Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Scripture:
Zechariah 2:14-17 or Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab
Luke 1:26-38 or Luke 1:39-47
Reflection:
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
(Mary’s dialogue with the Angel)
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
She was an impoverished Jewish teenage girl who loved God and was betrothed to a young Jewish carpenter. In the space of a few minutes of conversation with an angel she moved from being “greatly troubled” to accepting the will of God. Also, in the space of those same few minutes, and her almost immediate acceptance of God’s will, she changed the future of humanity for all eternity. What did she understand? What did she not understand? What did she ponder about this mystery in the ensuing days, weeks, months and years?
Mary is quoted only five more times in the New Testament after the dialogue with the angel: twice during her visit with her pregnant cousin Elizabeth; once when the young Jesus was found in the temple; and twice at the wedding feast at Cana. Yet we venerate her, not only for her response to the angel, but for her resilient participation in her Son’s ministry from His birth in Bethlehem, then throughout His entire life, including His passion, death and resurrection. Isn’t hers a life to be modeled?
The marvel of this wondrous virgin Mother of God is not only what we understand from scripture, but from what she has shared with us in the 43 reported apparitions that have occurred over the centuries. Included in those is one to a peasant named Juan Diego on December 9, 1531. Was Juan Diego’s surprise and disbelief of that first apparition similar to her own “greatly troubling” encounter with the angel? Yet young Juan Diego, like Mary, said yes to the message that she gave him. When Juan Diego, attending to his mortally ill uncle, missed the planned 4th apparition with Mary by diverting his route three days later on December 12th, she intercepted him on his detour. After explaining his reasoning for the deviation, Mary gently chided him “Am I not here, I who am your mother?” Juan Diego’s uncle was healed, the Basilica that she had asked for was built, and is now the most visited Catholic shrine in the world, “Our Lady of Guadalupe” has been named the Patroness of the America’s and of the unborn, and Juan Diego was canonized on July 31, 2002, at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City by Pope John Paul II.
Dearest mother Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, inspire me to say “yes” to God’s holy will as you and so many others have done over the centuries.
Bill Berger has had a life-long relationship with the Passionist Family. Bill and his wife, Linda, are currently leaders of the Community of Passionist Partners (CPP’s) in Houston, Texas.