On the first weekend of July 2025 (July 4–6), the last formation meeting of the CLM movement for this formation year took place in Warsaw. It was a very special event. Not only did we celebrate the Day of the Comboni Family but we also welcomed a new member – Leszek – into the movement.
During a solemn Holy Mass on Saturday afternoon, Leszek officially joined the CLM movement. In his prayer he said that he heard the first missionary call when he was 5 but he had to wait almost 50 years more in order to finally respond to this call.” But as they say “better late than never”. In September, he will depart for a missionary experience in Kenya. After the Mass, we enjoyed a barbecue with Leszek’s family and friends.
Saturday also included the official introduction of the new Coordinating Group: Asia, Ania, and Paweł, as well as a summary of the most important events of this formation year, such as the international meeting in Maia, Portugal, with members from around the world, and our missionary Iza parting on her first mission to Kenya.
The Comboni Lay Missionary community in Kenya recently welcomed Giulia, a missionary from Italy, who arrived on June 23rd to begin her journey in Kenya. A group of enthusiastic Comboni Lay Missionaries gathered at the airport to greet her, filled with anticipation and heartfelt greetings.
Our Kenya community is growing, and we’re happy to receive new members like Giulia. Together, we’ll work towards creating a more just and compassionate society, inspired by the Comboni charism.
We extend a warm welcome to Giulia as she embarks on this new chapter in Kenya. We’re confident that her dedication and compassion will shine brightly as she serves alongside us.
We pray that, as missionaries, we do not rely solely on human and structural resources, but above all on the humanising power of the Gospel. Lord, hear us.
We have concluded the initial training meeting for Comboni Lay Missionaries: It is through prayer that we understand each other.
The meeting was held online, and our dear trainees, Isabel and Nair, participated.
This formation turned out to be very rich and beautiful, at least for me (who thought I already knew something about prayer). I hope it was just as or even more beneficial for our trainees who were kind enough to accompany me throughout the weekend.
Because God is always the one who takes the initiative first and humankind has always been searching for God, we began by reflecting on the revelation of prayer throughout the history of salvation, passing through the Old Testament, the time when Jesus walked with us here on earth, and the time of the Church.
The deepening of humankind’s experience of prayer is evident until we reach Jesus, who reveals the full dimension of this gift.
After talking about the sources of prayer, the path, and the guides that lead us through it, we arrive at the life of prayer itself.
Seeking to respond to St. Paul’s challenge to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), we find in the Church specific and concrete community proposals that will allow us to nurture rhythms of continuous prayer.
We reflect on the differences and importance of vocal prayer, meditation, and mental prayer.
In this last degree of prayer, we had contact with the master of prayer, St. Teresa of Avila, and the degrees of prayer she proposes, making a comparison with four ways of watering a garden.
In this analysis, it is clear that God is not at all a passive subject in this relationship. In fact, the highest levels of prayer depend solely on his will and, in addition to requiring great humility on the part of the person praying, they instill even more humility in them as they realize their unworthiness of the greatness of the graces received.
One thing that strikes us when we devote a little time to these themes is the consistency of the concepts from the time of the Old Testament, through the time of Jesus here on earth, to the current proposals of the Church.
One of the ideas that stands out is the fact that prayer can be seen as a real struggle. Praying requires our effort.
Our ego and the snares of those who seek to lead us away from God are enormous and require great humility and persistence.
This is evident in the prayer life of St. Daniel Comboni, which we meditated on Sunday morning.
In Comboni we find a man of deep prayer, perfectly aware of the fundamental importance of this dimension in the Mission entrusted by God to his Church.
In fact, it was only through prayer that he was able to give meaning to and love the many crosses that arose throughout his missionary life.
At the end of the meeting, I realized that I have to rethink my prayer life.
As a CLM, I have to pray much more (and better) for vocations and for the means to carry out Jesus’ command that still echoes in our hearts as those who are called: Go into the whole world and proclaim the Good News to every creature. (Mk 16:15)
Last Saturday, 21 June, we gathered online for the first international economy meeting since our international assembly last December.
The assembly requested that a global meeting be held around the middle of each year to jointly assess the progress of economic issues in each country and in each of our international communities.
Representatives from 13 countries and 2 international communities were present, including treasurers, coordinators, and members of the coordination team. Due to the language challenge, we were able to count on the support of two volunteer translators, Ana Cris, CLM from Guatemala, and her son Esteban.
It was an important moment of information and clarification, where proposals for joint next steps were presented. One of these was to hold two more online meetings this year, in three smaller groups, according to language, so that we can facilitate greater interaction between participants and the development of practical tools to aid our quest for economic autonomy.
We appreciate everyone’s commitment and participation!
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