In 1531, almost 500 years ago, a lady from heaven appeared to humble Juan Diego on Tepeyac hill in Mexico. She identified herself as the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. She requested that a church be built on that site, but the bishop asked Juan to bring him a sign that this was really the Blessed Mother. Mary sent Juan Diego to the top of the hill to collect roses to give to the bishop as his sign, since roses would not normally grow there in winter. Juan Diego collected the roses in his tilma, a type of poncho, made from cactus fibers. When Juan Diego unfurled his tilma to give the roses to the bishop, an image of Our Lady was revealed, miraculously imprinted on the tilma. This image still appears on the tilma today in the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico.
Our advanced modern technology cannot explain the image and apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe that appeared so long ago. Over the centuries, Our Lady of Guadalupe has appealed to the hearts of the faithful throughout the world. Many miracles and cures are attributed to her healing power. Millions of pilgrims visit the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City each year, making it one of the major Christian pilgrimage sites in the world.
Even today, Our Lady of Guadalupe is the image of hope and liberation in Mexico and other countries in the Americas. Even the Knights of Columbus have adopted the image and story of Our Lady of Guadalupe as a symbol of the pro-life movement in the United States. The image that Juan Diego brought into the world has so much meaning on so many levels even for us today.
This feast day shows us how important Mary is as the mother of our Church. It also helps us to appreciate the Hispanic culture in our county today and the gifts that they bring to our Church and to our society. Just as her cousin Elizabeth called Mary blessed among women, we proclaim Mary blessed as well as we honor her in this special way on this feast day of St Juan Diego. In our faith, we may look to Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe as examples of faith, speaking out to us from a time and place so different from modern America, but with a message that still resonates with us today.
May the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the image of a poor native woman who will bear a child help us prepare a place in our hearts for the upcoming birth of Christ into our world. May Our Lady of Guadalupe inspire us to help others in our community and in our world.
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