“CEAMA is a good seed that the Spirit of the Lord will make grow.”, says José Luis Andrades, a lay missionary of the Consolata and delegate of Venezuela to the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA), reflecting on the significance of these five years of shared journey.
For him, this commemoration represents a hopeful sign of commitment to the Amazonian Biome and cultures, and a concretization, still embryonic, of Pope Francis’ dreams for the “Beloved Amazon” and of the synodal process experienced intensely in 2019. “It is a good seed, still small, but powerful, that invites us to trust in the breath of the Spirit,” he expresses with conviction.
A Church that renews itself from the Amazon
Among the most significant achievements of this first five-year period, Andrades highlights the Assemblies held by the CEAMA as deeply enriching spaces. “They encourage us to live a renewed way of being a Church, where the fraternal participation of different sectors becomes a sign and path to true ecclesial conversion.”
Furthermore, it highlights the serious and committed drive towards the development of the Amazonian Rite, considered a concrete response to the call to inculturate the Gospel in the realities of the indigenous peoples.
Learning for the whole Church
“The experience of CEAMA can be a valuable contribution to the entire universal Church,” the lay missionary affirms. Not only because of its commitment to a more articulate and participatory Church, but also because part of attentive listening to the Spirit and the concrete reality of the peoples this dual movement of discernment and commitment, according to Andrades, constitutes a pastoral treasure that deserves to be shared.
Lessons from the territory
After five years of experience, institutional and pastoral learning has also emerged: the importance of perseverance, articulation and pastoral conversion as necessary conditions for a true synodal mission. “The initial enthusiasm is transformed into concrete steps,” he notes, “and the commitment is translated into structures and processes that make possible a Church more faithful to the incarnate Gospel.”
Synodality: looking at reality together
Finally, Andrades emphasizes that one of the most tangible fruits has been the profound experience of synodality “A serious effort has been made to look at reality together. CEAMA has been a space for building a new form of ecclesial governance, with the participation of all, truly journeying as the People of God.”
On this fifth anniversary, CEAMA not only celebrates its progress, but also reaffirms its mission :be a living expression of a Church with an Amazonian, missionary, prophetic and synodal face.