Sr. Maria Troncatti reflected on her missionary work with indigenous people in Ecuador on Easter Day in 1931. She found the celebrations of baptism and first communion to be moving as the people went from being rebellious to willingly learning about Jesus. Sr. Troncatti's goal was guiding souls to God and helping people know and love Jesus. She was convinced of the need to die daily to live for God. Her example inspires reflection on one's own life, priorities, and preparation for eternal life.

1. GGGAAAZZZIIINNNGGG AAATTT EEEAAASSSTTTEEERRR DDDAAAYYY
No. 8 April 2019
Dearest Sisters, we are living Easter Time during which we
celebrate the triumph of Jesus Christ, His passage from death to the
fullness of life. To commemorate our Blessed Maria Troncatti, I
invite you to reflect on her gaze on Easter Day.
In 1931, Easter was on April 5. Sr. Maria Troncatti was
writing to her mother, telling her that on that date a young Shuar
woman, 21 years old, had received both Holy Baptism and Holy
Communion. Another fourteen year old girl had received Holy
Communion for the first time. She recounts in her letter, “These
functions were truly moving, seeing these indigenous who were so
rebellious at first and then gradually, we see them domesticating
themselves more every day. When we speak to them of the catechism
and they begin to understand it, they eagerly want us to speak of
Jesus and they become fervent. It seems that the Good Jesus makes
Himself sensibly felt by them and when they receive Him in Holy
Communion, they would want to remain in Church always. (Jungle-
Country of the Heart – Chapter X).

2. She strongly advised her godson, José María, to respect the
Easter precept, so that God would pour out His abundant blessings
and preserve him from every misfortune (Letter 78).
In the difficult times of her mission, she thought of Jesus who
had poured out His blood for these brothers and sisters of His, and
from here she derived her task and her principle occupation of
serving God in them. “Lord, You have called me to another mission,
this is truly virgin land here; they do not even know that a God
exists…My field is great but it is very difficult. Jesus can touch the
heart and with your prayers, with your sacrifices, Jesus will have
compassion and will touch the heart (of the indigenes)” (Letter 7).
The main interest of Sr. Troncatti was that of guiding to God
the destinies of those girls who, with the power of prayer, were
gradually arriving to remain with their mothers in the mission. She
felt happy to be a missionary, to save the life of many babies, to
prepare them to receive the Sacraments. “My anxiety, my
preoccupation is to gain souls for God, to do everything so that they
know and love Jesus. It brings great satisfaction when we see that the
line of Christians becomes more numerous and we see that those who
have already made their First Communion, communicate with so
much devotion every day” (Jungle-Country of the Heart – Chapter
XI).
When the father of Sr. Maria Troncatti died she received the
news a month later. She mourned his departure, remembering that
she had made him suffer a lot when she left home, but drew comfort
from the knowledge that she had done it only for Jesus, who never
lets Himself be outdone in generosity. Thus in the letter she wrote to
her mother, she consoled her by telling her, “Our good father is
certainly in Heaven; let us be resigned. Why cry? We too are on a
journey and soon we will reach him and never again be separated. In
the depths of my heart I feel great consolation… now I feel I have a

3. protector in Heaven” (Letter 21). Sr. Maria was convinced that it was
necessary to die every day in order to live in God and of God because
there is no other way of reaching Life.
It was 1931. One day, she went to visit a woman who was
very sick and had sent for her to come. She went accompanied by
Juan Nankitiai, a young resident at the mission who was very happy
to keep her company. On their return, the river was at the point of
overflowing and Sr. Maria almost lost her life. Only the invocation to
Mary Help of Christians could save them! The young man then
became seriously ill and died in the peace of the Lord, saying, “I die
happy because I go to Heaven. I feel happy because I saved the life of
Sr. Maria; her life is worth much more than mine” (Jungle Home of
the Heart – Chapter XI).
For reflection:
1. Sr. Maria Troncatti was admirable in religious life, in charity
and in sacrifice. What does this say for my life?
2. What is my main concern, my anxiety in relation to the task
entrusted to me?
3. How am I preparing for the encounter with God in my
transition to eternal life?
We echo the words of the Holy Father Francis for Easter
2019:
“May the Lenten journey lead us to Easter with the heart
purified and renewed by the grace of the Holy Spirit and may the
grace of Christ's resurrection completely transform our life, fill us
with joy, hope, and gratitude to God who loves us so much”.
“Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; whoever
believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and

4. believes in me will never die. Do you believe this’?” (John 11: 25-
26).
Jesus gives the real meaning of life. He alone demonstrated its
legitimacy by rising from the death, with convincing proof that the
resurrection had truly happened. He is the One who reveals our
identity to us, gives meaning to this life, and makes us believe in
endless life.
Jesus tells us that God is relationship, is goodness, knows
each one of us intimately and personally. He showed God’s love by
healing the sick and coming close to people who were unfortunate
and poor. God’s love is totally gratuitous and devoid of self-interest.
Jesus says that God created us to be His children. He wants to give us
a heritage of blessings. He gave us the freedom to choose and to love
Him freely. He placed in our heart an internal moral law to obey by
loving Him and our neighbor. This is the reason for which we were
created. In Jesus Christ, we discover who we are and for whom we
live (Eph 1: 11). The gift of God is eternal life. It is an absolutely
gratuitous gift and available for those who want to receive it.
Which life experience strengthens
my faith to celebrate Easter 2019
well?
“CASA DE ARTE”
Atelier Anderson Augusto