St. Maria Troncatti - PPT from wyra community.pptx

Sr. Alba Vernazza FMA
INSTITUTE OF THE DAUGHTERS OF
MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS
Founded by Saint John Bosco
and by Saint Mary Domenica
Mazzarello

St. Maria Troncatti ‘s
holiness that generates
life with a missionary
heart

In this presentation I want to present about the person and
holiness of St. Maria Troncatti
1. Family and vocational choice
2. The spiritual motherhood of Sister Maria Troncatti
3. Sister Maria Troncatti: "All for the mission.”
4. Letting God's light through: S Maria Troncatti's Fame of
Holiness
5. Missionary attitude - Sister Maria Troncatti's path to holiness
6. Sr . Maria Troncatti An Artisan of Peace and Reconciliation

1. Family and vocational choice
To begin with, at home.
she took on a lot of jobs and responsibilities herself.
She worked in the fields and had a
thousand commitments of different caliber.
Maria's adolescence was full of maturing
interior experiences
work is for her like a breath that caught her at the breaking
of the day , it was intense, sacrificial ,spontaneous and joyful
All of this was mixed with faith and prayer..

During the work Maria tried to sing, she made people laugh with
her off-key notes.
However, she also made people laugh outside the song: with jokes
various types of humor.
Her sister Lucia said that her father called her - "el me car taramot
– “my dear earthquake."
There was austerity and affection: an affection full of reserve, but
perceptible in its delicacy;
an affection that remained forever.
Maria resembled her father Giacomo, a man who loved to the core,
but appeared almost shy, perhaps afraid of
spoiling the clear purity of his feelings
with a gesture, with a word.

On October 15, 1905, came the day set for
to answer the call and plunge into
mystery.
Her father Giacomo had
not yet been able to say yes due to the
pain of leaving the dear one.
Maria felt pressure on her skin, and especially on her heart.
The last tears, the last hugs.
She did not want to turn back, but she felt an unusual
movement...
she understood that Her father had fainted.
But her father Giacomo had finally made the effort to bless his
daughter, not ashamed of the tears that were streaming from
his heart
Was there at that moment a temptation for Mary to delay?
We do not know; certainly, however, she did not hesitate for a
moment"

FOR REFLECTION
1. What is the contribution of the family environment to the vocational
choice of the young Maria Troncatti?
2. What emotions and feelings do Maria Troncatti's vocational choice
arouse in you?
3. For young people: What can facilitate or hinder vocational choice
today? Do you have a reference person (adult educator, priest, Sister)
who accompanies you on your journey of faith, who supports you and
helps you in life choices?
4. For adult educators:
What aspects of being a family have I discovered in Sr. Maria Troncatti
that I would like to strengthen and cultivate in the children, adolescents,
and young people
I meet?
Are we able to accompany young people, to support them
even in moments of decision and crisis, to leave them free
to choose and follow the Lord?

Letter from Maria Troncatti to her parents
Of the eighty-one letters written by Sr. Maria Troncatti and collected in the
volume of her Letters, forty of them are sent to family members.
The following letter is the first one sent to her parents.
Dearest parents,
I am very sorry to have given you this displeasure with this silence of mine, believe it
that in
reading your dear letter it brought tears to my eyes to hear that you are complaining to
Catterina because perhaps she put something to laugh at that I don't even remember
what she said anymore and for this reason you believe that love has become less?...
my dear parents
I have taken this step generously for the Lord and I thank Him with all my
heart and I continually pray that He will give me the grace of a good
continuation. But after all, if I were to live a hundred years, it would never be
true that I could forget, because that love always remains burning in
my heart.

I enjoy excellent health, and I find myself very happy and cheerful.
It is three months this day since I have been in this dear Institute
and it seems to me three days.
I beg you again, if you'll be kind enough to send me the money
that we agreed upon: the 100 lire for the postulancy and the 10 lire
for the mattress.
Now I will end so as not to bore you
too much by recommending that you stay cheerful.
I also have consoling news to tell you that I had the honor of
receiving Holy Communion at midnight sharp on Holy Christmas,
and how many times I recommended you one by one to Baby
Jesus. Believe that although I cannot help you in material things,
but with God's help I will help you in spiritual ones. Many greetings
to the Parish Priest.
Goodbye, my dear parents, and sisters, pray for me too.

2. The spiritual motherhood of
St. Maria Troncatti
From the rich figure of this missionary, wish to deepen about her being a
Mother, Missionary, Artisan of peace and reconciliation.
This is for all of us a time of special grace,
a call to renew ourselves in order to continue, with courage and joy, the
path of holiness that God today asks us to take..

“Madrecita buena” [good little Mother]: this is how
Sister Maria Troncatti was known among the Shuar
people, whom she served with love and with whom
she shared the path of holiness as an FMA missionary
for 44 years.
In the Ecuadorian jungle, her spiritual motherhood
was deeply felt by all those who crossed her path.
She was tender and caring with everyone. Her life,
her works, and her words radiated a spiritual
motherhood deeply rooted in Jesus, nourished by
prayer, and fed by the maternal heart of Mary
beating within her own.
First of all, Mother

Sister Maria Troncatti emerges in a clear
way, the maternal dimension that generates
an abundance of life around itself and finds
its source in a deep intimacy with the Lord.

In our life and mission today, what are we called to be
or do in order to imitate the spiritual motherhood of
Sister Maria Troncatti?
For young people:
In what aspect(s) do young people today need to
experience a spiritual motherhood like that of Sister
Maria Troncatti?

We can describe Sister Maria as a happy
woman, passionate about Jesus and for Jesus.
The secret of her unconditional giving comes
from constant prayer, from standing in the
silence of the night and dawn before her Lord;
from letting herself fill her heart with His Love.

She says in the Letter Here catechizing, healing the sick, waiting for
children. We have about 20 here the two youngest are two years old;
they are orphans. One I met on the way when I was returning to
Macas, poor little one. The Kivaros had given his mother poison and
a few days later she died.
The priest administered Baptism to her, and I took the little one to
Macas. They baptized him; I am the godmother; he is a dear little
fellow. He begins to talk. We gave him the name of Joseph
In letter No. 43, Sister Maria Troncatti says she is
"happier every day" about her religious and missionary
vocation and glad to be in the jungle. She attributes to
the prayers of her mother and nieces and nephews
the effectiveness of evangelization and the good
number of resident kivarettes in Macas, where she
returned temporarily after several years in Guayaquil.
She continues to ask for prayers to succeed in becoming
a saint and in winning many people to the love of Christ..

During the day, she walks with the rosary
in her hand, entrusted to the protection of
Mary, Help and Guide in every activity, in
moments of joy, sacrifice or danger. She is
tireless in her service to the poor, the little
ones, the sick and discouraged, 'her' dear
Shuar.
3. Sister Maria
Troncatti: "All for the
mission."

With the tenderness and love of
a mother, she gives herself to
wounded humanity by
witnessing, especially in the
Ecuadorian Jungle, the Father’s
love for all His children. Precisely
by the Shuar Indians, she is
affectionately called madrecita,
"mama".

They call to her from far away to treat,
comfort, assist the dying. Even a murderer,
who desires to be prepared to confess and
to die well, wants Sister Maria close to him
until the end, convinced that her presence
prevents the devil from putting despair in
his heart.

Sister Maria writes to her family
members with astonishment, "If you saw
how much they love me! When they see me
go away on horseback, they plead with me,
"Madrecita, come back soon!"
With maternal patience, she teaches the
indigenous people and colonists, groups in
constant conflict, to forgive each other.

In the moments of greatest difficulty, she gazes
at the Crucifix, which supports her and gives
her the courage to face with faith daily fatigue
and to use her creativity.

Mother Yvonne Reungoat, on 25 August 2019, in
her message for the 50th anniversary of the
death of Sister Maria Troncatti, wrote, "We can say
that she is a frontier woman, a prophetic
Daughter of Mary Help of Christians, who lived
the requirements of enculturation with the
sensitivity and intuition of the Saints, because to
enculturate oneself is a matter of love and those
who love understand, adapt, become close."

With this maternal
love, she conquers
hearts and manages
to find a solution
for every problem,
without
surrendering to
difficulties.

The power of her maternity is also revealed in situations of
particular emergency or risk, such as when she intensely
prays that "her children" be spared from the waves of the
treacherous Upano river, which she knows to be dangerous.

She never loses confidence in Providence,
because she is sure of the presence of God in
her missionary life. Strong in this certainty, she
does not spare herself to intervene for the good
of "her Shuar children."

Testimony of a doctor at Sucúa Hospital.
"Since I was the only doctor in charge of the hospital, I had to take
responsibility for all the surgeries, which were not a few. Sometimes I felt a
little lonely, but Sister Maria always had a word of encouragement and
motivation for me: ‘Doctor, I know you can do it. While you operate, I pray.’"
Sister Mary was endowed with a strong personality; she acted very naturally
toward any person in authority. She was an authentic counselor for everyone;
rich and poor, simple people and people in public responsibility came to her.
Even airplane pilots went to her; she helped everyone encounter the truth,
and she did so with such wisdom and simplicity that everyone left with a
peaceful heart and a smiling face.

Sister Maria was the soul of the hospital.
She was surrounded by unanimous respect. Her
word instilled confidence and gave courage. She
was a woman of deep faith and let the inner joy
that always accompanied her shine through her
whole person. She was delicate; she liked order,
cleanliness and also taking care of flowers.
She did not complain, she had no bitterness, she
did not remember past things; she loved
everyone and was loved by everyone.

She performs simple and effective maternal
gestures. She welcomes children whom no
one wants, gives everyone affection,
security, and serenity, becomes an educator
and catechist, opening up prospects for a
future illuminated by hope.
4. Letting God's light through: Sister Maria
Troncatti's Fame of Holiness

In her, Marian filiality is not only a
feeling, but it is consciously lived as
an itinerary of Christian and Salesian
formation. For this reason, it
becomes a source of educative
maternity in the style of the
preventive system.

Written statement of Josefina Zoila Tapia de Sarmiento - (Positio, pp. 235-
236)
I have very beautiful memories of Sister Maria. I would go to her to ask any
favor and she would always grant it to me with all her good will. She was a
saint. She had no faults whatsoever.... She was so good, so charitable.... She
prayed every day. She was a saint. She treated the sick with compassion and
tenderness....
She was so good. ...when I had some suffering and confided it to
her, she would tell me to stay calm because, she said, God is in your house. She
would give me courage. You could see her holiness. She had patience for
everything. Very charitable to the poor,
she helped everyone. Everybody loved her.... She practiced virtue more than the
other Sisters. I constantly ask for Sister Maria's intercession and I received a
special grace when my daughter
became seriously ill. I turned to Sister Maria and it was she who restored my
daughter to me. I have so much faith in her... and I firmly believe that she is in
heaven. She was very humble.

Statement of Sister Maria Parón Valentinuzzi FMA - (Positio, pp. 455-
460)
In caring for the sick, she was admirable: people preferred to be treated
by her, because they believed that if Sister Maria took care of them, they
would surely be cured. Although she often used home remedies suggested
by the Shuar themselves, her faith had a remarkable influence, as she
was able to heal many sick people thought to be incurable.
Sister Mary was highly esteemed,
but her reputation for holiness emerged especially after her death, when
people began to rely on her and receive favors and graces through her
intercession.

Statement of Sister Florinda Pesantéz Ordoñes FMA - (Positio, pp.
530-535)
When any teacher had difficulties, she would say, "I'm going, I'm going to Sister
Maria!"
confident that she would help her both materially and spiritually.
Actually, Sister Maria Troncatti would draw us by her example;
not by sermons, but by her own life, and that was what impressed
us the most. For my part, I made a commitment to follow her
example; I wanted to
imitate her at least in something. Of course, sometimes I felt
discouraged because I did not always succeed, but I continued in
my efforts, because she was like a light that illuminated our path
to holiness.

The missionary
dimension is an
essential element of
the identity of the
Institute
5. Missionary attitude
Sister Maria Troncatti's
path to holiness

In 1922, Sister Maria Troncatti is in the community of Nizza
Monferrato as an expert Red Cross nurse, veteran of the First
World War of 1915-1918. In the girls' infirmary, young Marina Luzzi
is dying of double pneumonia. Sister Maria entrusts to her
missionary dream to bring to Mary Help of Christians, "to go
among the lepers".

As she is dying, the young girl
prophesies that she would not go
among the lepers, but to Ecuador. In
fact, three days after the death of
Marina, Mother Caterina Daghero
assigned her to the people who live in
the Ecuadorian Amazon forest.

We grasp in Sister Troncatti the ability to see the
essential, to listen and respond to the cry of the poor,
for this she wishes to get out of the patterns of well-
being, rigid structures and securities.

"Sister Maria, animated by grace, became an untiring
messenger of the Gospel, expert in humanity, and a
profound conqueror of the human heart. She shared the
joys and hopes, the difficulties and sorrows of her
brothers and sisters, big and small. She was able to
transform prayer into apostolic zeal and concrete service
to others."».(Angelo Amato)

We can well affirm that she lived the Salesian "I will go",
typical of Valdocco and Mornese, with generosity and total
gift, contagioning with the "I will go" Juan, who died happy
for having saved the life of Sister Maria from the insidious
violence of the Upano river.

In the ravages of
epidemics, especially
the very serious one of
smallpox, which does
not spare the poor
kivarettes, the "doctor"
gives herself ceaselessly
among the sick and
convalescents.

With competence and
foresight, she organizes
nursing courses for young
women who have the aptitude.
For others, there are courses
in sewing, hygiene, childcare,
culinary art, and meetings for
marriage preparation. Her
main concern is the formation
and promotion of women

Sister Maria Troncatti, passionate about the Salesian
mission, infects people and her own Sisters by radiating
her great love to the young, so that they may be happy in
time and eternity. Her boldness and the courage of her
faith also nourish the commitment of the young women
to be "true missionaries".

FOR REFLECTION
For adult educators:
1. When Maria left for the mission, she went without hesitation or regret. With
all her soul and body. Can I also commit myself fully to my duties?
2. How do I react to difficulties that arise? Do I see them as a challenge and look
for ways to deal with them or do I get discouraged right away?
3. Am I patient in lifting up the people entrusted to me? Do I want immediate
results or can I wait patiently for God's and people's timing?
For young people:
To be a missionary, you don't have to go to a distant land, like Sister Marie
Troncatti. You can be a missionary anywhere. In your family, among your
schoolmates. Have you ever thought about that? What do you need to do and
how do you need to be?

6. Artisan of peace and reconciliation
In her 47 years of missionary life, Sister
Maria has one single goal: to help people
meet Jesus; she thirsts to "give Him souls".

While she attends to the
wounds of the tormented
bodies of the Shuar, who
kill each other in the
name of the law of the
jungle, which is revenge,
she seeks every way
possible to speak to them
about forgiveness,
reconciliation, the Gospel.

With unspeakable courage and determination,
she acts in defense of the rights and prospects of
the indigenous peoples when the colonists lord
it over them. However, without distinction she
cares for the one and the other, helps them to
live in a more fraternal way.

She dialogues and advises the colonist
women to sow among the people words of
goodness, justice, fraternity, equality
knowing that through the educative power
of women, it is possible to form future
generations for a more respectful coexistence
and the acceptance of diversity.

At the end of the 1960s, tensions between the
two ethnic groups grew stronger because of land
ownership and a climate of hostility was revived.
On 4 July 1969, some settlers set fire to the
mission of the Salesians, because they consider
them on the side of the Shuar and promoters of
their dignity. Sister Maria suffers a lot and fears
it may be the beginning of another disaster.

It is in that moment
that she has the
inspiration,
generated by her
motherly heart, to
offer herself to God
as a victim of
reconciliation
between the two
very beloved
populations.

Just over a month later, as she was
about to leave for Quito where she
would be making her spiritual
exercises, on 25 August 1969, the day
of the plane crash, Sister Maria shared
with the Sisters her conviction that
peace and tranquillity would soon
return.

after her death,
both the settlers
and the Shuar feel
even more
strongly the
presence of their
madrecita who had
educated them to
forgiveness and
resume living
together with a
new strength of
fraternity.

A rainbow remains in the sky until the
moment of her burial and is the sign
that peace has been restored between
heaven and earth and between the two
peoples.

With gratitude, we sing the Magnificat
for the holiness recognized by the
Church Maria Troncatti and for many
others who live daily, giving love,
hope, and joy.

Let us welcome these words as a mandate that our
Founder today addresses also to us Salesian educators, to
entrust our educative evangelizing mission to Mary in the
awareness that, as it was for Don Bosco and for Sister
Maria Troncati, she is the one who guides us, helps us,
keeps our eyes open to new realities with a missionary and
prophetic heart.

St. Maria Troncatti - PPT from wyra community.pptx

St. Maria Troncatti - PPT from wyra community.pptx

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