Comboni Community Life (1)

Community life is so central to the Comboni Missionaries, as I have mentioned in numerous posts already, but there is always something more to be gained in reflecting on this fundamental character of who we are. I share this especially for those who are thinking about religious life.

True community is born of goodwill, compassion, generosity, unselfishness... as we grow to be more altruistic in our spiritual and human journey. The Comboni community is very diverse, as we are international, coming from so many different backgrounds, still there is a sense of belonging and we speak about our Comboni Family ~ no one is excluded. Even though it is not always possible to expect immediate and spontaneous human affection to and from all, there is always a kind of supernatural love ~ one that can support and be expressed in compassion, generosity... etc.

I will look at 6 factors that make up community in the coming days, what we use to help us fortify and build our community life:

1. Feeling for Others:

From our documents we state, “The community, the new family that God gives us ~ is the place where we live the giving of ourselves and receive the gift of others. Here we enter a relationship with the others as members of an authentic family, aware that, in sharing our lives together, we belong to one another."

This feeling for others is a fundamental element of the relationship. Even more, the fundamental choice that a person can make in his life is the one that says, "I want to live for others". It is this feeling for others that leads us to begin the journey of conversion first without waiting for our brothers to do it. The love of God and love of neighbour are one and same commandment ~ we are the objects of infinite love and we must allow ourselves to be loved and pass this love on to others. We are all called to love as God loves ~ we could simply say, "We are loved, let us love!"