His Word Today: Our Lady of Guadaloupe

Good morning everyone,

Today, the Church celebrates Our Lady of Guadaloupe.  The Virgin Mary appeared once daily for four consecutive days beginning on 9 December 1531: three of those were to the young Juan Diego on the hill known as Tepeyac, in a suburb of Mexico City and the fourth was to his uncle.  The woman spoke to Juan Diego in his native language known as Nahuatl (the language of the Aztec Empire) and identified herself as the Virgin Mary, the mother of the very true deity.

Juan Diego sought out the local Bishop and reported what he had seen, but the Bishop was skeptical.  Eventually, even after days of repeated testimonies, the Bishop still insisted on needing a sign, so on 12 December 1531, having been assured by the Virgin that a sign would be given, but concerned about his ailing uncle, Juan chose another route when he set out in search of a doctor.  The Virgin intercepted him and inquired about where he was going.  He explained that he was in search of help for his ailing uncle, and she replied: ¿No estoy yo aquí que soy tu madre? (Am I not here, I who am your mother?).  At that moment, Juan's uncle was cured.

The Virgin instructed Juan to gather roses from the top of the Tepeyac hill, which was normally barren, especially in mid-December.  He followed her instruction and found Castillian roses - not native to Mexico - blooming there.  Having gathered the roses in his tilma (a cloak-like apron), he went to see the Bishop.  When he opened his tilma, the roses fell out and the Bishop saw an image of the Virgin imprinted on the tilma.

The first chapel was built on the hilltop shortly afterwards and to this day, the minor Basilica of Our Lady of Guadaloupe is one of the most-frequently visited Marian shrines in the world.  Like this more modern example of miraculous happenings, the moment of the Virgin Mary's visit with her kinswoman Elizabeth was another example of simple humble people responding joyfully to the call of the Lord (cf Lk 1:39-47).

Let us ask Our Lady to intercede for us as well, to embolden us so that we too may respond joyfully to the call of the Lord today.

Have a great day.