We are now in the third week of Advent. This week the priests wear rose-colored chasubles signifying Joy.
The Annunciation
What a joyous occasion to celebrate the Annunciation of the Blessed Mother Mary! This young Virgin’s “yes” changed the course of humanity. No other woman can be compared to her glorious life. To think that the status of Mary, the mother of our Lord, is imputed is to lack the true knowledge of God, so please allow me to enlighten you about the Mother of God.
Mary’s profound purpose in life is to help guide us to her Son. Whenever my grown children need advice or guidance, they come to me. As a mother I pray with them, but I also continue to intercede on their behalf until I hear from the Lord. All mothers should have Mary as their role model. Who can better teach us than the Mother of God?
She lived a life of servitude to God, she raised her Son, and she watched as He was nailed to the Cross. Through her experience of pain suffered as a mother, we can go to her for comfort. She will lead us to the foot of her Son Jesus’ Cross. There we will find rest.
December 12th
On this day we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Our parish is 65 percent Latino, so you know we go all out. It starts with a 5 a.m. Mass and continues with several Masses during the day. This celebration ends with a bang because our Bishop celebrates the 7:00 p.m. Mass. Then Native dancers were followed by Mariachi music. A dinner of tamales, carnitas tacos, beans and rice, and of course Mexican hot chocolate with pan dulce. Over a thousand tamales were served on this festive day.
Though I did attend the 8:30 a.m. Mass, we were celebrating Mike’s birthday so I was unable to participate in the other church festivities. Our family tradition is to dine at Ruth‘s Chris Steak House to celebrate Mike’s birthday. Together with our family and friends, Larry and Helen, we had a wonderful time. Our grandson Will was making his way back home from college and was unable to attend.
Mike is the patriarch of our family. He is a humble servant, always caring for the needs of others. He has never put himself first, and these selfless acts have taught us all how to be better servants.
The Virgin of Guadalupe
I have traveled to Mexico City several times, but only on the third trip did I discover the hidden treasure of my heart: Our Lady of Guadalupe. During this period of my life I was a roaming Catholic, not knowing much about my religion. When Mike and I arrived at the basilica, I honestly was humbled into a state of holiness.
Observing the Mexican people coming from blocks, and some from miles away, crawling on their knees to reach the basilica made me desire what they were experiencing. Why are they doing this? That was my first thought. These humble pilgrims were on their way to complete a mission. Their final steps would bring them to their knees in reverence of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The Apparition
It all started with the apparition and Juan Diego. In December of 1531 Juan Diego encountered a lady on a hill behind the present day Basilica. In the conversation the Virgin Mary introduced herself as “The Mother of the True God.” She asked Juan Diego to go to the bishop to request that a church be erected in her honor.
It was not a coincidence that Mary appeared to Juan Diego between December 9th through the 12th because this was during the octave of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
Saint Juan Diego
Juan Diego was a 57-year-old widower. When Mary appeared to him she spoke in his Nahuatl, his native Aztec tongue. There was always a prelude of beautiful music when Mary appeared to Juan Diego. Juan Diego’s first encounter with Mary was on Saturday, December 9th. He first heard the heavenly music, followed by “Juanito, Juan Dieguito!” At the sound of her sweet voice, Juan Diego fell to his knees. “Juanito, least of my sons, where art thou going?” she asked. Juan Diego was on his way to study the divine mysteries with his local priest. The place of the meeting was Tepeyac Hill, a few miles outside Mexico City.
The Message
Juan Diego was chosen to carry the message to Bishop-elect Fray Juan de Zumarraga. He was obedient, but the Bishop was not convinced of his story. He asked the Blessed Mother Mary to send someone else, someone well known, respected and esteemed to deliver the message.
On December 11th Juan Diego missed his appointment with the Blessed Mother on Tepeyac Hill because he had to care for his sick uncle, Juan Bernardino. So on the morning of December 12th he walked in haste to find a priest to administer the last rites to his uncle. As he approached Tepeyac Hill he remembered the broken appointment and went around the hill.
Our Lady would not be denied. She assured Juan Diego that his uncle would get well and for him not to worry. Then she instructed him to gather flowers at the top of the hill. There on a frozen, barren hilltop he found and gathered beautiful Castilian roses covered in dew. He came back to the Blessed Virgin, and she arranged them in his tilma with her own hands.
The Roses
At Juan Diego’s arrival, the room where he was to meet the bishop was filled with the heaven-sent bouquet of cascading roses. As the roses fell to the floor, Bishop Zumarraga looked intently at Juan himself, and fell to his knees. When Juan Diego looked down at his tilma, it was the first time he saw the image of exactly how our Lady appeared to him on Tepeyac Hill.
The Conversions
Within a decade after Mary’s apparition, 10 million indigenous Mexicans had converted to Christianity. This stopped the practice of human sacrifices, where as many as 250 thousand people were sacrificed annually.
Our Lady of Guadalupe’s first miracle was the healing of Juan Diego’s uncle, Juan Bernardino.
My Prayer
Dear Lord, we are all guilty of not understanding what our true calling is. May Juan Diego be an example to us all; a humble, Aztec peasant was hand picked by Your Mother with a message of conversion. Holy Mother of God, continue to guide us to Your most precious Son Jesus. Amen.
