In 1531, almost 500 years ago, a lady from heaven appeared to the humble peasant Juan Diego on Tepeyac hill in Mexico. The lady 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 Diego to bring him a sign that this was truly the Blessed Mother. Mary sent Juan Diego to the top of the hill to collect roses to give to the bishop as his sign. This was a miracle, since roses would not normally grow here in the midst of 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. The Bishop took this as a sign that our Blessed Mother had truly appeared to Juan Diego, that her message was authentic.
Our advanced modern technology cannot explain the image and apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe that appeared so long ago. The tilma has been tested over and over again, but the scientists cannot figure out how this image has appeared. 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 and the mother of the Christian faithful. 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 Our Lady of Guadalupe that we celebrate on December 12 each year in the midst of Advent. 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.
Blessings to all of you as we celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe today. Father Lincoln.
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