Saturday, December 12, 2020           (today’s lectionary)
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Roses on the mountain
See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the Lord.
Today is the feast day for Our Lady of Guadalupe. In our Christmas box, Margaret found a candle I bought years ago at Schnuck’s, with a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the side. She is surrounded by bright rays of sunshine and clothed in a blue cloak covered with stars.
Blessed are you daughter, by the Most High God, above all the women of the earth. Your deed of hope will never be forgotten.
In 1531 Juan Diego, an Aztec Indian recently converted to Catholicism, met the Virgin Mary on Tepeyac Hill before dawn on December 9. The birds were singing, and she appeared as a beautiful native princess.
Silence, all mankind in the presence of the Lord! For he stirs forth from his heavenly dwelling … God’s temple in heaven was opened and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.
Immediately she put Juan in a difficult position. Though he was uneducated and had no prominent family or connections, she asked him to visit the bishop and ask him to build a temple on the site of her appearance.
What possibility did Juan Diego have of convincing a skeptical, worldly bishop of what he had seen? None … not that first day.
But the lady on Tepeyac Hill told him to return the next day. This time the bishop asked Juan for a sign.
Juan returned home to find his beloved uncle sick with a fatal fever, and he stayed with his uncle for two days rather than return to the hillside or the bishop.
When his uncle was nearly gone he left to find a priest. Instead he found Mary on the road and poured out his fears to her. She replied with compassion, “Am I not your mother? Are you not in the crossing of my arms?”
Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, deserving of all praise. From you rose the sun of justice, Christ our God.
Juan told her the bishop wanted a sign, and she told him to climb to the top of Tepeyac Hill, gather flowers there, and protect them in his tilma until he reached the bishop.
There are no flowers in December, not even in Mexico. But on this day there were flowering roses everywhere for Juan to gather into his coat. He took them to the bishop, opened his coat, and the roses fell to the floor. What’s more, a beautiful image of Mary was painted inside his humble cloak. Under her feet was a great crescent moon, symbol of the Aztec religion.
Juan’s uncle returned to health, the temple was built, and Juan’s humble tilma remains preserved today. In 1945 Our Lady of Guadalupe was named “Patroness of the Americas.” She told Juan Diego, “Here in this temple I will hear the weeping of the people, their sorrow, and will remedy all their multiple sufferings, necessities, and misfortunes.”
And today in Urbana, soon in Austin … next year in Jerusalem … I will light my candle.
Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Oh, Lord, we cry out for you to find favor with us, too. Teach us not to lean on our own understanding, but to watch with faithfulness for your messengers, all the days of our lives. I think too much and watch too little. Open my eyes, Lord, quiet my mind, and still my soul.
(This devotion was also published on December 12, 2017. Hope you enjoyed it again!)
(Zechariah 2, Rev 11-12, Judith 13, Luke 1)
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