Let us learn from the Virgin Mary how to be bolder in obeying the word of God.

From the peak of Chimborazo (volcano) to the Pacific coast, from the Amazon rainforest to the Galapagos Islands, may you never lose the ability to thank God for what he has done and is doing for you, may you never lose the ability to protect what is small and simple, to care for your children and your elderly, to have confidence in the young, and to be constantly struck by the nobility of your people and the singular beauty of your country.

Only by becoming poor ourselves, by stripping away our complacency, will we be able to identify with the least of our brothers and sisters.

When one lives attached to money, pride or power, it is impossible to be truly happy.

Let us keep the flame of faith alive through prayer and the sacraments: let us make sure we do not forget God.

The Lord always grants more than what he has been asked: you ask him to remember you, and he brings you into his Kingdom!

Let us remember Paul VI's words: "For the Catholic Church, no one is a stranger, no one is excluded, no one is far away" (Homily for the closing of the Second Vatican Council, 8 December 1965). Indeed, we are a single human family that is journeying on toward unity, making the most of solidarity and dialogue among peoples in the multiplicity of differences.