GLT Accompaniment: Brazilian Amazon (I)

During the month of August, the MSC General Leadership Team did accompaniments to three MSC provinces in Brazil. Abzalon Alvarado, MSC, and Chris Chaplin, MSC, visited the Province of Rio de Janeiro; Simon Lumpini, MSC, and Bram Tulusan, MSC, accompanied the Province of São Paulo; and Gene Pejo, MSC, and Richie Gomes, MSC, from the JPIC Desk visited the Province of Curitiba. They will share their experiences through our bulletin. This edition will first cover the experience of visiting the MSC communities in the Province of São Paulo. Stories from the Provinces of Rio de Janeiro and Curitiba will be shared in the next edition.

Brazilian Amazon. When Jesus said to his disciples: “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest” (Lk 10:2), he was not speaking only of his own time. These words still resonate today with particular intensity in my own missionary experience in São Gabriel da Cachoeira, in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon.

São Gabriel is a region that is both captivating and challenging. It stands out for the variety of its indigenous peoples, the stunning beauty of its landscapes, and the vitality of its communities. However, it is also a land characterised by vast distances, limited infrastructure, and, most notably, a shortage of priests and religious figures to support the faithful.

This made me think of St Paul’s question: “How can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach?” (Rom 10:14).

And yet, despite the shortage of pastors, I saw a living faith, upheld by families, catechists, and lay missionaries who, in humble circumstances, carry the Word and celebrate their faith with joy.

In villages where Mass was once celebrated four times a year, today it is only held once or twice annually, yet Christian life endures. Catechists, chosen with patience and dedication, gather communities to pray, sing, listen to the Word of God, and pass on the faith to children. This missionary ingenuity reminded me of Pope Francis’s words: ‘All the baptised, whatever their role in the Church and their level of instruction in the faith, are active subjects of evangelisation’ (Evangelii Gaudium, n. 120). Mission is therefore not the task of a few but the responsibility of the entire people of God.

Of course, the shortage of priests and religious is deeply felt. The sacraments are not always available, and some communities wait a long time before receiving the Eucharist. But this poverty also becomes a call.

In São Gabriel, I realised that mission is not mainly about numbers, but about availability. What the Lord expects from us is not perfection or power, but the generosity of a heart that says, ‘Here I am, send me!’ (Is 6:8).

Jesus’ words are clear: when faced with the vast harvest, we must pray. The mission is not mainly our work, but God’s. ‘Pray therefore to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers’ (Mt 9:38). This is also the prayer of His Excellency Dom Raimundo Vanthuy, the current bishop of São Gabriel da Cachoeira.

The mission begins with prayer and continues in trust. We are called to intercede so that the Lord may raise missionary vocations, but also so that every Christian may discover their role in this great harvest. As Benedict XVI said: “Wherever men proclaim the Gospel, a new humanity is born, and this is what transforms the world. “ (Verbum Domini, n. 93).

My time in São Gabriel da Cachoeira made a lasting impression on me. I discovered that mission is not just a duty, but a grace. Even amid limited resources, the Word of God always finds a way.

Like Job, I want to keep this attitude of trusting surrender: ‘The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord’ (Job 1:21).

Today more than ever, we need missionaries. But above all, we need believers who are ready to be witnesses wherever they are. For the harvest belongs to the Lord, and it is He who causes the seeds sown in hearts to grow. In joys and challenges alike, mission calls us to trust in the Master of the harvest, knowing that He never stops preparing hearts to receive His Word.

Simon Lumpini, msc