Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
"Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled."

And Mary said:

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior."

The visitation of Mary as  Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the events that make Mexicans so proud to be Mexicans.  Juan Diego symbolizes every Mexican that has ever lived.  Our Lady came to Juan and the people of Mexico as a woman with the skin tones of the local people. She chose Juan not because he was rich and powerful, no, he was neither of those things.  He was meek and poor.  She sent him on a mission to build a church in her honor, oddly enough, at a place where Aztec pagan worship had been held years before.  He went to the bishop and told him what had occurred.  The bishop, being rich, powerful, and proud, was having none of it and sent Juan Diego away.  When he returned again the bishop said that he would need proof that the Mother of Jesus had lowered herself to speak to a common peasant.  Juan went away and when he say Our Lady again she provided him with roses - it was December and roses didn't grow in winter.   He wrapped the roses up in his cloak and hurried off to give this proof to the bishop.  The bishop received him, probably just out of curiosity, and was astonished at the sight of fresh roses being given to him in the month of December!  He then looked in the cloak and there was the image of Our Lady imprinted in it.  Long story short, the bishop believed and the church was built.  Our Lady has served as a beacon for generations of Mexicans to come home to the Church and to Jesus.

Here are some little tidbits of information that you might find interesting.  (*)

• Analysis of the pigments that make up the image revealed that no animal or vegetable products make up the colors.
• There are no detectable brush strokes.
• The image has not faded over the years but remains as vibrant as the day it was first revealed. 
• Modern inspection of the image reveals the image of Juan Diego in the Virgin's eyes - an example of microprinting in an age where it did not exist. 
• An attempt to destroy the image 
• In 1921 an act of terrorism, 19 sticks of dynamite which destroyed things all around the cloak, including breaking windows in the church, left the tilma of Juan Diego and its precious image of Mary unhurt at all. 

Once again we see the economics of heaven at work.  Mary appeared not to the proud and powerful but to the meek and powerless. Through the Virgin of Guadalupe, God marked out the Americas as lands that were special to Him using the Mother of Jesus.  In all appearances of Mary on this earth, she comes to those who can do her the least amount of good and out of these lowly ones God is glorified and His message is sent to millions of people. 

It is said that Mary consoles the Poor Souls in Purgatory and she is their champion.  Please remember to pray for the Poor Souls today and every day.