OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE DECEMBER 12
PATRONESS OF THE AMERICAS
O Mary, dawn of the new world,
Mother of the living, to you do we entrust the cause of life.
Look down, O Mother, upon the vast numbers of babies
not allowed to be born.
Grant that all who believe in your Son
may proclaim the Gospel of life
to the praise and glory of God, the Creator and lover of life.
BACKGROUND
In 1910, St. Pius X named Our Lady of Guadalupe Patroness of Latin America, and in 1945, at the urging of bishops from the U.S. and Canada, Pius XII bestowed on her the title Empress of the Americas.
In 1999, St. John Paul II formalized the invocation of Our Lady of Guadalupe as Patroness of the Americas and Star of the New Evangelization and declared that her feast day of Dec. 12 be celebrated in churches throughout the Americas.
The story begins in the early morning hours of December 9, 1531, when a 57-year-old Indian Peasant, convert to Christianity, named Juan Diego was walking along the path of Tepayec Hill on the outskirts of Mexico City on his way to Mass. .
As he walked along Tepeyac Hill, he began to hear beautiful strains of music, and he saw a beautiful lady, who called his name: “Juanito, He approached, and she said, “Know for certain, least of my sons, that I am the perfect and perpetual Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, the true God, through whom everything lives.
This “beautiful lady” asked Juan Diego to go to the Bishop and have a church built on this site in her honor. The Bishop demanded a sign before he would approve construction of a church.
Mary then appeared a second time to Juan Diego December 12 and ordered him to collect roses and take them to the Bishop. In a second audience with the Bishop, Juan Diego opened his cloak, letting dozens of roses fall to the floor and revealing the image of Mary imprinted on the inside of the cloak. The image is now venerated in the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City.
JUAN DIEGO OPENS HIS CLOAK BEFORE THE BISHOP
COMMENTARY
At the time of Mary’s appearance to Juan Diego (1531), the Aztec nation was heavily into human sacrifice where blood of infants were offered up to appease the pagan gods. We are horrified to hear stories of the Aztecs, who cut out the hearts of their victims to appease their pagan gods. When Mary appeared, she brought a message of compassion,
“I am the merciful Mother, the Mother of all of you who live united in this land, and of all mankind, of all those who love me, of those who cry to me, of those who seek me, of those who have confidence in me. Here, I will hear their weeping, their sorrow, and will remedy and alleviate their suffering, necessities, and misfortunes.”
Mary wore a black maternity band around her waist. The girdle or bow around her waist demonstrates plenitude and fecundity to the native Indians. The high position of the bow and the slight swelling of the abdomen show that the Lady is “with child.”
Our Lady, by appearing as an expectant mother, showed the Aztecs that human life is sacred. Our Lady of Guadalupe’s message of conversion brought new dignity to the Aztec people. No longer did they worship the pagan gods of sacrifice. Within just a few years, 11 million Native Americans were converted, and the practice of human sacrifice stopped, along with Culture of Death practices.
No more did the people need to cower in abject terror before the bloodthirsty gods who demanded the death of their children. They found refuge beneath the gracious protection of a gentle Mother. In 2002 Pope John Paul II canonized St. Juan Diego. (feast day December 9).
CALL TO ACTION
Why aren’t we just as horrified today at the slaughter of millions of innocent unborn children through the practice of abortion to appease the gods of convenience? The sin of abortion has claimed more than 1.6 billion innocent lives worldwide since 1973.
Politicians and legislatures as servants of the “common good” are duty bound to defend the fundamental right to life, the fruit of God’s love.” Pope Benedict XVI, Emeritus
We must shift our debate from pro-abortion vs anti- abortion to how do we address both the needs of the unborn and already born. We must make abortion unthinkable as we address the needs of the mother to be. The baby and mother both have life needs.
We must shout it from the rooftop “that all life is Sacred!” Trusting in God, we must fearlessly go forward in our quest to support a culture of Life. We need Mary’s intercession today!
OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE BE OUR INTERCESSOR!