This morning, after having celebrated a private Mass, the Holy Father, Pope Francis left the Apostolic Nunciature in Ecuador and travelled by car to Tumbaco, where he paid a visit to the House of Rest run by the Missionaries of Charity.
Upon his arrival, he was welcomed by the Superior of the small community who accompanied him to the chapel where he found the other Sisters waiting for him. Together, they shared a moment of silent prayer. His Holiness then met the elderly guests of the House out in the courtyard before departing by car for the El Quinche National Marian Shrine.
At 10:30 this morning, the Holy Father, Pope Francis arrived at the El Quinche Shrine for a meeting with the clergy, religious men and women and seminarians. Upon his arrival, the Pope was welcomed by the Rector of the Shrine at the main entrance to the church where he found the most elderly of the priests and religious. The Holy Father then went on foot to the Marian Field where a copy of the little statue of the Virgin of El Quinche can be found.
This morning's meeting began with introductory remarks offered by Monsignor Celmo Lazzari, CSI, Apostolic Vicar of San Miguel de Sucumbíos, spokesman for Consecrated Life on behalf of the Episcopal Conference of Ecuador, and was followed by the presentation of gifts to the Pope. One of the priests and one of the Sisters then presented their testimonials. Finally, following a prayer to the Virgin of Quinche, the Holy Father shared the following impromptu speech, choosing to leave the prepared text to be read at leisure by those who would later receive copies.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I place at the feet of Our Lady of Quinche the vivid experiences of my visit. I entrust to her the hearts of the elderly and the sick whom I visited in the house of the Sisters of Charity, as well as the other meetings I have had. I entrust all of them to Mary’s heart; but at the same time I commend them to the hearts of each you, the priests, men and women religious, and seminarians. As those called to labor in the vineyard of the Lord, may you be protectors of all the experiences, the joys and sorrows of the Ecuadorian people.
I thank Bishop Lazzari, Father Mina and Sister Sandoval for their words, which lead me to share some thoughts on our common concern for God’s People.
In the Gospel, the Lord invites us to accept our mission without placing conditions. It is an important message which we must never forget. Here, in this Sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady of the Presentation, it resounds in a special way. Mary is an example of discipleship for us who, like her, have received a vocation. Her trusting response, Be it done unto me according to your word (Lk 1:38), reminds us of her words at the wedding feast of Cana: Do whatever he tells you (Jn 2:5). Her example is an invitation to serve as she served.
In the Presentation of the Virgin we find some suggestions for our own call. The child Mary was a gift from God to her parents and to all her people who were looking for liberation. This is something we see over and over again in the Scriptures. God responds to the cry of his people, sending a little child to bring salvation and to restore hope to elderly parents. The word of God tells us that, in the history of Israel, judges, prophets and kings are God’s gifts to his people, bringing them his tenderness and mercy. They are signs of God’s gratuitousness. It is he who has chosen them, who personally chose them and sent them. Realizing this helps us to move beyond our self-centeredness and to understand that we no longer belong to ourselves, that our vocation calls us to let go of all selfishness, all seeking of material gain or emotional rewards, as the Gospel has told us. We are not hired workers, but servants. We have not come to be served, but to serve, and we do so with complete detachment, without walking stick or bag.
Some traditions about devotion to Our Lady of Quinche relate that Diego de Robles made the image after being commissioned by the indigenous Lumbicí people. Diego did not do this out of piety, but for economic benefit. Since the Lumbicí were unable to pay him, he brought the image to Oyacachi and exchanged it for cedar planks. But Diego ignored their earnest plea that he also make an altar for the image, until, after falling from his horse and in danger of death, he felt the protection of the Virgin Mary. So he went back to the town and built the foot of the image. All of us have had the experience of a God who brings us to the cross, who calls us in the midst of our faults and failings. May pride and worldliness not make us forget what God has rescued us from! May the Our Lady of Quinche make us leave behind ambition, selfish interests, and excessive concern about ourselves!
The authority which the Apostles receive from Jesus is not for their own benefit: our gifts are meant to be used to renew and build up the Church. Do not refuse to share, do not hesitate to give, do not be caught up in your own comforts, but be like a spring which spills over and refreshes others, especially those burdened by sin, disappointment and resentment (cf Evangelii Gaudium, 272).
Something else that Our Lady’s Presentation makes me think of is perseverance. In the evocative iconography associated with this feast, the Child Mary is shown moving away from her parents as she climbs the steps of the Temple. Mary does not look back and, in a clear reference to the evangelical admonition, she moves forward with determination. We, like the disciples in the Gospel, also need to move forward as we bring to all peoples and places the Good News of Jesus. Perseverance in mission is not about going from house to house, looking for a place where we will be more comfortably welcomed. It means casting our lot with Jesus to the end. Some stories of the apparition of Our Lady of Quinche speak of a woman with a child in her arms who appeared on several successive evenings to the natives of Oyacachi when they were fleeing from attacks by bears. Mary kept appearing to her children, but they didn’t believe her, they didn’t trust this woman, even though they admired her perseverance in coming each evening at sunset. To persevere even though we are rejected, despite the darkness and growing uncertainty and dangers – this is what we are called to do, in the knowledge that we are not alone, that God’s Holy People walk with us.
In some sense, the image of the child Mary ascending the steps of the Temple reminds us of the Church, which accompanies and supports every missionary disciple. Mary is with her parents, who handed on to her the memory of the faith and now generously offer her to the Lord so that she can follow in his way. She is part of a community, represented by the maiden companions who escort her with lamps alight (cf Ps 44:15); in those companions the Fathers of the Church saw a foreshadowing of all those who, in imitation of Mary, seek wholeheartedly to become friends of God. Finally, she is received by the waiting priests, who remind us that the Church’s pastors must welcome everyone with tender love and help to discern every spirit and every calling.
So let us walk together, helping one another, as we humbly implore the gift of perseverance in God’s service.
The apparition of Our Lady of Quinche was a moment of encounter, of communion, so that this place which from Incan times has been a place where people of various ethnicities have settled. How beautiful it is when the Church perseveres in her efforts to be a house and a school of communion, when we cultivate what I like to call the culture of encounter!
The image of Our Lady’s Presentation tells us that, after being blessed by the priests, the child Mary began to dance at the foot of the altar. I think of the joy expressed in the imagery of the wedding feast, of the friend of the bridegroom, of the bride bedecked with her jewels. It is the happiness of all those who have discovered a treasure and left everything behind in order to gain it. To find the Lord, to dwell in his house, to share in his life, commits us to proclaiming his Kingdom and bringing his salvation to all. Crossing the threshold of the Temple means becoming, like Mary, temples of the Lord and setting out to bring the good news to our brothers and sisters. Our Lady, as the first missionary disciple, once she had received the message of the angel, left with haste and went to a town of Judah to share this incredible joy, which led Saint John the Baptist to leap in his mother’s womb. The one who hears the Lord’s voice leaps with joy and becomes for his or her own time a herald of his joy. The joy of evangelization leads the Church to go forth, like Mary.
There are many reasons offered for moving the shrine from Oyacachi to this place. There is one which I find particularly convincing: for many people, this place has always been easier to reach. That was the idea that the Archbishop of Quito, Fray Luis López de Solís had when he ordered the building of a shrine capable of attracting and embracing everyone. A Church on the move is a Church which is close to people, overcoming obstacles, leaving its own comfort behind and daring to reach out to the peripheries which need the light of the Gospel (Evangelii Gaudium, 20).
Let us now turn to the tasks which await us, urged on by the holy people which God has entrusted to our care. Among those tasks, let us not neglect to care for, encourage and guide the popular devotions which are so powerfully felt in this holy place and which are widespread in the countries of Latin America. The faithful express the faith in their own language, and they show their deepest feelings of sadness, uncertainty, joy, failure, and thanksgiving in various devotions: processions, votive candles, flowers, and hymns. All of these are beautiful expressions of their faith in the Lord and their love for his Mother, who is also our Mother.
Here in Quinche, the story of God and man converge in the life of one woman, Mary. They come together in one home, our common home, our sister, mother earth. The traditions of this devotion speak of cedar trees, bears, the crevasse in the rock which here became the first home of the Mother of God. They speak to us of a yesterday when birds surrounded this place, and of a today of flowers which adorn its surroundings. The origins of this devotion bring us back to a time of simple and serene harmony with creation, when one could contemplate the Creator who lives among us and surrounds us, whose presence ‘must not be contrived but found, uncovered’ (Laudato Si', 225). God’s presence is revealed in the created world, in his beloved Son, and in the Eucharist which enables each Christian to know him or herself as living members of the Church and an active participant in her mission (cf Aparecida Document, 264). And it is present in Our Lady of Quinche, who from the first proclamation of the faith until our own day has accompanied the indigenous peoples. To her we entrust our vocation; may she make us a gift to our people; may she grant us perseverance in our commitment and in the joy of going forth to bring the Gospel of her Son Jesus, together with our shepherds, to the fringes, the peripheries of our beloved Ecuador.
At the conclusion of the encounter, the Pope went by car to the Mariscal Sucre international airport in Quito for the flight to La Paz (Bolivia).
Upon his arrival, he was welcomed by the Superior of the small community who accompanied him to the chapel where he found the other Sisters waiting for him. Together, they shared a moment of silent prayer. His Holiness then met the elderly guests of the House out in the courtyard before departing by car for the El Quinche National Marian Shrine.
At 10:30 this morning, the Holy Father, Pope Francis arrived at the El Quinche Shrine for a meeting with the clergy, religious men and women and seminarians. Upon his arrival, the Pope was welcomed by the Rector of the Shrine at the main entrance to the church where he found the most elderly of the priests and religious. The Holy Father then went on foot to the Marian Field where a copy of the little statue of the Virgin of El Quinche can be found.
This morning's meeting began with introductory remarks offered by Monsignor Celmo Lazzari, CSI, Apostolic Vicar of San Miguel de Sucumbíos, spokesman for Consecrated Life on behalf of the Episcopal Conference of Ecuador, and was followed by the presentation of gifts to the Pope. One of the priests and one of the Sisters then presented their testimonials. Finally, following a prayer to the Virgin of Quinche, the Holy Father shared the following impromptu speech, choosing to leave the prepared text to be read at leisure by those who would later receive copies.
Prepared speech of His Holiness, Pope Francis
for the encounter at the Shrine of El Quinche
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I place at the feet of Our Lady of Quinche the vivid experiences of my visit. I entrust to her the hearts of the elderly and the sick whom I visited in the house of the Sisters of Charity, as well as the other meetings I have had. I entrust all of them to Mary’s heart; but at the same time I commend them to the hearts of each you, the priests, men and women religious, and seminarians. As those called to labor in the vineyard of the Lord, may you be protectors of all the experiences, the joys and sorrows of the Ecuadorian people.
I thank Bishop Lazzari, Father Mina and Sister Sandoval for their words, which lead me to share some thoughts on our common concern for God’s People.
In the Gospel, the Lord invites us to accept our mission without placing conditions. It is an important message which we must never forget. Here, in this Sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady of the Presentation, it resounds in a special way. Mary is an example of discipleship for us who, like her, have received a vocation. Her trusting response, Be it done unto me according to your word (Lk 1:38), reminds us of her words at the wedding feast of Cana: Do whatever he tells you (Jn 2:5). Her example is an invitation to serve as she served.
In the Presentation of the Virgin we find some suggestions for our own call. The child Mary was a gift from God to her parents and to all her people who were looking for liberation. This is something we see over and over again in the Scriptures. God responds to the cry of his people, sending a little child to bring salvation and to restore hope to elderly parents. The word of God tells us that, in the history of Israel, judges, prophets and kings are God’s gifts to his people, bringing them his tenderness and mercy. They are signs of God’s gratuitousness. It is he who has chosen them, who personally chose them and sent them. Realizing this helps us to move beyond our self-centeredness and to understand that we no longer belong to ourselves, that our vocation calls us to let go of all selfishness, all seeking of material gain or emotional rewards, as the Gospel has told us. We are not hired workers, but servants. We have not come to be served, but to serve, and we do so with complete detachment, without walking stick or bag.
Some traditions about devotion to Our Lady of Quinche relate that Diego de Robles made the image after being commissioned by the indigenous Lumbicí people. Diego did not do this out of piety, but for economic benefit. Since the Lumbicí were unable to pay him, he brought the image to Oyacachi and exchanged it for cedar planks. But Diego ignored their earnest plea that he also make an altar for the image, until, after falling from his horse and in danger of death, he felt the protection of the Virgin Mary. So he went back to the town and built the foot of the image. All of us have had the experience of a God who brings us to the cross, who calls us in the midst of our faults and failings. May pride and worldliness not make us forget what God has rescued us from! May the Our Lady of Quinche make us leave behind ambition, selfish interests, and excessive concern about ourselves!
The authority which the Apostles receive from Jesus is not for their own benefit: our gifts are meant to be used to renew and build up the Church. Do not refuse to share, do not hesitate to give, do not be caught up in your own comforts, but be like a spring which spills over and refreshes others, especially those burdened by sin, disappointment and resentment (cf Evangelii Gaudium, 272).
Something else that Our Lady’s Presentation makes me think of is perseverance. In the evocative iconography associated with this feast, the Child Mary is shown moving away from her parents as she climbs the steps of the Temple. Mary does not look back and, in a clear reference to the evangelical admonition, she moves forward with determination. We, like the disciples in the Gospel, also need to move forward as we bring to all peoples and places the Good News of Jesus. Perseverance in mission is not about going from house to house, looking for a place where we will be more comfortably welcomed. It means casting our lot with Jesus to the end. Some stories of the apparition of Our Lady of Quinche speak of a woman with a child in her arms who appeared on several successive evenings to the natives of Oyacachi when they were fleeing from attacks by bears. Mary kept appearing to her children, but they didn’t believe her, they didn’t trust this woman, even though they admired her perseverance in coming each evening at sunset. To persevere even though we are rejected, despite the darkness and growing uncertainty and dangers – this is what we are called to do, in the knowledge that we are not alone, that God’s Holy People walk with us.
In some sense, the image of the child Mary ascending the steps of the Temple reminds us of the Church, which accompanies and supports every missionary disciple. Mary is with her parents, who handed on to her the memory of the faith and now generously offer her to the Lord so that she can follow in his way. She is part of a community, represented by the maiden companions who escort her with lamps alight (cf Ps 44:15); in those companions the Fathers of the Church saw a foreshadowing of all those who, in imitation of Mary, seek wholeheartedly to become friends of God. Finally, she is received by the waiting priests, who remind us that the Church’s pastors must welcome everyone with tender love and help to discern every spirit and every calling.
So let us walk together, helping one another, as we humbly implore the gift of perseverance in God’s service.
The apparition of Our Lady of Quinche was a moment of encounter, of communion, so that this place which from Incan times has been a place where people of various ethnicities have settled. How beautiful it is when the Church perseveres in her efforts to be a house and a school of communion, when we cultivate what I like to call the culture of encounter!
The image of Our Lady’s Presentation tells us that, after being blessed by the priests, the child Mary began to dance at the foot of the altar. I think of the joy expressed in the imagery of the wedding feast, of the friend of the bridegroom, of the bride bedecked with her jewels. It is the happiness of all those who have discovered a treasure and left everything behind in order to gain it. To find the Lord, to dwell in his house, to share in his life, commits us to proclaiming his Kingdom and bringing his salvation to all. Crossing the threshold of the Temple means becoming, like Mary, temples of the Lord and setting out to bring the good news to our brothers and sisters. Our Lady, as the first missionary disciple, once she had received the message of the angel, left with haste and went to a town of Judah to share this incredible joy, which led Saint John the Baptist to leap in his mother’s womb. The one who hears the Lord’s voice leaps with joy and becomes for his or her own time a herald of his joy. The joy of evangelization leads the Church to go forth, like Mary.
There are many reasons offered for moving the shrine from Oyacachi to this place. There is one which I find particularly convincing: for many people, this place has always been easier to reach. That was the idea that the Archbishop of Quito, Fray Luis López de Solís had when he ordered the building of a shrine capable of attracting and embracing everyone. A Church on the move is a Church which is close to people, overcoming obstacles, leaving its own comfort behind and daring to reach out to the peripheries which need the light of the Gospel (Evangelii Gaudium, 20).
Let us now turn to the tasks which await us, urged on by the holy people which God has entrusted to our care. Among those tasks, let us not neglect to care for, encourage and guide the popular devotions which are so powerfully felt in this holy place and which are widespread in the countries of Latin America. The faithful express the faith in their own language, and they show their deepest feelings of sadness, uncertainty, joy, failure, and thanksgiving in various devotions: processions, votive candles, flowers, and hymns. All of these are beautiful expressions of their faith in the Lord and their love for his Mother, who is also our Mother.
Here in Quinche, the story of God and man converge in the life of one woman, Mary. They come together in one home, our common home, our sister, mother earth. The traditions of this devotion speak of cedar trees, bears, the crevasse in the rock which here became the first home of the Mother of God. They speak to us of a yesterday when birds surrounded this place, and of a today of flowers which adorn its surroundings. The origins of this devotion bring us back to a time of simple and serene harmony with creation, when one could contemplate the Creator who lives among us and surrounds us, whose presence ‘must not be contrived but found, uncovered’ (Laudato Si', 225). God’s presence is revealed in the created world, in his beloved Son, and in the Eucharist which enables each Christian to know him or herself as living members of the Church and an active participant in her mission (cf Aparecida Document, 264). And it is present in Our Lady of Quinche, who from the first proclamation of the faith until our own day has accompanied the indigenous peoples. To her we entrust our vocation; may she make us a gift to our people; may she grant us perseverance in our commitment and in the joy of going forth to bring the Gospel of her Son Jesus, together with our shepherds, to the fringes, the peripheries of our beloved Ecuador.
At the conclusion of the encounter, the Pope went by car to the Mariscal Sucre international airport in Quito for the flight to La Paz (Bolivia).
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