On the second day of the Meeting of Bishops of the Amazon, which is taking place in Bogotá and will conclude on August 20 with a Eucharist in the Primatial Cathedral of Colombia, Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, presided over the day’s Eucharist, focusing his homily on the Christian vocation to be witnesses and martyrs in the midst of difficulties.
The cardinal mentioned the importance of discernment and prayer in the lives of bishops and apostolic vicars serving in the Amazon region, emphasizing that both attitudes reflect a profound experience of Christian faith. “They reflect and express a deep religious experience, a focus on theophany and the power of the Lord, our poor prayer,” he said.
Based on the biblical figure of Gideon, the religious leader recalled that vocation often arises from fragility and lack of self-confidence, as is also the case in the Amazonian pastoral mission.
Martyrs: a living and present memory
In his homily, the cardinal pointed out that martyrdom is not a distant event exclusive to the first centuries of Christianity, but a present and constant reality in the life of the Latin American and Amazonian Church.
“Today we are celebrating the memory, the presence of martyrs whom we knew and who knew us. We are celebrating something present, not something from the past,” he said.
Czerny emphasized that the word “martyr” means “witness” and that all baptized persons are called to live and bear witness to Christ in their daily lives, even to the point of giving their lives.
Gideon and the vocation from weakness
Taking the first reading from the Book of Judges, the Jesuit cardinal proposed the figure of Gideon as an example for understanding the mission in the Amazon: a man who was “reluctant, fearful, and needy,” with few signs of power, but whom God chose and sent with the promise of his company. “Without taking into account our frailties, our sins, the Lord responds: I will be with you. Peace be with you, do not be afraid, you will not die,” he added.
In this way, he urged the bishops, religious men and women, and laypeople present at the Eucharist to recognize that the strength for the mission does not come from their own abilities, but from the certainty that God always accompanies his people and never abandons them.
Baptized to be witnesses and builders of peace
Finally, the cardinal concluded his homily by recalling that every baptized person is called to be a witness and martyr, not only for the memory of those who gave their lives in the Amazon and in so many communities of faith, but also for the vocation that animates every missionary disciple in the present.
“I invite you to continue our celebration with gratitude for each one’s vocation and with this mysterious awareness that we are all baptized to be martyrs,” he said.