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Hispanic Catholic Celebrations
Our Lady of Guadalupe
DECEMBER 12
Hispanic
Catholics celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on
December 12.
The feast commemorates events which took place in December of 1531
when the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a Mexican Christian,
Juan Diego, as he was walking to Mass near Tepeyac Hill,
northwest of what is now Mexico City. Taking the
appearance in both features and dress of a mestizo woman,
Mary spoke in Diego's native language and instructed him to go
to the local bishop and request that a church be built on the
site of her appearance.
The bishop was reluctant to believe Diego and told him to return to
the site of Mary's appearance and request a sign from the lady.
Mary met Diego while he was enroute to visit his dying uncle and
instructed him to return to Tepeyac Hill and gather flowers as a
sign for the bishop. When Diego reached the hill he found
fresh roses, even though they were out of season, which he
picked and wrapped in his cloak and returned to the bishop.
When he opened the cloak in front of the bishop the roses fell
to the ground, revealing an image of Mary imprinted on the cloak
exactly as Diego had described her.
Diego's cloak (or tilma) soon became an object of veneration
among local Christians. An account of the miraculous
events were recorded and preserved in the Nican Mopohua,
a 16th century document written in the native Nahuatl language. In 1533 small chapel was built on
the site of Mary's appearance to house Diego's cloak.
Today the cloak is displayed in the Basilica of Our Lady of
Guadalupe, which stands just below Tepeyac Hill. Between
18 and 20 million pilgrims
visit the shrine each year; many climb on foot or on their knees to the original chapel on the
site where Mary appeared to Juan Diego.
In 1999 Blessed Pope John Paul II established December 12 as the official
feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, "Mother and Evangelizer of
America." In his Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia
in America, John Paul wrote: "The appearance of Mary to the native Juan Diego on the hill
of Tepeyac in 1531 had a decisive effect on evangelization."
"By her
motherly and merciful figure" Our Lady of Guadalupe is
recognized as "a great sign of the closeness of the Father and
of Jesus Christ, with whom she invites us to enter into
communion”. Her influence "greatly overflows the boundaries of Mexico"
and has
spread to the whole Continent which now "has recognized in the mestiza face of the Virgin of Tepeyac...an impressive example of a perfectly inculturated evangelization."
"Consequently," John Paul wrote, "not only in
Central and South America, but in North America as well, the
Virgin of Guadalupe is venerated as Queen of all America" and
"Star of the first and new evangelization."
According to the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults,
"Mary appeared at Tepeyac as a young, pregnant woman of
indigenous descent" and revealed herself "as Mary, the true
Mother of God, a merciful mother who listens to the suffering of
her people and consoles them all."
Juan Diego was beatified by Blessed John Paul II in 1990 and
canonized as a saint in 2002. His feast day is December 9.
Readings
Click here
for the Scripture readings for the feast of Our Lady of
Guadalupe.
Blessed Pope John Paul II's
prayer at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1999:
O Mother! You know the paths followed by
the first evangelizers of the New World, from Guanahani Island
and Hispaniola to the Amazon forests and the Andean peaks,
reaching to Tierra del Fuego in the south and to the Great Lakes
and mountains of the north. Accompany the Church which is
working in the nations of America, so that she may always preach
the Gospel and renew her missionary spirit. Encourage all who
devote their lives to the cause of Jesus and the spread of his
kingdom. O gentle Lady of Tepeyac, Mother of indigenous peoples
and Afro-Americans, for immigrants and refugees, for the young
deprived of opportunity, for the old, for those who suffer any
kind of poverty or marginalization.
Learn More About Our
Lady of Guadalupe:
Saint of the Day--Our
Lady of Guadalupe (American Catholic):
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1227
Original text from
the
Nican
Mopohua (Catholic News Agency):
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resource.php?n=426
Interview with
Jeanette Rodriguez (U.S. Catholic):
http://www.uscatholic.org/church/saints-feasts-and-seasons/2010/06/gift-guadalupe
"A Gift from God" Fr.
Virgilio Elizondo (Faith & Leadership):
http://www.faithandleadership.com/content/virgilio-elizondo-our-lady-guadalupe-gift-loving-god?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=headline&utm_campaign=FL_feature
"A Guide for
the New Millenium." Fr. Virgilio Elizondo (St. Anthony
Messenger)
http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Dec1999/feature2.asp
Saint of the
Day--Juan Diego (American Catholic):
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1224
Official Biography of
Blessed Juan Diego (The Vatican):
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20020731_juan-diego_en.html
"Juan Diego--New
World Apostle." Fr. Virgilio Elizondo (St. Anthony
Messenger)
http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Jul2002/Feature1.asp
Watch a video
of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe (YouTube):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCnSEyoqthM&feature=related
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More on Hispanic
Catholics
History of Hispanic
Catholics in the United States (U.S. Catholic):
http://www.uscatholic.org/church/2010/06/journey-center-church
Timeline of Hispanic
Catholics in the United States (U.S. Catholic):
http://www.uscatholic.org/church/contemporary-issues/2010/02/journey-center-church-timeline-hispanic-catholics-us
Why Hispanic
Catholics Don't Fit So Well in the Melting Pot (U.S. Catholic)
http://www.uscatholic.org/church/2010/06/hispanic-catholics-they-dont-fit-melting-pot
• • •
For More
Information Contact:
Director of Adult Faith Formation
•
320 Mulberry Street,
Waterloo IA 50703.
Phone:
319-234-9912 • Email:
DBQ208s3@arch.pvt.k12.ia.us
Posted
12.06.11
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Last Update 12.06.11
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