Ecuador – Page 2 – Comboni Lay Missionaries

CLM Candidates in Ecuador

14 December, 2021 by Alberto de la Portilla

This year 2021, brought many graces and gifts from Divine Providence to the Comboni Lay Missionaries in Ecuador. It is a reality that the pandemic in 2020, changed our life and the plans we had set took another direction and were put on hold; and among them the call for new lay people to increase our small community of Guayaquil.

In July 2021, we received in our community Fr. Joseph Ng’ang’a from Kenya, who became the local referent of the CLM in Ecuador and together with him and his teachings, we were able to make the call for new members, who would become CLM Candidates, a reality.

Thus, on August 17, 2021, a first call was made; and, it was in the mass of October 10, 2021, that after the celebration, we gathered the candidates and we presented them with the formation project for lay people based on five meetings, which is considered the “Stage of Knowledge and First Contacts” in our Statutes, in the same way the dates and place of meetings were presented to them.

The meetings went smoothly as scheduled, sometimes by zoom and others in person, so as not to lose continuity and to get to know our house of the Afro Ecuadorian Cultural Center. In addition, as CLM and to feel part of the Comboni Family in Guayaquil, it was agreed that the last Tuesday of the month we will have a mass and share as a family, in good time, some of the candidates were able to live this experience, along with the priests and brothers CLM.

Our last meeting was this Thursday, December 09, 2021, at 15h30, reviewing the last topic of formation of the Stage, leaving them the concern of their decision to belong to the CLM for next year. Joseph’s first anniversary of priesthood; for the upcoming Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations; and, the mission departure of John Villarroel and a candidate to our future national CLM mission site in San Lorenzo, Esmeraldas.

We thank the Sacred Heart of Jesus and St. Daniel Comboni for all the joys and experiences we have lived this year and for the future ones we will receive, with full knowledge that everything depends on our trust and detachment to the mission, either locally in Monte Sinai – Guayaquil; or, in the national one in San Lorenzo – Esmeraldas.

Abg. Susana Ortega Delgado, CLM

CLM American Meeting

4 October, 2021 by Alberto de la Portilla

On September 25, 2021, the American CLM Committee: MCCJ Fr. Ottorino Poletto, Beatriz Maldonado and Mireya Soto, with the accompaniment of Alberto de la Portilla, were pleased to meet with the CLM of America and some of Europe, to have a formative conference, given by Father Dario Bossi, with the theme “the vocation of the laity in the socio-political and ecclesial context of America“.

Father Dario Bossi is a Comboni Missionary, currently provincial coordinator of the Comboni Missionaries in Brazil. The theme was developed in three important points: Colorful spots (to understand the situation where we are), Christian lights (lights that from the faith and the Church help us to understand the reality and provide ideas) and CLM Mission (some ideas that as missionaries, in our case Comboni Missionaries, we can develop).

He explained that America is a continent with cultural richness, natural resources, and in the face of the storm that humanity is going through, we CLM have the commitment to dialogue and act in favor of the poor and the needy, hence the hope and the lights that we have such as the Encyclicals of Pope Francis in which he speaks of the commitment to nature and the need for a Church to go out; The mission ad gentes and our relationship as Comboni family.

The conference has been recorded and you can listen to it and analyze it (here below in Spanish) for further enrichment of our groups.

Our meeting ended with the prayer that Christ taught us, giving thanks for having gathered and shared.

“Divine works are born and grow at the foot of the cross“. St. Daniel Comboni.

Mireya Soto, CLM American Committee

Visit to our community in Ecuador

3 September, 2021 by Alberto de la Portilla

The Comboni Lay Missionaries in Ecuador received on August 31, 2021, the visit of the Provincial Continental Referent of the CLM, Fr. Ottorino Poletto MCCJ, who taking advantage of his coming to Guayaquil, wanted to have a small meeting with our community.

After updating us on personal news and telling us about his visit to Mexico, he made us the proposal to have as CLM in Ecuador a place of mission, where we can establish ourselves and work in unity offering missionary service to the communities in the areas of education, health and other specific pastoral areas, taking into account our personal, professional and missionary reality. This initiative of leaving our zone can be a motivation for the new members of the lay community.

It was also a good opportunity to clear up doubts and above all to encourage us in the formation projects to get new members for the CLM, which we have taken up again with the help of our local reference person, Fr. Joseph Ng’ang’a, MCCJ, since July of this year.

We hope that St. Daniel Comboni will accompany us on this journey and help us to make the best decisions in order to be able to fulfill and become the place of mission for our CLM community in Ecuador.

Abg. Susana Ortega Delgado, CLM