Word to the Wise
Saturday, December 12, 2009 - Our Lady of Guadalupe
[Zechariah 2:14-17 or Revelation 11:19A; 12L1-6A, 10AB and Luke 1:26-38 or Luke 1:39-47]And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior."
From 1994 to 1998, I served as the pastor of a parish on the edge of the downtown area of San Antonio. The parish was founded in 1912 and was considered to be out in the country. It served a German and Irish Catholic population. Now it is considered "inner city" and serves an almost completely Hispanic population. This was clearly demonstrated each year in December when I would celebrate Mass on the feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8), a holy day of obligation, for a church about one quarter to one third full. Four days later, on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which is not a holy day of obligation, I would celebrate Mass for a full church. It is the same woman, wearing different costume, with a different message, but one learns the true meaning of the possessive pronoun: OUR Lady of Guadalupe. (The Immaculate Conception is basically the OUR Lady of Lourdes, where she used that title of herself, according to St. Bernadette Soubirou.) Everywhere in this country (and certainly in Mexico) on this feast day, Mexicans and folks of Mexican descent will gather at the crack of dawn to sing "Las Mananitas," a song of praise to the Blessed Virgin. The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe will be surrounded by masses of flowers and carried in procession. Mind you, that image appears all over the place year round in cities like San Antonio. I don't have to go to a church to see it, as I would for the popular image of the Immaculate Conception! The importance of this feast tends to dwarf the celebration of Advent. It is difficult to imagine that glorious image sitting on a donkey headed for Bethlehem, even if she does appear in the image as a pregnant woman! The feast has an extremely important message about the care of the Virgin Mary for the poor and oppressed Hispanic peoples of the Americas. It is an emotional and visceral thing that defies a lot of analysis. (Ash Wednesday may be the only day that compares with it.) Nevertheless, the fact that Mary appears as a pregnant woman reminds us that Advent is still with us and that she (and we) have important work ahead! AMEN
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