Comboni Lay Missionaries

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Running to the aid of those in need (In the footsteps of the Risen One V)

by
Resucitado
Resucitado

In the second meaning of the word RESUCITAR (to resurrect), the RAE dictionary tells us that colloquially it means “to restore, renew, give new life to something.”

This summer I had a missionary experience in Mozambique with five other companions. During this experience, I met Mrs. M., a widow with a deep faith who had spent her long life working as a teacher. She had a very warm personality and cared deeply about all her neighbors. A few years ago, in her desire to help others, she gathered a group of people, members of the Songo parish, to start the Caritas group from scratch.

Thanks to her efforts and those of her collaborators, Caritas Songo was launched with the fundamental objective of restoring dignity to all those in need in the village.

Every day, she would go out on foot with her group to visit, accompany, distribute, listen… always with a smile on her face and a transparent gaze that showed the merciful Jesus she carried to everyone.

I could talk about many of the experiences I shared with Mrs. M., but the one that impressed me the most was the day we went with the group to respond to an emergency call. An elderly man had been left on the street because he had been kicked out of the house where he lived. He took refuge in an abandoned, dirty, dilapidated room with no door. The neighbors alerted her to the situation, and Mrs. M., without hesitation, came to his aid, taking money out of her own pocket to cover the old man’s basic needs, mainly food and water. She asked the community to mobilize to find a solution to the problem of the missing door, and they quickly managed to bring one that solved the old man’s lack of privacy and security. And just as the Good Samaritan did, she left more money with one of the man’s neighbors so that she could buy more food and whatever else he needed.

Her generosity, selflessness, and humanity, in the style of the Gospel, made us think about our own attitudes and behaviors in the society in which we live. Would we have acted in the same way? Probably not.

Two months ago, I received the news of her death. The same Jesus who was present in her charitable work called her to reward her and thank her for being Good News.

Mrs. M. was determined to restore, renew, and give new life, that is, to RESURRECT, all those who came to her for help. Nor did she forget to go to those who could not or did not want to come to the parish. Those were her chosen ones, the same ones whom Jesus approached because he knew that they would not take the first step.

Now she enjoys the RESURRECTION that she gave to so many people in Songo.

Faina Toledo, CLM

Memories of Holy Week in Metlatónoc

by
LMC Costa Rica

“After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’” (Luke 10:1-9 Latin American Bible)

I cannot stop thinking about this biblical quote without remembering what it must have been like when Jesus sent out the 72, and imagining the experiences of those who were sent.

Last April, we, the group of Costa Rican Comboni Lay Missionaries, had the experience of living the Holy Week mission field as preparation for the Mission Ad gentes, in the state of Guerrero, Mexico, specifically in the municipality of Metlatónoc.

This experience undoubtedly left a mark on me culturally, spiritually, and personally, allowing me to appreciate the gift of the call to a vocation of service to others and, at the same time, to understand the essence of missionary life: the challenges faced by our missionaries in each of the countries to which they are sent.

In my case, I was assigned to the community of Valle Hermoso, made up of Mixtec indigenous people, in the company of José David Rojas (CLM) where we participated, accompanied, and lived Holy Week in a very special way, listening, observing, and contributing, always with respect for the community and its culture, our company, and suggestions for the celebrations.

As a health professional (nurse) and addiction therapist, this time I avoided any situation that would prevent me from getting involved in the spiritual and personal experience and I stripped myself of any expectations, to clear my mind and be able to receive, learn, and objectively accompany all these people who came to us many times with their concerns, customs, and culture. This led me to understand that sometimes, just being there and living the way we’ve been called to live speaks for itself.

I must confess that the experience was wonderful, the learning invaluable, and I was overcome with nostalgia when we said goodbye. Without a doubt, I learned that you can be happy with very little, and it also made me wonder if I would be prepared to live in such austere conditions for a long time among them.

I can say that I am still happy with my calling, sometimes with concerns, but also with many dreams. Feeling called and sent at the same time makes me recall the aforementioned quote from the Gospel of Luke and confirm that my vocation is the best gift the Lord has given me.

To the community of Metlatónoc, and to Valle Hermoso, its people, children, youth, and adults, thank you for your welcome.

I also extend my special thanks to our guide in Costa Rica, Brother Jesús Pérez, for his advice, and in a very special way to Fathers Miguel Navarrete and Wojciech Chwaliszewski. May God bless you!

Jorge Zamora, CLM Costa Rica

Mission with the CLM of Mexico in Metlatonoc

by
LMC Mexico

Missionary experience in Holy Week in Mexico (Tlapa – Metlatónoc), an indigenous people with customs, traditions, with another language (the Misteco), with its doctrine of Catholic Faith, with different rites but with the same God and His praise and glory for our Lord Jesus Christ.

A Mission with great blessing for us and the people of Metlatonoc. Living and sharing with children, teenagers, adults and seniors, seeing the smile, the joy, the happiness in every face of our brothers and sisters. I realize that bringing the Word, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, came to life in the different religious activities carried out: the Procession of the encounter, the Institution of the Eucharist live, with its customs, the surrender of Jesus and the crucifixion of Christ.

Living together in the different communities with all the members, from the children to the adults, was very beautiful; where we evangelized and enjoyed different dynamics, we sang and danced, we colored, we played and danced, we sang with the adults.

This missionary experience is an opportunity to get involved in the lives of others, share the gospel and serve those in need. It is an experience of solidarity where relationships are forged, we collaborate in community solutions and live in an intercultural community, seeking personal transformation and evangelization.

It involves helping, collaborating in solutions and being present in the daily life of the community where the mission takes place. It focuses on announcing the Good News, sharing the faith and making disciples of Jesus through the Word and testimony. The mission is lived in community, sharing the experience and learning together, both from others and from the situation being lived. It can represent a before and an after in the life of the missionary, strengthening faith and generating a positive change.

And I lived it in this way, especially in each activity throughout that week: from the first prayer in the morning, the going out to the houses, the sharing in the meetings with the children, celebrating the Eucharist, until the end of sharing in the evening with my brothers and sisters, no longer so unknown, companions of the community, I began to embrace this “Mission”.

That is where the mission began. That is when I began to try to look a little with the eyes of Christ: every entrance to a house was a reason for joy and gratitude, which I was allowed to feel by listening, by talking, by smiles, by tears of the most precious treasure of Jesus, which is the heart of each one of those faces we met. The meetings with the children were the engine of each day, a moment to forget the worries, the structures, the “big things” to enter into that simple and tender world of playing and laughing regardless of time or place, simply to become like children.

Karol Chacón, CLM Candidate, Costa Rica

In the footsteps of the Risen Christ (IV)

by
Resucitado
Resucitado

Some years ago in a village, belonging to the parish of Mongoumba, there was a Christian family, engaged in the parish, the father, a catechist, had several children; one of them, Eloy, was 10 years old.

One day Eloy went to bathe in the river, as usual, and when he returned home he collapsed, without consciousness, and went into a coma.

His father quickly took him to the health center, where there was nothing they could do, because the center was very basic, and they directed him to the hospital in Mongoumba.

LMC RCA

When they arrived at the hospital and admitted him, no one knew how to give an answer, the possibilities of doing tests, analysis are nonexistent, there is no equipment to do a CAT scan. And his father, Jean Batiste, not knowing what to do and where to call, went to seek comfort at the church and spoke to the parish priest; and from that moment on in community prayer, Eloy and his family were always present and we tried to support the family, both physically and spiritually.

We do not know how or why, but one day Eloy began to wake up, his body was still paralyzed.

The rehabilitation center “DA TI NDOYE”, which belongs to the parish, took him in. With everyone’s effort and hope, the physiotherapist began to work with him.

LMC RCA

After a month of daily work and effort Eloy, in his wheelchair, began to attend the mission school, his dream was to play soccer.

In Mongoumba, he continued his life, as normal as possible, attended catechesis, as in his community, and received baptism and first communion.

One Sunday, during mass, at the moment of approaching communion and in front of everyone, he stood up and without anyone’s help he managed to get there by himself.

Ten years later, on Easter Sunday, I met Eloy in his community, with his friends; he is a young man of 20 years old, autonomous, who walks without any external support and has a smile that fills the heart of those who receive it.

Teresa Monzon, CLM Mongoumba