Europe – Page 114 – Comboni Lay Missionaries

A dream come true!

9 September, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

Mission in Africa, a dream. Something that I have wanted to live and finally got. I was 17 when I started to dream about Africa when I started to want to learn more about the “world” of the mission. In August, I went as part of Faith and Mission group with another four young and two missionaries of the Comboni Family, we went to Mozambique, to the mission of Carapira. I always thought that the mission was to bring Jesus to others, but when I got to Carapira He was there with open arms to welcome me and tell me that He had chosen me and that was His people.

It was an indescribable experience, but I will try to share: I found a warm, generous, cheerful, full of smiles people. A people without hurry, where time is a detail.

People always have time to talk; they stop to greet each other. You do not feel the stress, if my neighbor is sick, I am not indifferent.

I found a great team of missionaries who does an excellent job, every day gives his body and soul to the people of Carapira.

Brothers, sisters, priests and Comboni lay missionaries, give their best as educators, trainers. They accompanied dozens of young, regardless of their beliefs. Accompanying communities, trying to be the presence of Christ among the people. I knew about the work of lay missionaries, who work to support the various activities in the Industrial School, where they have a very active role. They lay people involved as someone who educates, cares, as someone who loves, as the young people attending the Industrial School left their homes to study. The laity are a friend and even maternal presence. Lay also help in pastoral, help children and young people to discover Jesus.

With all the missionary community that I met and beside whom I worked and learned a lot, I met that a missionary gives a true love, is capable of love, is capable of unconditional love. I keep me every time I lived, I appreciate the confidence they have placed in my colleagues and me.

The biggest challenge we faced throughout this month was certainly living in community.

The whole experience was extraordinary, impossible to remain indifferent, I really liked all the work we did with young people of the Industrial School. On the Laudato Si, I loved being with the girls in the boarding school, I liked working with the youth of the community, “Save the Youth by the Youth”..

It really touch me a conversation I had in the early days, when I arrived at boarding school to work to support the girls in the study and clarification of Portuguese and math. Nelson, a girl aged 13-14, who attends seventh grade, she didn´t get much closer, always watching me, but always a little distant, when I went to try to stop her reserves, she said “I don´t wanna be your friend, because you will be gone in a few days and I will never see you again”. This cut my heart, let me stop, I wanted to say something, but could not find words, I wanted to tell the girl that it would not be like that, but I would be lying because it was true, I had a scheduled trip. I accepted her choice and I decided not to insist. And during the 15 days worked in the boarding school, we talked little, we study together, we discover new and difficult words, we do our homework.

But I know that I interacted with Nelson, I’m sure, she smiled and even joked when I spoke something wrong in Macua, or when I said I was afraid of getting sick from malaria. And the day came when I had to say goodbye to her and all the other girls. And Nelson asked: “Teacher will you forget me now?”

She is an expert in letting me “locked”, is beautiful, has big, beautiful, bright eyes, and they were full of water and I thought how could I forget this, Lord? I will not do it. I hugged her and told her that “I will not forget you”.

What also impressed me a lot was the Eucharist, celebrated with much joy, sing, clap, they are strong, very beautiful. Mozambican women, I cannot stop talking about it, she is struggling, hardworking, always in charge of the most complicated tasks. It plays a fundamental role.

This is what I experienced; it was a good experience that I really want to repeat.

It was very important to me, every day had significant facts that I cannot forget.

And do not forget that dreams come true. We just have to make 5%, God does the rest.

Sofia Coelho

XVIII General Chapter of the Comboni Missionaries

7 September, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

This last Sunday has officially started the XVIII General Chapter of the Comboni Missionaries with the Holy Opening Mass.
The chapter members had a previous week of preparation.
The chapter will end next October 4th. During this time, we will remain in prayer for the good progress of it, for the good of the Comboni Family and the mission to which we are called.
For a constant information you can visit the official website of male religious institute www.comboni.org where besides daily news, you may find a series of videos called “Voci the capitolo” where the chapter members provide some important aspects they are treating and the progress of the sessions and meetings.
United in prayer.

Free to listen and to speak

5 September, 2015 by Antonio Villarino

A commentary on Mk 7, 31-37 (XXIII Sunday O.T., September 6^th 2015)

Mark, in today’s reading, portrays Jesus in “pagan” country, where people were not following Jew religion. But, beyond the religious differences between those people and the people of Nazareth or Jerusalem, there it was a concrete, real man with a concrete, human problem, that is the same for believers and unbelievers, rich and poor, educated and illiterates. That man was deaf and could not speak properly, something that affected his human condition at a very fundamental level.

Moreover, it seems clear that what Mark intends with the narration of this experience is to explain to us what the real mission of Jesus is:

Jesus’ mission consists in using the power-love of God (symbolized by the continuous touching with fingers and hands) to liberate humanity, not so much from our physical deafness, but, more important, from our deep inability to understand God and our neigbours, closed up in our own sterile pride. From that deafness comes up also our inability to say meaningful words to others.

When I was a young priest, I have known a ten years old boy, whom everybody thougth he was both deaf and mute, till young nun started to give attention to him, accompanying him with a great, continuous and constant love. After some time, she discovered that the child had a physical problem with his ear and took him to the doctors. Solved that problem, the child began to hear the words spoken to him and to repeat them, learning how to listen and how to speak. I was then very much impressed by the power of love, able to start off processes of liberation and healing.

Certainly, not always happens that way, rather in most cases deaf people have to learn how to do without spoken words. But, again, as in the Gospel, the reference is not so much the physical deafness, but that close heart that leads us to close the channels of communication and loving relationship with the members of our family or our community, with people of other cultures, political ideas or religious practices…

Quite often we become “deaf” and “mute” in the deepest side of our personality: we refuse to listen to what other people have to tell us… and for that same reason we are not able to say any “relevant” word to tem or to others: we do not have a sincere, meaningful, liberating word to say, because we do not listen.

We remember the story of Emmaus: Jesus approaches the disciples, walks with them and listen to them. Afterwards he would say clarifying and meaningful words.

Sometimes, it seems that our Christian communities have become deaf and mute: They do not listen to the cries of our humanity (Migrants, refugees, young people, women…, nor to the prophets or our time, those people who can help us to understand God’s ways for today. And because of this deafness they become also “mute”, unable to announce any meaningful message to today’s humanity.

A missionary Church is a church that listens, free from the deafness of his pride and arrogance. Only after that liberation, can it become truly missionary, messenger of the good news of God’s love for people.

In the Eucharistic celebration, Jesus “touches” our body. Let us pray that He heals our deafness and liberates our tongues so that we can become true missionaries, healed and instruments of healing, while we continue walking in life towards a fuller communion with God and our fellow men and women.

Fr. Antonio Villarino

Roma

“Mission in the world today”: Meeting of the Comboni Lay Missionaries (CLM) in Mellatz on 3 and 4 July 2015

12 August, 2015 by Alberto de la Portilla

On 3 and 4 July 2015, some members of the Comboni Lay Missionaries (CLM) met with the Comboni Missionaries Fr. Franz Weber and Br. Friedbert Tremmel in the mission home in Mellatz to exchange views on the theme “mission in world today”. On Saturday, some members of the “Mellatzer Weggemeinde” arrived at the group and we increase at least 15 persons.

At the beginning of the meeting Fr. Franz Weber gave a brief introductory presentation: the term “mission” is quite negatively affected by the history of the conquest and colonization that sometimes went hand in hand with the evangelization of the peoples of Africa, America and Asia. Today, this term should be rediscovered. The mission must come from the heart from where one can live and act as missionaries, that is, the mission begins with me.

Jesus was the “first missionary and the source of all missionary work” brings good news to the poor, and this is testified by his life and his cures. The core mission is the Good News, the Kingdom of God is present with Jesus. “We have to speak about the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).

After this introduction to the topic, the group began to think about how they can act in the sense of Jesus, as individuals and as a group. One of the options that can be done starts in the family, with friends, at work or in the parish.

In conclusion, we can say that the mission is made by and for men and women. The essence is given by me. It is give and take. The day ended with a Mass in which we thanked God for our skills and talents.

The next time the CML Group will meet in the Comboni house in Nuremberg will be on Friday night (9/10/2015) till Sunday (11/10/2015) at noon. The theme will be the new encyclical “Laudato Sí” from Pope Francisco. All people who are interested are invited.

CLM Germany

The true Bread of life: beyond the outward appearance

31 July, 2015 by Antonio Villarino

A commentary on John 6, 24-35: XVIII Sunday OT: August Second 2015

We go on Reading John’s chapter sixth, which we began to read last Sunday about the sign of abundant bread. Well, from one Sunday to another we jump over a part that speaks about Jesus who disappears from the view of the satisfied crowd, crossing over to the other side of the Lake, and people looking from Him feverishly. What we read today is precisely the answer Jesus gives to people’s search. And in that answer John explains to us the faith of those first disciples in Jesus as the true living Bread.

To understand this answer, I propose a few brief reflections on the various and inter-connected meanings of bread the biblical tradition:

1.- Bread (nourishment) sustains our physical life

There’s an experience among the first ones to mark the history of Israel: that they were able to feed themselves in an extraordinary way and in one of the most difficult moments of their march towards the Promised Land, when in the desert there was no food around. We all know the story of the “mana”; we do not know what exactly happened, though scholars have their theories about its physical feasibility. But the important thing is that whatever happened allowed the people to survive physically and that Israel always saw in that extraordinary experience the presence of the providing God.

I think that something similar happens to us many a time, even if not so extraordinary: When in despair, we find a job that allows to keep up the family, our business starts to go well, we receive an unexpected help, overcame a serious sickness… On those cases we may think that fortune has smiled to us or that we were smart enough to merit that positive outcome… Or we may think that God is guiding history in our favour, using even fortune and our own hard work. This is what the Hebrews thought and what many simple people continue thinking today, with a faith that takes them beyond superficialities and appearances.

2.- From Bread to the Word-Law

When Moses brought the Law to the people in the Sinai, then Israel made the experience that the Law was as big a gift as the physical nourishment in the desert. With the Law the people could organize themselves, make progress, find a way forward in the many moments of doubt, and find harmony, happiness and sense. So little by little Israel began to apply to the Law the same meaning of salvation that had given to the bread in the desert: “not only on bread do human beings live, buy also on any word that comes out of God’s mouth”.

I think that we make an equal experience, individually and as communities. Sometimes we seem to despise the value of laws, but we know that a good Law makes a nation better. Without laws, a nation falls down on anarchy and usually that situation favours the powerful and violent against the poor and peaceful. So to have a good law (or a personal project of life) is as important as to have nourishment.

3.- From the Law to the Word-Wisdom

But Law is not the unique manifestation of that divine wisdom that was guiding the people. There were also the prophets, psalmists, and poets, philosophers from other cultures, religious and political, leaders, wise old men and women… Every manifestation of wisdom was considered, together with the Law, as BREAD for the spirit.

We too need to be nourished by every type of wisdom that humanity produces through science and philosophy, religions and arts…Every positive thinking, every luminous word can help us to live better.

4.- From the Word-Wisdom to Jesus Christ

The disciples’ experience with Jesus is wat is explained in today’s gospel: The bread that nourishes in the desert is no more than an image of Jesus as the true Bread that nourishes our spiritual life. His words, his nearness to sick people and sinners, his entire person is like the Bread in the desert, the Law of Moses, the highest Wisdom of humanity. In Him we find the fullness of that Life that God wants for all his children.

Certainly, we all want our basic need (bread, dress, and roof) covered and Jesus –as the Church today- worries and cares about these basic needs, but He does not remain there; He invite sus to eat the true Bread of Word-Wisdom-Love of God made flesh in Jesus of Nazareth.

To accept this, to “eat” it and make it be part of our life, it’s to open ourselves to a deeper life, able to overcome whatever desert we’ll have to cross.

Fr. Antonio Villarino

Roma