Missionvibe

Bringing your missionary vision into focus ~ we explore and share the missionary life and present issues for our awareness or to be reminded that our world needs prayer and action!

A New Relationship

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

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Throughout human history, God’s presence initiates new relationships. In the depths of despair and silence of God’s people in exile, God spoke a new word ~ an invitation ~ a word that empowered them to shake off their oppression and be free! There is need to share this word that restores communities to life. With those coming out of exile, reorganization required a radical rethinking of both who God was and who they were as God’s people.

In second Isaiah (chapters 40-66) we are given inspiration to dream and see things in a new way, a poetic power to speak a word of comfort and evoke in the imagination of his audience, the astounding message of  ”coming home”, of an end to living exiled. Isaiah recognized that God is doing something new!

It is no surprise that this poetic vision of God’s new creation is the most frequently sited part of the Old Testament for Christians. It also urges those who listen to participate in this new future with God. Spend some time with Isaiah and let his words inspire us to action!

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Thought for Food ~ forgiving

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

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“If we pray to the Lord to forgive us, we ourselves must be forgiving.”

~ St. Polycarp

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Zeal and Wisdom in St. Comboni

Monday, March 8th, 2010

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The zeal of St. Comboni has often been mentioned when speaking about him ~ it was not simply readiness and good will ~ it was continuous growth in holiness and purification. He suffered and accepted many set-backs in his plan of action and in many of his projects. And through all of this, his pastoral action of love matured.

His commitment in the social field and to works of charity were tireless but that was not the whole of his life, at the center and giving him strength was the Heart of Christ, pierced on the Cross. He would say that love is needed to form able missionaries ~ and this is seen in the humble zeal that missionaries live!

In the words of Cardinal Zuber Wako of Khartoum, ” You Comboni Missionaries have holy roots ~ the branches too must be holy. The canonization of Daniel Comboni puts holiness within the charism of the Congregation. I am sure you will make good use of that.”

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School of the Cross

Friday, March 5th, 2010

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At the age of 37, St. Comboni was already feeing exhausted, his labors draining his physical energy but he was maturing in spirit: “I can already see and understand that the Cross is such a friend to me, and is always so close to me, I have chosen her for some time now as my inseparable and eternal Spouse.”

In the cross, St. Comboni discovered how to read his life. Also the ills of his time, the difficulties in his missionary work… the depth of suffering he experienced in Africa with it’s slavery, famine conditions, sicknesses and sin. The instrument of death of Jesus has become the means and the sign of Redemption.

Union with this spouse became concrete in acceptance of crosses, he even asked for them, giving thanks when he received them. St. Comboni educates us all in the school of the Cross, what he called the only true knowledge, “basis of a solid foundation for freedom and liberation in Africa.”

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Thought for food ~ you are dust

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

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“Dust, truly a splendid symbol! This is the image of the commonplace. There is always more than enough of it. One fleck is as good as the next. Dust is the image of anonymity. What does it matter if it is this or that dust? It is all the same. Dust is the symbol of nothingness: because it lies around so loosely, it is easily stirred up, it blows around blindly, is stepped upon and crushed ~ and nobody notices.

Truly then scripture is right. We are dust. We are always in the process of dying. We are the beings who set our course for death, when we set out our life’s journey. We are the only beings who know about this tendency to death ~ and yet, we are just dust.”

* Fr. Karl Rahner

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