Mission springs from a profound experience of holiness and is expressed in a concrete commitment to life, to peoples, and to our Common Home. This is the reflection developed by B Bishop Joaquín Humberto Pinzón Güiza, IMCB , bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Leguízamo-Solano, in the article “Holiness: An Ethic of Good Living”, published in issue 352 of the B magazine Dimensión MisioneraB , published by the Consolata Missionaries—Colombia Region.
The publication, dedicated to the theme “Mission and Ethics: Transformative, Internalized, Lived, and Reflected Upon,” proposes understanding mission as a path of personal and communal transformation that finds in ethics a concrete expression of the Gospel and the building of the Kingdom of God.
Holiness as the Foundation of Mission
Inspired by the spirituality of St. Joseph Allamano, founder of the Consolata Missionaries, Bishop Pinzón recalls that the missionary ideal begins with a demanding and deeply evangelical invitation: “First saints, then missionaries.”
More than just an institutional motto, this expression sums up a way of understanding the missionary vocation as a way of life in its entirety, where the relationship with God, with others, and with creation becomes the foundation for proclaiming the Gospel.
The author explains that ethics does not consist solely in distinguishing between right and wrong, but in forming people capable of responsibly embracing their relationship with themselves, with others, with God, and with the world. From this perspective, the missionary is called to be a credible witness whose consistent way of life becomes the first proclamation of the Gospel.
Doing Good… and Doing It Well
Drawing on the teachings of St. Joseph Allamano, the article emphasizes that holiness is built in daily life through small gestures performed with love, responsibility, and excellence.
The founder of the Consolata insisted that it is not enough simply to do good; it is necessary to do it well, as an expression of a life oriented toward God and in service to others.
This ethic of “living well” and “doing well” shapes a missionary style characterized by closeness, humility, and a commitment to the transformation of people and their contexts—summarized in another of Allamano’s emblematic expressions: “Missionaries in heart, mind, and hands.”
The mission is fulfilled in service to life
Bishop Pinzón reminds us that holiness is never an individual achievement nor an isolated pursuit of personal perfection. On the contrary, the Christian vocation finds its fulfillment when it is placed at the service of others.
Following the Gospel, he affirms that “we become holy for the sake of the mission,” so that the spiritual life becomes service, closeness, and commitment to those who most need hope.
This experience has been etched in the memory of numerous Amazonian communities, which recognize in the missionaries men and women whose credibility stems precisely from the coherence between their lives and their message.
Caring for the Amazon: An Expression of Integral Holiness
One of the article’s central contributions is the close relationship between holiness, mission, and integral ecology.
In dialogue with the encyclical *Laudato Si’* and the Final Document of the Synod for the Amazon, Bishop Pinzón affirms that an authentic missionary spirituality requires healthy relationships with God, with people, and with nature.
From this perspective, the Amazon ceases to be merely a geographical territory and becomes a living entity of memory, culture, spirituality, and relationships, the protection of which constitutes an ethical and evangelical responsibility.
The author reminds us that the cry of the Amazon—marked by violence, extractivism, and environmental degradation—challenges the entire Church today and demands a committed response that promotes care for our Common Home and the defense of the peoples who inhabit it.
A reflection in harmony with the Church’s synodal journey in the Amazon—
Bishop Joaquín Pinzón’s reflections align with the pastoral vision of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA), which promotes a Church with an Amazonian face—one that is deeply synodal, intercultural, and committed to the defense of life in all its dimensions.
The proposal for an “ethic of good living” invites us to understand that the mission consists not only in proclaiming the Gospel, but also in embodying it through just relationships, respect for indigenous peoples, and responsible care for creation.
At a time when the Amazon faces profound environmental and social threats, this call reminds us that missionary holiness is manifested in the ability to walk alongside communities, protect life, and build hope from within these territories, making the Kingdom of God visible in the daily lives of the Amazonian peoples.