OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

DECEMBER 12^th

The story of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe is one that brings joy and amazement to those who hear it. What wonderful ways God uses to reach those who don’t yet know Him! Even those who may know a little bit about Juan Diego and the times in which he lived may be surprised by the details.

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It is helpful to know the cultural background that sets the stage for the unfolding account of this appearance. Juan Diego was born an Aztec Indian, in the midst of bloody religious times. Although the Aztecs were a highly educated people, they worshiped many gods, the primary one being a fertility sun-god who was at war with the moon and the stars. The Aztec priests taught the people that the blood of human sacrifice was required to keep him strong. This ancient culture surpassed most others in history —in numbers and ferocity—in cannibalism and human lives slain in religious sacrifice. In 1487, researchers report that more than 80,000 men were sacrificed at the climactic ritual dedication of the new temple in town of Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City). Young Juan Diego would have been 13 years old at the time, being raised (by his uncle after his father’s death) to be a good Aztec.

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By 1521 Cortez had conquered Mexico for Spain, and arrived in Mexico City. Three years later, he had 12 Franciscan priests come as missionaries to the Aztec people, whom he wanted to see evangelized. The contrast between the kind demeanor of the Franciscan priests and the Aztec priests’ dreaded power and control became impressive. Many were won to the Lord, and Juan and his uncle were amongst the early converts. Juan’s wife died in 1529, and he then went to live with his uncle outside the city.

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On December 9, 1531 (when Juan was 57 years old), he was walking toward Mexico City to go to mass, past Tepeyac Hill, and heard music. He saw a white cloud atop the hill, then heard a woman’s voice (speaking in his native language) calling his name. When he went to the summit, he saw a beautiful lady surrounded by a light as bright as the sun. She told him about the one true God, and said that that she was the virgin Mary. Her request to him was that he go and let the bishop know that she wanted a church built on the site. It was her desire to help those who would invoke her aid for their work, their protection, and their sorrows, that they might know the love of the one true God.Juan persevered in going to see the bishop twice (and asked the lady to choose someone more influential to convince such an important man) before actually getting to see the bishop himself. The bishop asked him to come back with a sign from the lovely lady as proof of the apparition. When he saw Mary again, she told him to come back the next day—for a sign would be provided.

Juan ended up not meeting the Lady, however, as he had planned and she had requested. His uncle had become ill, so he determined to remain on the road that passed the hill, in order to go straight to the church where he could find a priest to minister to his sick uncle. Although he may have missed the opportunity to obtain the sign that the archbishop had asked him to get from the Lady of the apparition, she came to him. Our Lady came down the hill to meet him as he passed. She told him not to be afraid, that his uncle—Juan Bernadino—would not die, but be healed. (She appeared to him while he was ill in bed and he recovered.)

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Mary then told Juan to go up the hill, and there he would find flowers that he should gather and bring to her. When he reached the top, roses were blooming on the dry, stony hilltop in the midst of winter. The roses were not even native to Mexico, but to Spain—Castillian roses. Diego cut and gathered the lovely, fragrant blossoms in his cloak (or “tilma”, cape), and brought them down the hill to where she had met him and awaited his return. Our Lady rearranged the flowers in his mantle, and he went on his way. Even on his long trek to see the bishop again, to show him the flowers, the roses maintained their dewy freshness. When he opened his cloak to show the roses to the bishop and those gathered with him, they fell to their knees. It was then that Juan discovered that his simple tilma, made with (Maguey) cactus fibers, was imprinted with a gloriously colored image of the beautiful Lady—just as he had described her to the bishop. The day was December 12, 1531.

Aztec Indians began coming to the site, and a small church and hermitage (for Juan Diego) was finished a year later. After nine years, close to 9 million Aztec Indians became believers in the one true God, and renounced their polygamy, many idols, and human sacrifices. The tilma’s image was filled with detailed symbolism recognizable to the natives who worshiped the sun-god and saw Our Lady shining bright as the sun. In the image, Mary was lifted by an angel, with feet above the moon, and surrounded by stars—with a gentle, warm expression that spoke of her love and God’s love for these people that she had verbally expressed to Juan during the visitations. For the Aztec people, it was quite a change from the religion and fear they had known previously!

The cape, itself (78”x42”), has survived many dangers. Although made of fibers that had a natural life of 40 or so years, the tilma and its image have gone through smoke damage, floods, and a bomb set on the altar underneath it in 1921. This blast twisted a heavy cast iron cross, and destroyed the marble steps going up to the altar. Both the glass covering the image and the tilma, itself, remained untouched.

The amazing story does not end there. The image on the cape has been tested throughout the 20^th century by scientists, ophthalmologist (studying her eyes), artists, and even NASA analysts. In 1979, scientists did extensive studies of the cloak and found unimaginable aspects and impossible details from a human point of view, with astounding results and reports. As with so many other things of God that have been preserved for discovery in our modern times, the scientific findings are fascinating. Further study is encouraged!

And lastly, best wishes go out to my brother, Bob, in California, who was born on this feast day years ago.