IN OUR ISOLATION, OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN MORE MSC STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD.
THE BELOVED AMAZON
Report from Humberto Henriques MSC
Before we had to stop the accompaniments because of the restrictions of the covid-19 pandemic, I had the opportunity to travel to our MSC mission in Amazonas to get to know that reality and to suport the confreres there. We are there in a parish in the city of São Gabriel da Cachoeira composed of 7 communities in the city and 18 communities called "ribeirinhas". The latter are in fact indigenous villages on the banks of two rivers: Rio Negro and Rio Uapés.
To reach this city with a little more than 30.000 inhabitants, we have three options: a small plane (that makes the route in almost 2 hours); a médium boat (that takes about 3 days); or an express boat (that makes the route in about 30 hours) from Manaus, the capital of Amazonas´ State to São Gabriel da Cachoeira. There are currently two MSC´s confreres at the head of the mission (Ivo and José Marcos) and for this year they are expecting one more to help in this important and arduous task of making the Heart of Jesus loved everywhere.
The Amazon has become for the Church a "locus theologicus", that is, a privileged place where God speaks to us through nature and the people who live there. The Pope begins the final document of the Synod by saying: "THE BELOVED AMAZON presents itself in the eyes of the world with all its splendor, its drama and its mystery. "(Querida Amazonia, n.1). And then, in number 7, he reveals four dreams for the Amazon:
A social dream: “I dream of an Amazon region that fights for the rights of the poor, the original peoples and the least of our brothers and sisters, where their voices can be heard and their dignity advanced.”- A cultural dream: “I dream of an Amazon region that can preserve its distinctive cultural riches, where the beauty of our humanity shines forth in so many varied ways. ”
- An ecological dream: “I dream of an Amazon region that can jealously preserve its overwhelming natural beauty and the super-abundant life teeming in its rivers and forests. ”
- And an ecclesial dream: “I dream of Christian communities capable of generous commitment, incarnate in the Amazon region, and giving the Church new faces with Amazonian features.”
The experience of being in contact with one of the largest rivers in the world, with an immense forest and with some indigenous peoples is a mystical experience. Taken by the splendour of the work created by God, we are called to look at life in its most varied forms and respect the diversity of cultures of each people.
Asked how they feel they live our charism there, our confreres affectionately answer: "We make a difference here. The people here tell us that we speak their language and they understand us by heart. Even because of the inculturated celebrations we celebrate, using their original language and the most important symbols for each indigenous person".
The diversity of our mission and the peoples to whom we are sent leads us to unify everything in one heart: the Heart of Jesus. "Everything is interconnected". Our mission is interdependent around the world. May the mission in the Amazon lands encourage us wherever we are, especially in moments of crisis like this moment of pandemic and uncertainty. We believe, as our founder did, that the remedy is there in the Heart of the Son of God. Let us dive into the deep waters of the river of love that flows from His Heart.
