Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of sixteen Marian apparitions approved by the Vatican. Marian apparitions are appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary coming down from heaven to earth. These apparitions always have at least one witness and it is not uncommon for the witness to later become a saint or holy figure within the Church. Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the most well-known apparitions among Catholics that happened here in the Americas. Our Lady of Guadalupe, occurred in the sixteenth century (Feast Day December 12) to an uneducated farmer and now saint, St. Juan Diego. Mary met him on Mount Tepeyacac in Mexico. She instructed him to have the bishop build a church upon that mountain. To do this, she instructed Juan Diego to go pick a batch of flowers that were nearby, carry them in his tilma (apron) and deliver them to the bishop. When Juan Diego got to the bishop and revealed the flowers, the bishop knew a miracle had taken place. Not only had Juan Diego delivered flowers that were out of season (it was winter), but on his tilma was imprinted a beautiful image of what we know today as our lady of Guadalupe. The bishop agreed to build a church in honor of the apparition, and it has become a very popular place of pilgrimage for people across the world. I myself had the opportunity to view it while visiting Mexico. It is quite impressive when you think how long from 1531 till 2023 has been and the image is still perfectly preserved.
You may ask why is this important? What does it have to do with Holy Mass or First Communion. Our Lady wants nothing more than to lead us to her son Jesus. That is why she is such a powerful intercessor. In each apparition including Guadalupe, she asks us to pray for the conversion of souls and the redemption of the whole world. As Christians, we should strongly consider the messages she has given to us. Mary as the caring mother wants nothing more than to guide her children into the arms of the Father and into the safeguard of salvation and she has done this through her appearances on earth. This week I have given you a couple different ways to explore Our Lady of Guadalupe. One is a documentary entitled Our Lady of Guadalupe from You Tube and another video that goes over 15 amazing facts about it. The other is an animated program from the Saints and Heros collection: entitled, Juan Diego, Messenger of Guadalupe. This can also be viewed on the On Demand Catholic Channel FORMED. (See the October 15 Blog Post to see how to connect to it) There is another show on FORMED called Littlest Saints that features an episode on Our Lady of Guadalupe and Juan Diego. Littlest Saints, features the lives of the saints as told by kids. in each episode, a young child may don a cloak, a cassock, a uniform, anything and everything, to act out a different heavenly hero's story. I have watched the episode, and it is quite lovely the way the children act it out. Hopefully you will find something that fits your child, family and time this week. As you go through the week may you also find God's Blessings along the way.
Comments