America – Page 98 – Comboni Lay Missionaries

Service

12 October, 2014 by Alberto de la Portilla

Hello everyone. I am Martha, yes, a little similar to that of the Gospel, which had many things to concern and is disturbed knowing that only one is needed. I am originally from the state of Puebla, Pue., Mexico. There, I have a very beautiful family consisting of my parents, Martha and Fermin, four sisters and three brothers and almost twenty nephews. I am 33 years old and I work in the city of Mexico, in the education sector. I love languages, play basketball; my favorite music is the one where the guitar sounds (mariachis, trova, trios, bachata, street musicians, ranchera).

The reason for this message is for you to know a little about myself and share my joy at the appointment that I received last September 14 to assist the missions in coordinating the Comboni Lay Missionaries of Mexico. I consider the Comboni family as my spiritual family even I do not know everyone personally, it’s nice to know that my family is very large and we are united in the love of Christ and St. Daniel Comboni missionaries.

I thank God for this call to service and I join you in praying for unity in our missionary family. I would like to present the names of the team members who will serve the CLM of Mexico.

General Coordinator. CLM. Martha Morales Cruz
Ministry of Economy. CLM. Adriana Margarita Salcedo Cabello
Secretary of Education. CLM. Ma. Teresa Moreno García
Secretary of missionary animation. CLM. Manuela Valladares Esquivel

Here I share two photos. On the left, I am on the mission field in the mountains of Guerrero, in the community of Buenavista, with Adomid a na savi smiling child. And on the right, on my last birthday with four of my nephews: Luz, María José, Cuauhtémoc and Guadalupe.

Martha Morales

New CLM Bulletin in Costa Rica

11 October, 201410 October, 2014 by Alberto de la Portilla

Comboni asked the missionaries to be holy and capable.

Saints, for all who follow Christ should aspire to be a perfect image and likeness of the Lord, in everything, even the cross. A Christian, who does not want to be like Christ, is half on their spiritual journey. And capable, because, like Christ, the missionary must also perfected a work, with concrete actions to build the Kingdom of God here on earth.

In this missionary walking, every member of the community will discover their gifts and talents working together will refine their own skills, and placed at the service of others. And it is in this community effort, where everyone discovers it is essential to build the Church, and to be the Body of Christ.

Thus, little by little, the CLM of Costa Rica have seen the need –following the example of other CLM communities- to communicate and encourage the local church, with means and tools to raise awareness of the missionary charism, and attract more people willing to live the mission to its ultimate consequences.

The first project undertaken by Costa Ricans CLM in the area of communication is the missionary’s newsletter, which first came out in the month of missions. This bulletin is the result of a joint effort in which everyone developed one of the sections of the newsletter.

It is the first experiment which must get better, of course, but also a joy to see realized a dream that began earlier this year. The idea is that, through the bulletin, we may inform of important news of the mission of the whole Church, and more specifically of the work performed by the CLM worldwide.

In fact, we hope that everyone, as a single Comboni family, can be present in this newsletter, which will be monthly spread. For this reason, we encourage you to share your experiences or missionary projects in their various communities and missions to make them known in our country- printed and digitally- and develop, in this way, a strong missionary animation. Any writing or testimony you wish to share can be send by mail to the CLM in Costa Rica: laicosmisioneroscombonianos.cr@gmail.com.

We hope you enjoy this first edition, and, with your prayers and comments we can improve it every day. United in prayer.

We leave you here a digital copy of it: BoletinCR

Christian Madriz

CLM Annual Retreat 2014 in Peru

6 October, 2014 by Alberto de la Portilla

Retiro Peru On 26, 27 and 28 of this month of September the Comboni Lay Missionaries of Peru had the opportunity to live a spiritual retreat in the Foyer de Charité in Ñaña home, a district of Lima. There were present CLM from Trujillo, Arequipa, Lima and Huanuco. The occasion was propitious to reflect important points of our life as Comboni Lay Missionaries, share our life experiences on the mission especially with our foreign and national brother’s Ad Gentes.

Difficulties come and go in our lives, occur daily the economic, family, work… problems. But our strength is in our prayer and faith that we share in the midst of these storms.

Being a Lay Missionary in these times requires great dedication and passion. For this way of life St. Daniel Comboni sought missionaries “Saints and Able.”

This retreat comforts us and encourages us to make significant strides in our life as CLM and grow as a missionary family.

Fisher CLM Peru

Ends the III American CLM meeting

27 September, 2014 by Alberto de la Portilla

The Third Meeting of the Comboni Lay Missionaries in America took place in Guatemala City from 16 to 20 September, together with the Central Committee of the CLM. The seed planted by St. Daniel Comboni has continued to bear abundant fruit in the hearts that make silence to listen to the will of God.

The meeting was attended by the CLM of the continent -USA / Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru, Brazil- and Comboni advisors and a Comboni sister. This was really a meeting full of cultures and languages, but united by a common Comboni missionary spirit.

Every day, we all met in the Holy Eucharist, which was the food necessary to meet the challenges of work presented to us as the meeting progressed.

After Mass starts, the working sessions in different themes, related to the Way of the CLM: coordination, structure, economics, education, mission, among others; in order to reach agreements and proposals to help each community to further deepen this beautiful charism we have received as a gift from God.

Those days were very tired, for debating and seeking a common path. But they were also days of joy, to share, to know and to feel part of a beautiful family that is growing, maybe not by leaps and bounds, but with firm steps under the lovely low weight of the cross of Christ.

Also, days to feel as brothers, beyond language or nationality, beyond physical boundaries, we felt children under the protection of Saint Daniel Comboni. Each day we could remember that our Comboni being flowed from the pierced heart of Christ nailed to the tree.

Between work sessions, we got to know also more about the work being done in each CLM Community of the participating countries, and thus enrich the lived experience of the community. And our Guatemalan brothers gave us several cultural activities, for more wealth, history and “chapinas” traditions.

Today, looking back, is nothing but smile, with peace in our heart for the work done, knowing that the real meeting has just begun. If we want the conclusions of the meeting will bear fruit, we must all get to work; we must work together and strive to bring the message of Christ to many brothers who do not yet know.

We need to be more in communication, recognizing that the mission does not belong to a country, but to the Church, that we all conform. We need the support of our older brothers, the MCCJ, and take our leading role as Comboni Lay Missionaries. We need to work together, and be engage in a more global missionary work. There is still some way to go, but our shortcomings are what should motivate us to keep going, looking to grow and improve, to get closer to God’s specific call. The road travels easier when we walk together.

Some, perhaps, will want to know if the meeting was worth it or if it was a success. I think the things of God cannot be measured in these terms, it could misunderstand the work. And this work is constructed from Love with Love and by Love. That Love which includes the sacrifice to be willing to give our lives.

However, something we can say is that the meeting helped to take our role together, for bonding, to know the faces-and hearts-especially those who, from their realities and countries are building the charism of St. Daniel Comboni in everyday life and anonymity, aware that the only protagonist of the work is Jesus Christ, as it was well understood by Comboni.

Christian Madriz

Comboni Simposium- Concrete proposals for Apostolic Action Plan in view of the General Chapter XVIII

20 September, 2014 by Alberto de la Portilla

After a week of work from the Comboni Plan up to the reflection on the mission today, we wanted to make a synthesis of the work done, trying to reach conclusions unanimously accepted by the participants.

Thus, for groups, elaborate concrete proposals for the Comboni mission today. These were discussed in plenary in order to reach an apostolic action plan consistent with both the urgency of the mission and the Comboni identity.

In the afternoon, participants reflected and proposed certain aspects to be taken as a contribution to the General Chapter XVIII.

At the end of this week, remains a shout in the heart of each of us: We are missionaries “to give life and life in abundance.”

Susana Vilas Boas