12/09/12 - Juan Diego

      The feast day of Juan Diego is on a Sunday this year, but we still remember this man who had such an important role in the spread of Christianity in the country of Mexico.

       Juan Diego was a deeply spiritual man who was drawn to our Lord in the Eucharist. He traveled 15 miles every day on foot in the hills around present-day Mexico City to go to daily Mass.  On this day in 1531 he was visited by the Virgin Mary.  This appearance by Mary was later called Our Lady of Guadalupe. As he was about to pass Tepeyac Hill, he heard music and saw a “glowing cloud.” Juan Diego heard a woman’s voice calling him to come to the top of the hill. There he saw Mary and she gave him this instruction.  She said "I vividly desire that a church be built on this site, so that in it I can be present and give my love, compassion, help, and defense, for I am your most devoted mother . . . to hear your laments and to remedy all your miseries, pains, and sufferings." Juan relayed this message to the Bishop who of course wanted some kind of proof. While on his way to meet the Blessed Mary, Juan found out his uncle was dying, so he missed that meeting with Mary to go get a priest. However, Mary met him on the road and told him his uncle had been cured. She then told him to climb to the top of Tepeyac where he found roses growing out of the frozen ground.  This  was strange, since these rose did not even grow there in the summer. Juan gathered these roses up to take to the bishop, and when he opened his cloak to show him the roses, a glowing image of Our Lady was revealed on the inside of Juan’s cloak. The bishop gave Mary her church, and thousands converted to Christianity. Our Lady of Guadalupe was declared the patroness of the Americas.

         This is a beautiful feast day for us in the midst of the season of Advent, as we await the coming of our Savior.  Juan Diego and many other indigenous people in the Americas received the Lord for the first time way back in the 16th century. Today, we find ourselves in no less need for our Savior, Jesus Christ. So, every year, we start over again in the season of Advent as we retell the story of how Jesus came into our world and as we cry out for the Lord to help us. 

       We give thanks for Juan Diego and the other followers of the faith who came before us and who paved the way for us.  Thank you Juan Diego for your great faith and for pointing us always to Jesus.