In the Catholic Church, today is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. We celebrate the Blessed Mother's visit to St. Juan Diego in Mexico. Many Hispanic Catholics begin celebrating the feast with a predawn serenade known as "Las Mananitas". The celebration may include a dramatization of the appearance, a mariachi band, the rosary prayer, and a celebration of the Holy Mass.
On December 9th, 1531, while Saint Juan Diego was on his way to Mass, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him and spoke to him on Tepeyac Hill. This is what she said:
Know for certain, littlest of my sons, that I am the perfect and perpetual Virgin Mary, Mother of the true God through whom everything lives, the Lord of all things near and far, the Master of Heaven and Earth. I wish and intensely desire that in this place my sanctuary be erected. Here I will demonstrate, I will exhibit, I will give all my love, my compassion, my help and my protection to the people. I am your merciful Mother, the merciful 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, those who seek me, of those who have confidence in me.
Here I will hear their weeping, their sorrow, and will remedy and alleviate all their multiple sufferings, necessities and misfortunes. In order that my wish may be fulfilled, you must go to Mexico City, to the house of the Bishop and tell him that I sent you, that it is my desire to have a house built for me here, that my Temple be raised on the plain. Tell him what you have seen and heard and be sure that I shall be grateful to you for doing what I ask. I shall make you happy and reward you for the service which you render to me. And you will have great merit, for I will compensate your weariness, your work in procuring that for which I have sent you as messenger. You have heard, my least son, my desires, my work; go and do your part.
Have a blessed week.
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That was beautiful. We have a Lady of Guadalupe statue in the church I belong to up north and didn't know all about it. Thank you and have a blessed Sunday.
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely post. Thank you for sharing your culture and faith with us. I so enjoy visiting your blog!!!
ReplyDeleteWow - I didn't know this story at all, but I really enjoyed the ways it links to our local shrine of Lourdes. Thanks, Yoli.
ReplyDeleteOK...now I am in tears, this is one of my favorite stories ever. My daughter went to a Catholic school and from the time she was in 1st grade she was learning about this beautiful story. And of course when Juan Diego was canonzied in 2002, it was a wonderful day for celebration. The picture you have of Our Lady of Guadalupe is so precious and beautiful. I just loved this post so much, thank you for sharing it with us, really special.
ReplyDeleteHave a Blessed and Happy week!!
Oh, Yoli, you are making me homesick for Mexico. When we lived there we celebrated all of the church holidays with our son's family. Very special times! Thank you for the reminder. Looks like there was a mariachi Mass.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Karen
Ladybug Creek
I had never heard this story. Thank you for sharing it with us, Yoli.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Charlotte