Letter to the CLM: ‘We cannot forget our first love’

It is undoubtedly a moment of illusion that we want to prepare well. A moment that will determine the guidelines for the next 6 years. This year in a special way with the horizon set on the recognition of our charism by the universal church in the near future, a sign of our journey through the years and our maturity.

We cannot, nor do we want to forget our missionary service in our countries of origin, we know that the mission is everywhere, but we continue to keep in mind our call to serve beyond our borders. In the midst of all this, an emergency of continuity arises again in one of our missions, in this case Mongoumba, which recently celebrated our 25th anniversary of continuous presence.

We cannot forget our first love... Each one of us has been called to the mission and in particular the CLM was born with the objective of making possible that missionary dream of going out to other countries to share our life with other peoples, to be missionaries wherever the Lord calls us.

We cannot forget our first love... Our international, continental or national assemblies are of no use if we do not give an answer to that first love. If among all of us we are not capable of giving continuity and support to our missionary presences. Every organization we want to have, all our documents only have the purpose of serving the mission, of making a strong movement that makes missionary service possible, a movement that helps us to remain faithful to our vocation.

We cannot forget our first love... Because we know the difficulties we have to leave in many moments of our life, it is always necessary to return to our first love. So that the organization of our life does not bind us too much and allow us to leave now or in a certain future. So that in our life we keep present the missionary presences where we are and where our brothers and sisters are. Present in our thoughts, in our prayers, in our organization, in our finances....

We cannot forget our first love... Each one of us was called to the mission. The love we received from God overflows us and impels us to give ourselves. It is this love that we wish to spread and offer to new people. May it always be present in our groups and may we know how to transmit it. That every new course we think about how to open our groups to new people who can approach us, let us not forget to make ourselves known, to say “We are ready to accompany anyone who feels a missionary vocation”. Every time someone knocks on our door or we do a missionary animation, let us know how to present our vocation and in particular the call and the common commitment to serve the mission. The Church needs voices that cry out in the desert and proclaim that it is necessary to continue going out in the first person to serve our poorest and most abandoned brothers and sisters.

We cannot forget our first love... And we thank God for each CLM who has left home, family, country, to serve the mission. In a particular way at this moment we have in mind Agnieszka, who even being alone remains in Arequipa waiting for a support, for a relief. We hope that Mercedes and Carolina will be able to complete their preparation and leave for Arequipa. To Xoancar who after so many years remains firm in Piquiá, or to Anna and Gabriele who in six months will also need to be replaced after two years of mission, or Flavio and Liliana who after many years will now take a break after accompanying a fidei donum family that takes care of Ipê Amarelo. And with these upcoming departures our situation in Brazil becomes fragile again. Thanks to Élia who returned to Mongoumba to accompany Cristina who will soon return to Portugal and to whom we thank for her dedication. God willing, last minute news, Teresa will come again to this call of need in RCA. Missionaries who over the years continue to respond to their first love. But they are not enough for a mission like the one in Central Africa and they need help. Thank you for the youth represented by Linda, Marzena and Pius in Kenya. They enthusiastically carry forward the challenge of opening the way in Kitelakapel, our last missionary presence. Probably in a few months Iza may join them from Poland to give even more stability to our presence. Thanks to Regimar and Tito who have renewed to be in Carapira, because time is necessary to make room for us, our mission does not speak of immediacy but of walking patiently.  Also to IIaria and Federica who have joined Carapira and are gradually entering into the reality of the Macua people. And finally to Maria Augusta, a great veteran, who literally returns to her first love in Mozambique after having been in Mongoumba or in Portugal in Camarate. We see that the Lord does not only call the youngest, or perhaps he does, but in spirit. We will soon have Mercedes at 79 years of age, but we have more than one in her sixties. Age is not a limit to go out, although we know that the Lord will surely ask them for another type of presence, not with the vigor of youth but taking advantage of the maturity of the years. In any case, we need to complete these communities and prepare personnel.

We cannot forget our first love... We cannot stop taking care of our brothers, and especially CLM sisters who are the majority, in their day to day life. For us two people are not enough, it is not fair, it is too tiring, we need communities of 4 or 5 people. Even if later, we are more to understand each other and we know that it is not always easy, if we place the Lord in the center, it will make it possible. But to complete our communities we must prepare ourselves, so that the language is not a problem to give continuity, for example in Mongoumba. Our availability to go where the need is greatest must be accompanied by the necessary training to go to these places. We know that it is not only a matter of good will, so from the beginning let us propose the mission, but at the same time let us remember that we must offer the best service and for this we must be Holy and Capable as Comboni wanted.

We cannot forget our first love... Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, it is time to accept the challenge to each and every one of our countries. Each of our countries is called to send CLM to our communities. It is not with the effort of a few that it will be possible but with the collaboration of all. Let it be a challenge to fulfill in each country, to prepare, to accompany, to support the departure of some missionary from our country in the next months or few years. We know that sometimes it is not easy to have that time, we also know that sometimes there are economic difficulties to face these sending, but if each and every one of us as CLM, and each and every one of our countries do our part, it will be possible, it will be sustainable in time, it will even be expandable. If each one of us contributes our grain of sand we will soon have a mountain, if every time we can we encourage the mission and propose the missionary outing we will soon have more people willing, that with the support of those who for the moment are in the rearguard, we will make it possible to be faithful to our first love, to our first dream for which we were born as CLM to serve the mission wherever the Lord wants to send us.

A big hug.

We invite you to pray with this song, in Spanish…

Central Committee of the Comboni Lay Missionaries