America – Page 2 – Comboni Lay Missionaries

Memories of Holy Week in Metlatónoc

2 June, 2025 by Alberto de la Portilla

“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

28 May, 2025 by Alberto de la Portilla

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)

26 May, 2025 by Alberto de la Portilla

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.

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.

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

In the footsteps of the Risen Christ (III)

19 May, 2025 by Alberto de la Portilla

Sometimes, in the hospital, days go by immersed in daily routine, in routine work. It is often difficult to break the monotony. Although we deal with different people, the same moments are repeated: the crying, the disorientation, the exhausting wait before a farewell that we do not want to come, a diagnosis that stops our life, an unwanted loneliness, persistent and chronic pain…

In the midst of all this suffering, and in the context of the Easter season that we are celebrating, I ask myself again and again: Where are you, Lord? How can I see you and discover you risen? What signs of Life can I find in the midst of so much pain?

And then I see you. I discover you in those words full of tenderness that ask for permission to clean a patient in bed, to take a blood test. I recognize you in the hands that caress with comfort the cheeks of those who suffer, in the eyes of the bedridden person who, with a look and a smile, says good morning to us. You are in the hands always ready to help, in those who, despite the daily hustle and bustle, find time to listen.

Yes, Lord, you dwell in all these situations. And it is there where I recognize you and see you Risen, giving LIFE in the midst of so many experiences of death that sometimes we have to live as health-care workers.

Esther Nieto, CLM

In the footsteps of the Risen Lord (II)

11 May, 2025 by Alberto de la Portilla

We continue to walk through this Easter season, discovering the footsteps of the Risen Lord who walks with us. Today, Mª Carmen Tomás, CLM from Seville, shares with us the life story of JJ, a true story of Easter and resurrection.

We live in a world in which migrants only find physical, political, relational barriers… It is difficult for us to look beyond what we see, what we believe, what we judge…

Today I would like to share the migration process of JJ, a 25 year old Colombian boy. He had to leave his country and came to Spain, with his hands in his pockets, fleeing situations of violence, misery, breaking ties with his family of origin without knowing when and how he could recover them.

He arrived in Madrid, and there he “had no luck”, he did not find any door, window or loophole, and as he had been a military man in his country, he went to Ukraine, to join the army, looking for a desperate solution. But the reality of the war, the destruction, the pain he saw around him, made him aware that he was risking his life and he had to leave, because the security provided by lodging and a salary (which he could send to his family) did not compensate.

So he arrives in Paris, broken, and meets three other boys (also Latin American), who like him were living on the street, without resources, without knowing the language…, and they create a new family, one of those that unite more than blood. The winter there is very hard, with very low temperatures, so they decide to come to Spain, where at least they knew the language, and end up arriving to my city, where winters are very mild, seven months ago. From the entity where I work, my colleagues from the homeless project take care of them in the street and encourage them to come in the morning for an appointment in our office. And there, little by little, with a lot of effort and perseverance on the part of my colleagues, little things are being achieved, and above all they are gradually regaining hope and illusion.

I do not want to tire you, but unfortunately the resources for homeless people are quite saturated, and it is not easy to find a place for one person, and even less for a group of four. The resource was not adequate, but it allowed them to have dinner, bed and shower. They were able to apply for street registration and medical assistance, which are the basis for access to the most basic resources.

There, other people, in their same situation, helped them to look for work in the countryside, despite how difficult it is to work when you are in an irregular administrative situation. And they did not hesitate to get up at 5 o’clock in the morning to get to the collection points for workers, as was already the case in the time of Jesus….

The relationship with the other day laborers also helped them to heal their wounds, to recover their self-esteem, … to feel that life was starting to give them a chance and to fight for it and not give up.

The cold season was coming to an end, and they had to leave the resource. During all this time we had worked with them, accompanying them in their processes. JJ was beginning to have a more regulated life, working, but without the possibility of paying the deposit to get into a room… We helped him by paying him a month’s rent, giving him the opportunity to save during that month and thus be able to continue in the room. And he succeeded.

Now he has been on his own for three months, he continues to work in the fields, he has his rented room, he has regained contact with his family, he maintains his friendship with his companions, one of whom went back to his country, but the other two are also doing well. And he keeps coming to see my colleague, to tell him how he is doing, how things are going…..

This morning I approached his table and asked him if he could tell me a story of hope and resurrection to share with you, and he told me, well look, I am going to tell you the story of JJ, who has just come out of here…..

Mª Carmen Tomás, CLM