CCIM members Mrs Sisi Marama and Ms Naomi Naubi present a chain saw to catechist Waisea - Photo: Fr Frank Hoare
The Columban Companions in Mission (CCIM) met on the 10th of November in Suva for the first AGM since the Covid 19 pandemic. There were members from Raiwaqa, Ba and other Suva parishes present at this meeting reviving the CCIM.
The mission of CCIM comes from the experience of joy and hope we receive from the Risen Christ. When this faith experience is strong we will reach out to others to share the good news. A few examples of how the CCIM has reached out on mission in the past come to mind.
A Fijian lady from Sigatoka noticed some Hindu ladies coming into the church there, lighting a candle and praying. She would sit behind them and pray quietly in her heart for their intention. Afterwards she used to let them know that she had prayed for their intention. Often the Hindu lady would share her worry or problem. Sometimes she would return later and report to the Catholic lady that God had granted her request. That Catholic Fijian lady is an example of having a heart for mission.
Some years ago a CCIM member in a village in Ba told other Companions about a neglected group of Catholics in a distant part of the parish. Their catechist had died and then the Catholics hardly ever had Mass or prayer meetings. This branch of Companions began visiting the settlement. They invited the Catholics together for prayer on Sunday afternoons. After a few weeks they attended a catechists’ meeting and told them about the situation. The catechists decided to take it in turn to bring the liturgy of the Word and communion to the Catholics in that settlement. That is an example of faith reaching out.
Different CCIM groups have tried to respond to mission needs in their own area e.g. by helping the poor or reaching out to neglected Catholics, non-Christians and lapsed Catholics. For example, about 10 years ago a group of CCIM members spent a week with a Columban priest presenting faith workshops in Dogatuki in Vanua Levu and another group spent a week doing the same kind of outreach in a village on Kadavu island. These places had no priests or Catholic schools at that time. After cyclone Winston groups of Companions went in turn to Veidrala village which had been devastated by the cyclone. They helped clear up the village, gave the villagers a chainsaw for rebuilding the houses and conducted trauma counseling.
The Columban Companions in Mission are zealous Catholics linked together through faith in Jesus Christ and a passion for sharing His life. They are partners with the Columban missionaries. The Companions adopt and live out St Columban’s motto, “We belong to Christ, not to ourselves.”
Columban Fr Frank Hoare lives and works in Fiji.
Related links
- Read more from the current e-Kaulotu - December 2023
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