Word to the Wise
Saturday, December 12, 2015 - Dec. 12 - Our Lady of Guadalupe
[Zech 2:14-17, or Rev 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab and Luke 1:26-38, or Luke 1:39-47,800]"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." [Luke]
If numbers of participants are any measure, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is easily the most popular Marian observance of the church year in the U.S.A.. She has many titles under which she is addressed. Some of them are familiar to us here, some are not. But her title of Our Lady of Guadalupe seems to get to the farthest corners of our nation. In large part this is because of Mexican immigration over many, many years, but also because this feast seems to emphasize compassion and concern for the poor and oppressed. There are no dire predictions of the sort that have accompanied other appearances. The image on the cloak, which is the magnet drawing millions to Mexico City each year to visit the major shrine, depicts her as a pregnant woman in an attitude of humble prayer.
Maternal care is a powerful thing, and when it is portrayed in an image that captures the imagination and emotions of millions of people, the world takes notice! The December 2015 issue of National Geographic Magazine has a medieval portrait of her on the front cover!
One wonders what the young Jewish woman from Nazareth would think about all these titles and devotion. But if it results in a greater faith and devotion to the child that is in the womb in that portrait, then her words quoted above are placed before us in this Advent Season: "May it be done to me according to your word." AMEN
config
view
logs
4096.0 KB
73 ms
4
