【慈幼通訊社 ─ 2025 年10月18日義大利羅馬訊】 ─ 聖瑪利亞唐嘉蒂，一位來自山區、後來成為亞馬遜地區傳教士的女性，她的一生，對我們這個時代有著強烈的迴響。儘管出身寒微，但她的經歷卻為我們這個時代普遍存在的問題提供了具體的答案：如何活出有意義的人生？如何發揮真正的領導力？如何在支離破碎的社會中架起橋樑？
堅持到底是行事的根本
瑪利亞透過閱讀《鮑思高家庭通訊》發現了自己的聖召。這通訊如同火花，點燃了她深層的覺悟，最終發展成一個影響她整個人生的決定。這個選擇付出了巨大的個人代價，但瑪利亞明白了一個重要的真理：「奉獻一生，從一而終。」 這第一個信息便直接向我們挑戰：當我們確定了意義的所在，就必須始終如一地實踐，絕不妥協，以免失去其本質。瑪利亞更在看似微不足道的日常生活中找到了意義，教導我們，卓越不在於非凡成就，而在於以非凡的奉獻精神承擔平凡的責任。
積極主動是責任的體現
「我們走吧，我馬上就到。」這是瑪利亞始終不變的回應。無論何時，無論何種情況，她都隨時待命。她不會被動地等待需求的出現：她會預見需求，及時回應，並積極應對。抵達厄瓜多後，她宣稱：「我會全心全意地前往：我的精神始終放在使命上。」 「全心全意」是有效行動的重要特徵：行動不能冷漠或漠然。無論我們負責什麼領域，都需要全心投入精力和熱情。面對她所獲得的卓越醫療成果，瑪利亞依然保持清醒和謙卑：「是天主在完成這一切。我祈禱，他治癒。我沒有做過什麼。」這種意識讓我們回歸到一個真理的根本：我們是服務於偉大事工的工具，是促進更人道、更健康、更富於人情味的環境的合作者。她的目標清晰明確：「一顆寬廣的心，一顆母親般的心……一顆比公義更善良的心。」在通常以憤世嫉俗和嚴酷為特徵的環境中，這代表著一種逆勢而上的挑戰：以慷慨的態度行事，以超越規則的理解行事，以真誠的意願為大眾利益奉獻自己。
建設和平是實實在在的選擇
在亞馬遜雨林，瑪利亞深陷於拓居者與原住民之間的暴力衝突。她刻意選擇成為調解人，建立對話，促成和解。她以實際行動，無差別地關愛每一個人。瑪利亞並非把自己描繪成一個沒有局限的人物。她坦誠地承認：「我並不算好，但我渴望我是聖的。」她承認自己性格衝動，但不斷努力改變它。這番話令人豁然開朗：做有意義的事不一定要完美無缺。真正需要的是真誠地渴望成長、提升和改變自己。這種真誠的過程會產生可信的見證。在各種危急時刻，瑪利亞展現出一種成熟人格所蘊含的決心。這種特質以一種非凡的方式向我們訴說：在一個充滿不確定性和恐懼的時代，我們需要始終如一的勇氣。這種勇氣並非莽夫的勇氣，而是那些明知風險，卻選擇依照自身價值觀行事的人的勇氣。她的力量源自於神性層面，源自於祈禱，源自於聖體聖事。如果我們想要實現真正的轉變，就必須培育那根植於我們內心、指引我們方向的維度。
這呼召在今日的迴響
當孩子們被帶到她面前，而根據「森林法則」，他們必定會死去時，瑪利亞宣稱：「我要向四面八方呼喊：把他們都帶到我身邊！我要成為他們的母親！」如今，這聲音響徹四方，如同一個普世的呼喚：我們被召喚去捍衛每個人的價值，去抵制浪費文化，去見證愛比恨更強大，去見證愛，瑪利亞在生命的最後說：「我一無所有，只有我自己可奉獻。」而這已經足夠了。當你真誠地奉獻一切時，這份奉獻將結出超越所有人期望的果實。
瑪利亞唐嘉蒂修女帶給我們的訊息
瑪利亞‧唐嘉蒂修女的一生告訴我們，真誠、勇氣、全心奉獻和建立橋樑的能力並非抽象的德行，而是具體的日常選擇。我們每個人都能做出獨特且不可複製的貢獻。我們被召喚去發現這份獨特的貢獻，並以智慧、勇氣和希望將其付諸實踐。我們並非效法他人，而是以真誠的人格，憑藉自身的獨特性，懂得如何以瑪利亞唐嘉蒂所特有的熱情和奉獻精神來應對時代的挑戰：她是一位充滿信仰的女性、一位傳教士、一位和平締造者。
– 慈幼會總會歐達德神父
（母佑會瑪利亞唐嘉蒂修女封聖慶祝開幕致辭）
Saint Maria Troncatti FMA: Woman of Faith, Missionary, Peacemaker
(ANS – Italy – Rome, 18 October 2025) – The life of Saint Maria Troncatti, a woman from the mountains who became a missionary in the Amazon, speaks powerfully to our times. Her experience, despite her humble origins, offers concrete answers to the questions that permeate our era: how to live a meaningful life? How to exercise authentic leadership? How to build bridges in a fragmented society?
CONSISTENCY AS THE FOUNDATION OF ACTION
Maria discovered her vocation through reading the Salesian Bulletin. It was a spark that ignited a deep awareness, maturing into a decision that would shape her entire existence. The choice involved significant personal costs, yet Maria understood an essential truth: “One gives oneself once and for all.” This first message challenges us directly: when we identify what gives meaning to our actions, we must live it with total consistency, without compromises that empty it of its substance. Maria also found meaning in seemingly marginal daily actions, teaching us that excellence does not consist in performing extraordinary deeds, but in facing ordinary responsibilities with extraordinary dedication.
PROACTIVITY AS AN EXPRESSION OF RESPONSIBILITY
“Let’s go, I’ll be right there” was Maria’s constant response. At any time, in any condition, she made herself available. She did not wait passively for needs to arise: she anticipated them, intercepted them, addressed them. When she arrived in Ecuador, she declared: “I am going with all my heart: my thoughts are always on the mission.” That “with all my heart” is a distinctive element of effective action: one does not work with lukewarmness or detachment. Whatever our area of responsibility, it requires a total investment of our energy and passion. Faced with the exceptional results of her medical care, Maria remained lucid and humble: “It is God who does everything. I pray and He heals. I am nothing.” This awareness brings us back to a fundamental truth: we are instruments at the service of something greater, collaborators in promoting more humane, healthy and relationally rich contexts. Her programme was clear: “A big heart, a mother’s heart… a heart that is more good than just.” In a context often characterised by cynicism and harshness, this represents a challenge that goes against the grain: to act with generosity, with an understanding that goes beyond the mere application of rules, with a genuine willingness to give of oneself for the common good.
PEACE-BUILDING AS A CONCRETE CHOICE
In the Amazon rainforest, Maria found herself immersed in violent conflicts between settlers and indigenous peoples. She deliberately chose to be a mediator, to build dialogue, to offer reconciliation. She did so concretely, caring for everyone without distinction. Maria did not present herself as a figure without limits. She honestly acknowledged, “I am not good, but I want to be holy.” She admitted her own impetuous character, but worked constantly to transform it. This message is liberating: it is not necessary to be perfect in order to act in a meaningful way. It is necessary to sincerely want to grow, improve, and transform oneself. This process of authenticity generates credible witness. In various critical situations, Maria communicates a determination that is the fruit of a mature personality. This quality speaks to us in a very personal way: in an age characterised by widespread uncertainty and fear, we need the courage to be consistent. Not the courage of the reckless, but of those who, while aware of the risks, choose to act according to their values. Her strength drew from the spiritual dimension, from prayer, from the Eucharist. If we want to bring about authentic transformation, we must cultivate that inner dimension that grounds and guides us.
THE CALL THAT RESOUNDS TODAY
When children were brought to her who, according to the ‘law of the forest’, had to die, Maria proclaimed: ‘I will cry out to the four winds: bring them all to me! I will be a mother to them!’. Today that voice resounds as a universal call: we are called to defend the value of every person, to oppose the culture of waste, to bear witness that love is stronger than hatred, that peace is possible, that it is worth investing our lives for others. Maria concluded her existence by saying: “I have nothing to give but myself.” And that was more than enough. When you give everything with authenticity, that offering generates fruits that exceed all expectations.
THE MESSAGE OF SISTER MARIA TRONCATTI
The life of Sister Maria Troncatti tells us today that authenticity, courage, total dedication and the ability to build bridges are not abstract qualities, but concrete daily choices. Each of us has a unique and unrepeatable contribution to offer. We are called to discover this specific contribution and to realize it with intelligence, courage and hope. Not as imitations of other models, but as authentic people who, in their uniqueness, know how to respond to the challenges of their time with the same radicalism and dedication that characterised Maria Troncatti: a woman of faith, a missionary, a peacemaker.
– Fr Fabio Attard, Sdb – Rector Major
(Message at the Opening of the Celebrations for the Canonisation of Sister Maria Troncatti, FMA)