During the Mass on Wednesday, November 4, celebrated as part of the Expanded Committee of the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM), the president of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) invited everyone to live out their mission through freedom, detachment, listening to God, and the joy of serving the Amazonian peoples.
As part of the Enlarged Committee of the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM), held in Bogotá, Colombia, Cardinal Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, president of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) and archbishop of Manaus, presided over the Mass on Wednesday, November 4, offering a reflection on the demands of following Jesus and the profound meaning of missionary service.
Drawing on the Gospel of Luke (14:25–33), which outlines the demands of following Jesus, Cardinal Steiner invited the assembly to delve deeper into the meaning of the freedom that springs from love and the ability to detach oneself from whatever prevents one from giving oneself fully to others.
“In love, we are all free. In love, we are always there for one another,” he said, reflecting on Jesus’ words about renouncing one’s own interests and taking up the cross to follow him.
The cardinal noted that taking up the cross does not merely mean accepting difficulties, but understanding that following Christ entails a generous self-giving, capable of placing one’s own life at the service of others. From this perspective, he emphasized that true love leads to a freedom that transcends individualism and enables us to live in readiness to serve our brothers and sisters.
Listening to God to Discern the Paths of Mission
In connecting the Gospel with the first reading, taken from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians (2:12–18), the president of CEAMA also delved into the meaning of Christian obedience, understood as a constant attitude of listening and discernment.
He recalled that it is through listening that we can once again recognize the paths God proposes to us and discover what He wants to tell us, where He is calling us, and how He invites us to act.
In this regard, he revisited St. Paul’s teaching on God’s action within people, which inspires both the will and the action in accordance with His will. An invitation to open our hearts to recognize God’s will and respond generously to His call.
The Joy of Serving the Amazonian Peoples
In his reflection, Cardinal Steiner linked these readings to the service the Church is called to offer to Amazonian communities. He emphasized that the mission cannot be reduced to an institutional responsibility or a series of activities, but must spring from a profound experience of following Jesus, nourished by prayer, listening, and openness.
He also invited everyone to recognize the joy that comes from living, following Jesus, and placing oneself at the service of others—especially the sisters, brothers, and peoples whom the Church accompanies in the Amazon.
The Eucharistic celebration thus became a moment of spiritual reflection for those participating in REPAM’s Expanded Committee, renewing their commitment to walk together, discern the challenges of the region, and strengthen a Church that is close to the realities of the Amazonian peoples.
Cardinal Leonardo Steiner’s message reminds us that the Amazonian mission calls for free hearts—hearts capable of listening to God, letting go of self-centeredness, and finding in service to the peoples a concrete expression of the joy of following Jesus.