One of four Silver Roses on its way to Monterrey, Mexico, as part of the
Knights of Columbus’ Our Lady of Guadalupe Silver Rose Program visited St
Richard parish in Jackson last night. I
went over to St Richard to lead a program that included praying the rosary,
honoring Mary as the Mother of our Church and as our Mother, and dedicating
ourselves to the pro-life values of our Catholic faith.
The Silver Rose program began in 1960 to honor Mary under her title of
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas. Normally, a single rose would
leave London, Ontario and make stops for prayer services in various states in
our country before crossing the border into Mexico at Laredo, Texas, to
Monterrey. To mark the 50th anniversary of the program last year,
it was expanded to have four roses traveling through many different dioceses in
the different regions of the country. The roses are symbols of the Knights of
Columbus’ commitment to the pro-life cause.
The feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe Is celebrated on December 12th
each year, and the feast day of St Juan Diego, the humble Mexican peasant to
whom Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared, is celebrated on December 9th. I usually have several masses on that day
with the different Hispanic communities here in Mississippi to honor here. This year, I will be presiding at the mass at
St Richard and here at St Mary in Yazoo City.
Below is a reflection I gave at St Richard last night as part of the Silver Rose ceremony:
We are all probably familiar with the story of
Our Lady of Guadalupe, how in 1531, a Lady from heaven appeared to poor &
humble Juan Diego on Tepeyac hill in present-day Mexico City. 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 wouldn't normally
grow there in winter. Juan collected the
roses in his tilma, a type of poncho made from catus fibers. When Juan unfurled his tilma to give the
roses to the bishop, an image of Our Lady was revealed, miraculously printed on
the tilma. This image that still appears on the tilma today in the Basilica of Our
Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico.
What is striking about the Gospel we hear today
is that rather than choosing a princess, or the daughter of a wealthy and
powerful family, God comes to the poor, humble Mary, a virgin who is not yet
even married. With a pure and gentle
heart, Mary accepts God’s will for her humbly and graciously. And then when the
Virgin Mary appears in Mexico right after the Spanish conquest, she does not
appear in the form of Spanish maiden, but instead as a poor, humble native woman
who is carrying a child. This image of
Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, is the patroness of the Americas, protector of the
unborn, and of the patroness of the pro-life aspect of our Catholic faith, an
essential part of who we are as Catholics. May the prayers and guidance of our
Blessed Mother help us to work for the respect of all human life in our world
today. May Our Lady of Guadalupe inspire
us to help others in our community & in our world. May she be a symbol of unity for all of
us. Through this silver rose ceremony,
through the pilgrimage that this rose makes to the basilica of Our Lady of
Guadalupe, may Mary and her Son help us to be united with our fellow Knights of
Columbus throughout the world in proclaiming God’s kingdom and in promoting the
values of our Catholic faith.
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