Word to the Wise
Tuesday, December 12, 2006 - Our Lady of Guadalupe
[Zechariah 1:14-17 or Revelation 11:19A; 12:1-6A, 10AB and Luke 1:26-38 or Luke 1:39-47]And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
When I was pastor of St. Ann's Parish in San Antonio, TX, it was always a source of interest to me that I would have a church at the most half-full for the holy day of obligation, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, (Dec. 8) and a FULL church 4 days later for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (which is effectively, like Ash Wednesday, a holy day even if not canonically so!). The Virgin Mary, under the title of the Immaculate Conception, may be the patroness of the U.S.A., but her title of Our Lady of Guadalupe has pretty much shoved that aside. I imagine she is amused at our devotional machinations. I doubt that any other title of Mary has the power in this country that Guadalupe does. A lot of people have gone to Medugorje and maintain that devotion. Fatima and Lourdes have their devotees, as does Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. It's all the same Mary! (Read Diane Schoemperlen's wonderful book, OUR LADY OF THE LOST AND FOUND for an amazing view of all the various titles under which Mary is honored.) But the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe is more than the place where Mary is believed to have appeared. It is the title of a culture and entire spirituality. For those of Mexican descent, she is the symbol of their entire culture. Her appearance to a poor campesino named Juan Diego has come to mean God's "preferential option for the poor." She is known affectionately as "La Morenita" - the little brown lady. Her image appears everywhere there are people of Mexican descent. Even though almost every Latin American and South American nation has its own version, Our Lady of Guadalupe is trumping them all in the USA. The occurrence of this feast in Advent is a "reinforcement" of the theme of hope. The image of the Virgen of Guadalupe shows her as a pregnant woman! She is the one who accepted God's plan of salvation and becomes an icon of that salvation to those who have the most reason to hope. The words quoted above from the Gospel of Luke frame a question we can all ask: "And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Indeed! AMEN
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