Saint Teresita’s Day Jesus: Cardinal de Ecuador proposes 3 attitudes to the crisis

Cardinal Luis Cabrera, archbishop of Guayaquil and president of the Ecuadorian Episcopal Conference, proposed 3 attitudes of Santa Teresita del Niño Jesús, to whom the Church celebrates this October 1, to deal with the current crisis in the South American country.

In the Mass he presided this Wednesday in the National Eucharistic Sanctuary of Cañar, within the framework of the 158th Plenary Assembly of the Bishops of Ecuador that takes place until Friday, the Prelate recalled that in that place, in 1958 the real presence of Christ was expressed in an extraordinary way in a consecrated host, “reminding us that he is in the middle of us.”

In his reflection of today’s Gospel Lucas (9,57-62), the purple highlighted three demands to follow Jesus, fulfilled by Santa Teresita: trust, detachment and fidelity.

1. The trust

The cardinal said that the follow -up of the Lord “is not measured in human assurances, but in the radical confidence in Him. Our country also crosses a moment of uncertainty, marked by tensions, violence and distrust.”

“Here, in this sanctuary, we remember that our true security is not in the interests or powers of this world, but in Christ, which offers us peace. Santa Teresita understood it: His strength was not human security, but the certainty of being loved by God,” he said.

2. The detachment

In Lucas’s reading there is a phrase that says “let the dead bury their dead.” This, said the archbishop, is “a call to put the kingdom in the first place. In our nation we need this detachment: to leave the selfishness, the ambitions of power and the interests that face brothers against brothers.”

“The discipleship of Christ invites us to seek the common good, above personal or ideological calculations. Santa Teresita renounced everything his to embrace everyone, becoming a universal missionary since his cloister,” he added.

3. Fidelity

Cardinal Cabrera explained at this point that “in times of crisis, temptation is fatigue or fear. But Jesus asks us to move with a firm look, building future. Our country needs men and women who, like Saint Teresita, remain faithful in the small, with perseverance and hope, because only everyday fidelity will make possible a reconciled Ecuador.”

“In this hour of the history of Ecuador, the intercession of Santa Teresita inspires us to be constructors of peace from simplicity and evangelical radicality: trusting in God rather than our forces, detaching us from what divides and remains faithful to love that renews everything,” he said.

To conclude, the Cardinal begged “that the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of the Church and Queen of Missions, accompanies us so that, as a nation, we seek paths of dialogue, justice and fraternity, and made possible the peace that Christ left us as an inheritance.”

The national strike

This October 1 is the tenth day of the national strike called by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), who protest in different cities of Ecuador, also with the closure of roads.

The protests, with confrontations with the forces of the order and that have already left a deceased, are given by the decision of the government of President Daniel Noboa, to eliminate the diesel subsidy, among other policies. The Executive has described the protests as “terrorist” acts and has denounced the kidnapping of several military.

A few days ago Cardinal Cabrera said the Catholic Church is always willing to mediate and collaborate with the dialogue between the parties in conflict.