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

~ St. Polycarp

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.”

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.”

“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

St. Daniel Comboni used to point out three main intentions when he asked for prayers: crosses, funds and personnel for the Mission ~ both men and women, that are clothed in the spirit of Jesus Christ and animated by his love… “It is necessary to hurry with great strides in the ways of God and in holiness, and not stop until we reach the promised land.” He wrote this in 1870 at the age of 39. Near the end of his life, sick in bed, he reminded a confrere, “Carry on as you have done so far, because I know exactly how you want our missionaries: holy and capable, the one without the other is worth little to one who follows the life of an apostle.”

One thing that strikes me about St. Comboni is that he was not born a saint and he even would say, “I am only too certain that I am a long way from holiness”. The Comboni missionary tends to be a person who seems a little rough around the edges but listening to the Spirit, they become purified by the grace of the Heart of Christ. It all becomes part of the spiritual journey ~ of which we are all traveling.

“After the Transfiguration, Jesus does not respond to Peter’s suggestion that they stay on the mountaintop and keep the ecstasy alive. Jesus’ decent leads immediately into a response to human need, the healing of a man’s son. What is important for us is the fact that the episode ends here and not on the mountaintop.”

* Robert Brown

Going through this season of Lent in the Church, offers us a chance for deeper reflection on God’s love for us, quiet prayer and general simplification of daily life. Taking advantage of this spiritual space we are invited to enter during Lent is a wonderful gift in the midst of our very busy world. May we discover that it is good for us to be here!

While remaining essentially the same, it adapts itself to the needs of every creature that receives it. In the same way, the Holy Spirit, whose nature is always the same, simple and indivisible, giving grace to each as the Spirit wills.

Like a dry tree that stretches out it’s roots when watered, the soul can stretch and bear fruits of holiness when open to the Spirit. The Spirit strengthens one’s self control, inspires and teaches… The Spirit comes gently and is not felt as a burden but as a true friend. Like Jesus when he was at the well with the Samaritan woman, he is asking what makes us most thirsty and in need of His living water? And how do we responded when invited to deepen our faith??