receive from that vine. That is what is actually happening to us, when by unconsciousness or pride, we separate ourselves from Jesus Christ, thinking maybe that we are strong enough to do important things by ourselves. If we fall into that temptation, we become fruitless. It is essential to remain united to Jesus Christ with our love, the reading of his words, the obedience to his mandates, the communion with his disciples and the openness to his Spirit.

-To forget the pruning. Winegrowers know very well that a vine that is not pruned becomes very soon old and fruitless. I remember a vine that we had in one of our communities: left without pruning for a few years, became fruitless and is was set for death. When we decided to prune it adequately, it began quite soon to renew itself and give good fruit. The meaning of this allegory is quite clear, if we do not prefer to look to another side: A life “abandoned”, not “pruned” becomes chaotic and fruitless. We all know how athletes and musicians, among many others, need a lot of discipline to make progress. The same happens with our life and our discipleship. We need the decision to be disciples, but, besides, we need to be pruned by the Father through prayer, Bible reading, good counselling, openness to the Spirit…

IMG_01473.- The fruit: the wine, that can transform a sad life into a feast banquet, like in Cana.
We all wish to give fruit and to live happy and fruitful lives. But we must remember that fruits are not something artificially added to the branches of threes. Fruits do not come from the outer part, but from the inner one. I’s only the inner life of the tree that can assure the arrival of the fruit. In the same way, a disciple will give fruit, only if he or she has a rich inner life, in deep relationship with Jesus Christ, and if he or she allows himself to be constantly “pruned” and taken care of by the Father. If the disciple remains united to Jesus and the Father, He or she will give abundant fruits of goodness and generosity, peace and joy, humility and service… In short, of a new life rooted in Jesus Christ.

Fr. Antonio Villarino
Roma

CLM formation in Ghana

GhanaSince the Provincial Counsel has assigned Fr Godwin Kornu to journey with us, we have also started focusing on the formation process. In the line of this, we have our monthly formation at Bakpa-Avedo, an out-station of Mafi-Kumase, the quasi-parish where resides our chaplain. The theme should have been Comboni’s Faith, but father decided to talk first of all about FAITH. Father started by defining Faith in four ways:

  1. Faith in something or in somebody.
  2. Strong religious belief.
  3. Faith in reference to a particular religion.
  4. Faith used in conjunction with adjectives good or bad. To keep or to break faith.

The (b) is the one closer to our situation said the Rev. Fr. He said that faith is a gift from God and He is the initiator. To have faith in God is to surrender to Him. The faithfulness of God arouses faith. The one who believes will wait actively and Hope should give us joy. Our joy should not be circumstantial but should have its root in God. Faith does not go in contradiction with the reason but faith is higher than reason. Faith is, said father, compared to a seed which everybody has to develop. Prayer is the way by which faith can grow. But while praying, we should have in mind that our prayer can’t change God’s plan for us but prepare us to receive what God has for us.

After this presentation, we discussed some few issues. We concluded for all members to create a Small Christian Community (S.C.C.) at our various places as a way of our commitment. Through it, we can carry out some of our activities as far as Evangelization, Mission Animation, Vocation promotion and JPIC are concerned. We also decided to show our closeness, “common cause” to two of our members having some accidents. The 9th May was at the end agreed on for our coming meeting at Abor, our CLM Center. After this, we had the agape.

Justin Nougnui, coordinator.

The unselfish Shepherd

A commentary on John 10, 11-18, Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 26th 2015

We continue Reading Saint John’s Gospel. Today we read chapter tenth with the allegory of the Good Shepherd, a very meaningful image for ancient peoples, who used to live on cattle. The majority of us live now in big cities and do not have the direct experience of a shepherd’s work and life, but still the image is powerful and inspiring also for us. Let me offer you three points of meditation:

aaa1.- People, more than a wages
Walking from town to town, in Palestine, Jesus could observe, as we do nowadays, that there were many authorities working just for the pay, not for the good of the people they were working for. Those “shepherds” were centred in themselves, their money, their prestige, their good name, with no real interest for the good of the persons they were supposed to serve, people who were really in need of guidance, like “sheep without a shepherd”: Many politicians were more interested in their own richness than in organizing a just society; many fathers and mothers were thinking on their own wellbeing more than on their children’s vocation; many religious leaders were acting, not according to the heart of God, but putting their search for money, power and prestige before the wellbeing of God’s children.
Before this situation, Jesus, Son of the living God, who has declared himself “the shepherd of his people” (Ezekiel 34, Psalm 23), presents himself with his real identity: an unselfish shepherd, that is, not centred in himself, but in the need of his “sheep”: sick people, sinners, friends, children of his Father. For Him people are not means to achieve personal, political or religious goals. People are not instrumental to anything, but the Father’s loved children. And He has no doubts about giving his life out for them in total freedom and generosity.
This leads me to two conclusions for my own life:
-Jesus is the only true Shepherd of my life. Nobody else. Certainly, all of us need others: friends, parents, teachers, doctors, politicians…They are, somehow, shepherds of our life. But one thing is clear to me: the only shepherd to whom I entrust my life is Jesus Christ. I allow myself to be guided by Him, loved by Him. In him I find the nourishment for my soul, the free and undisputed love… And that makes me free from so many pretentious shepherds who try to use me for their own interests.
-I am also called to become a shepherd. I am called to guide others, to give my life for others. Looking at Jesus I become a disciple-shepherd, somebody that looks at others, not as a means of “self-realization”, but as autonomous children of God, to whose fulfilment I can contribute with my words and actions, affection and testimony.

P10104232.- To know and to be known: “I know my sheep, as my Father knows me”
The famous Uruguayan writer, deceased recently, Eduardo Galeano, told once a story about a young boy who was lonely in a hospital on Christmas eve. To the doctor who went to visit him before going home to celebrate Christmas, the boy said: “Tell somebody that I am here”… Maybe you have seen how people become “mad” when they see themselves on television; they rejoice at the fact of their public appearance, of been seen by others… That happens because we are made to “be in the eyes of somebody”, to be looked at, to be recognised by somebody. Without that we feel alone, “abandoned”, not taken into consideration, we are like “nothing”, as “sheep without a pastor”. Sometimes we may have the impression of being alone in live and that even the nearest people know us only from the outside, not what we really are in our inner self.
What Jesus is telling us today is that He knows us in our inner reality, that we are not lost in the mass, that we are SOMEBODY in his eyes. Jesus relates to me as the Father relates to him: with knowledge, love and mutual belonging.

P10202723.- An inclusive community
The disciples of Jesus learn continuously how to build up a community, in which everyone is appreciated and accepted as He is with an absolute value in himself. People are not important because of their “instrumental” value but because they are God’s children. In this sense, how beautiful it is the custom we find in some Christian communities to stay over, after Mass, to greet around, to take a coffee together, to know more about each other, to be “somebody” among many other important “somebodies”.
This community of people known by Jesus and to each other is an open community, always ready to welcome other “sheep” that are for some time out of the “sheepfold”, not because we want to increase our numbers (for power and prestige), but because we want to share the marvellous gift of this unselfish shepherd, who wants (and we with Him) that everybody has “life and life in abundance” (Jn 10,10). The community of Jesus’ disciples is a missionary-shepherd community, who cares for the wellbeing of others, always ready to go out of itself and meet the needs and joys of the people of our time.
Fr. Antonio Villarino
Roma

Mozambique: NO to the ‘land-grabbers’

MozambiqueThirty Comboni missionaries who work in the Comboni provinces of Europe have participated in the “Symposium of Limone 2015”, an event organized by the European Group for Theological Reflection (GERT), from 7 to 11 of April at Limone sul Garda (Italy), the birthplace of Comboni. This year’s theme was: “To be good news today in Europe: to consolidate, deepen and envision.” At the end of the Symposium, the participants signed a statement condemning the project of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security of the Government of Mozambique, who is about to grant 102,000 square km of fertile land (one third of Italy) to the Consortium ProSAVANA, made up of Mozambican, Japanese and Brazilian entrepreneurs. Below we report the press release of the missionaries.

Mozambique: NO to the ‘land-grabbers’

Mozambique

In these days in Mozambique is taking place another serious chapter of the land grabbers: the so-called land-grabbing.

In fact, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security of the Government of Maputo has published a document of 204 pages in which it is implied the sale of 102,000 square km of land (one third of Italy) to the Consortium ProSAVANA made up of Mozambican, Japanese and Brazilian entrepreneurs. These fertile lands are found in the northern parts of Nampula, Niassa and Zambézia. In these regions are concentrated 4.2 million people. It is amazing that Mozambique, which has about 30 million hectares of arable land, intends to yield 10.2 million hectares to a private consortium.

The Government of Maputo said that this project will help small farmers and the feeding of the population, while we very well know that this project will use very little of the local labor because high technological mechanical means will be used and the end product will solely be for export.

Where will all this population end up when removed from their land? And what will be the environmental impact of such mega-project? What will be the repercussion on the underground water resources? And, finally, what political effects will have on the fragile balance on which today the peace in Mozambique is holding on?

In support of the local farmers’ associations and of our confreres and Sisters who work with them, we Comboni missionaries and Comboni Sisters, Comboni Secular missionaries and Lay Comboni of Italy and Europe, gathered here in Limone sul Garda, the birthplace of St. Daniel Comboni, raise a warning cry against this latest act of ‘land grabbing’ that will be severely paid by over 4 million people living in those regions.

Mozambique

Limone sul Garda, April 10, 2015

Father Alberto Pelucchi, Vicario Generale dei Missionari Comboniani
Father Alex Zanotelli, Direttore di Mosaico di Pace, Napoli
Father Antonio Guarino, Castel Volturno, Napoli
Father Antonio Porcellato, SMA, Vicario Generale, Roma
Father Arlindo Pinto, Coordinatore di Giustizia e Pace, Roma
Father Benito De Marchi, Inghilterra
Father Dario Balula Chaves, Portogallo
Father Domenico Guarino, Palermo
Father Efrem Tresoldi, Direttore di Nigrizia, Verona
Father Fernando Zolli, Firenze
Father Gianluca Contini, Roma
Father Gino Pastore, Troia
Father Giorgio Padovan, Brasile
Father Giovanni Munari, Superiore Provinciale dei Comboniani in Italia
Father Guillermo Aguinaga, Polonia
Father Juan Antonio Fraile, Spagna
Father Karl Peinhopf, Superiore Provinciale dei Comboniani di lingua tedesca
Father Martin Devenish, Superiore Provinciale dei Comboniani del Regno Unito
Father Ottavio Raimondo, Bari
Father Palmiro Mileto, Bari
Father Pierpaolo Monella, Limone sul Garda
Sister Dorina Tadiello, Superiora Provinciale delle Comboniane in Italia
Sister Fernanda Cristinelli, Comboniana, Roma
Sister Kathia Di Serio, Comboniana, Verona
Carmelo Dotolo, Pontificia Università Urbaniana, Roma
Clara Carvalho, Secolare Comboniana, Portogallo
CLM community, La Zattera, Palermo
Felicetta Parisi, Napoli
Brother Friedbert Tremmel, Germania
Maria Lucia Ziliotto, Secolare Comboniana, Treviso

Attached:

Comunicado_de_imprensa_ProSAVANA.pdf

Master_Plan_ProSAVANA.pdf

Fraternal meal, Opened mind, witnesses

A Commentary on Lk 24, 35-48: Sunday, April 19th 2015

We read today the last part of Luke’ Gospel, chapter 24. After the story of the two disciples who met Jesus on the way to Emmaus, recognized him in the “breaking of the bread” and come back to Jerusalem to share their experience, Luke tells us that Jesus himself appeared to the whole group of disciples, who were rather in a state of sadness, confusion and doubt. In the text we read today we can find many interesting points for our meditation. As usual, I make just three points:

MinoCenaEcologica1) The importance of eating together; “He ate before them”
Luke says that, seeing that the disciples were shocked and somehow unable to believe, Jesus asked for something to eat and , when fish was offered to Him, He started eating before them. To eat with somebody has always been, and continues to be, in most different cultures, a gesture of great social meaning. To eat together unites the families, strengthens friendships, stablishes social links… and even favours business.
According to what the gospels say, Jesus used to go quite frequently to eat with people: to take part in a wedding feast (Cana), to celebrate a new friendship (with Levi), to stablish social relationships with social leaders (Pharisees) and so on. Jesus also compared the Kingdom of God to a banquet to which we are all invited by the Father. The act of eating together became a sign of the new humanity that He announced and promoted in the name of the Father. And this new fraternal humanity was sealed with the seal of his given up body and blood, a sign of which was anticipated in the last supper.
From that time on, that community meal has become a sign (and a reality) of his presence among the disciples, companions in this struggle to be stablish the Kingdom of God in a world quite often hostile. Certainly, everything can go wrong. This happens often with our social meals that, instead of being fraternal and friendly, can be a place for hypocrisy. And this may happen also ton the great sacrament of Jesus’s presence among us: The Eucharist; we can falsify it ad really we do often. But if we celebrate the Eucharist with humility and honesty, it becomes the great sign (and instrument) of a renewed community, in which Jesus makes Himself present, fostering brotherhood, justice and mutual help, and sowing seeds of a new humanity.
2) Opened mind: “He opened their minds so that they could understand the Scriptures”
With the opened minds, the Scriptures help them to understand what is happening in their lives and in the history of humanity; and their historical experience helps them to understand better what the Scriptures say. Scriptures and live illuminate each other. The disciples experienced this many a time following Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem and listening to his luminous teaching. Listening to Him, it was easy for them to understand, for example, that to heal a paralysed man was more important than to keep the rules concerning the Sabath; that to help a wounded man on the way made us to be real sons of the Father; that the Father was very happy when a sinner repented… that his own death was an act of definitive trust and self-giving love….
That’s why to the day of today, and for centuries to come, the disciples gather together now and again to listen to the wonderful words of Jesus, to be illuminated by them in a fruitful dialogue between Word and Life. Listening to this Word, we understand better what is happening in us and around us. And living with generosity and an opened mind makes us understand ever better that wonderful Word. In that we experience how alive Jesus is among us and how He is guiding his community, through his Holy Spirit.

P10009163) To be witnesses: “His name will be proclaimed to all peoples”
To listen to the luminous word of Jesus, to “eat” with Him and the community of disciples, to experience the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life and in the world, is the most wonderful gift I personally could have received. This has transformed my life, making me feel a loved child of the Father and a sincere brother among brothers. That is why, following the steps of Peter, Paul, Luke and millions of disciples, I also want to be a missionary, a witness to that wonderful experience before the world. To be a witness to Jesus in the world is the most fascinating mission a person can have.
Mission is not a fight to gain adepts to a sect, nor a clever merchandising of an ideology, nor expansion of a religious system… Mission is to become humble but joyous witnesses of a gift received: a Word that continuously guides and illuminates us, in spite of so much confusion and doubt in us and around us; a brotherhood that we build every day, not because we are better than others, but because we are disciples ready to learn and to involve ourselves in this marvellous project of Jesus and His Father; a presence of the Holy Spirit that guides us in all circumstances, in love and freedom, against all the difficulties and our own sins.
Thank you, Jesus, for your Word; thank you for your fraternal meal; thank you for the Spirit who guide us in this sweet mission of being your witnesses
Fr Antonio Villarino
Roma