Our Lady of the Pillar

Our Lady of the Pillar

Our Lady of the Pillar (Spanish: Nuestra Señora del Pilar) is the name given to the Blessed Virgin Mary for her miraculous appearance in Zaragoza, Spain at the time of the emergence of Christianity. She is the Patroness of Spain, the Spanish Civil Guard and the Hispanic world. Her shrine is the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar situated by the Ebro river.

According to ancient Spanish tradition, on October 12, 40 AD, in the early days of Christianity, James the Greater, one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, was preaching the Gospel in what was then the pagan land of Caesaraugusta (now Zaragoza), in the Roman province of Hispania. He was disheartened with his mission, having made only a few converts. While he was praying by the banks of the Ebro River with some of his disciples, Mary miraculously appeared before him atop a pillar accompanied by angels. Mary assured James that the people would eventually be converted and their faith would be as strong as the pillar she was standing on. She gave him the pillar as a symbol and a wooden image of herself. James was also instructed to build a chapel on the spot where she left the pillar.

It is generally believed that Mary would have appeared to James through bilocation, as she was still living either in Ephesus or Jerusalem at the time of this event. She is believed to have died three to fifteen years after Jesus' death. After establishing the church, James returned to Jerusalem with some of his disciples where he became a martyr, beheaded in 44 AD under Herod Agrippa. His disciples allegedly returned his body to Spain.

The apparition of Our Lady of the Pillar is a widely accepted sacred tradition. Popes from earliest times issued Papal Bulls attesting to the authenticity of the shrine and the appearance of the Virgin Mary. Pope Calixtus III issued a bull in 1456 encouraging pilgrimage to the Lady of the Pillar. It acknowledged the miracle of its foundation and the miracles that had taken place in the Spanish shrine. It was also through this bull that the name Lady of the Pillar was confirmed.

So many contradictions had arisen concerning the miraculous origin of the church that during the reign of Pope Innocent XIII Spain appealed to the Holy See to settle the controversy. After careful investigation, the twelve cardinals, in whose hands the affair rested, adopted the following account, which was approved by the Sacred Congregation of Rites on August 7, 1723, and has since been inserted in the lessons of the office of the feast of our Lady of the Pillar, celebrated on October 12:

"Of all the places that Spain offers for the veneration of the devout, the most illustrious is doubtless the sanctuary consecrated to God under the invocation of the Blessed Virgin, under the title of our Lady of the Pillar, at Saragossa."

"According to ancient and pious tradition, St. James the Greater, led by Providence into Spain, spent some time at Saragossa. He there received a signal favor from the Blessed Virgin. As he was praying with his disciples one night, upon the banks of the Ebro, as the same tradition informs us, the Mother of God, who still lived, appeared to him, and commanded him to erect an oratory in that place. The apostle delayed not to obey this injunction, and with the assistance of his disciples soon constructed a small chapel. In the course of time a larger church was built and dedicated, which, with the dedication of Saint Saviour's, is kept as a festival in the city and Diocese of Saragossa on the 4th of October."

Pope Clement XII allowed the celebration of the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar all over the Spanish Empire in 1730. As the date coincides with the discovery of the Americas, the lady was later named as Patroness of the Hispanic World.

Our Lady of the Pillar with the pillar draped with a special manto (mantle) made with paper origami
A closer look at the manto made of 1,536 paper origami pieces by a group of origami enthusiasts from Zaragoza

The pillar left by the Virgin Mary is presently enshrined in the same but larger Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar. It is believed to be the same pillar given and promised by Mary, in spite of numerous disasters that beset the church. A fire in 1434 burned down the church that preceded the present basilica.

The image of the Blessed Virgin Mary may or may not be the original. Some reports state that the original wooden image was destroyed when the church burned down in 1434, contradicting other reports that it is still the original statue. The statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary is made of wood and stands 39 centimetres (15 in) tall while the 6 feet (1.8 m) pillar is made of jasper. The statue depicts Mary with the Child Jesus on her left arm, who has a dove sitting on his left palm. Since the 16th century, the pillar is usually draped in a skirt-like cover called manto (in English: mantle). As a whole, it is protected by a bronze case and then another case of silver.[12] The image was canonically crowned in 1905 during the reign of Pope Pius X.

The feast of Our Lady of the Pillar is celebrated on 12 October and she is the Patroness of the Hispanic peoples and the Spanish Civil Guard. A grand nine-day festival known as Fiestas del Pilar is celebrated in Zaragoza every year in her honor. The feast of the Lady of the Pillar is also a national holiday in Spain as it coincides with the Fiesta Nacional de España, which commemorates the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492. - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Published:

October 12, 2015, 6:09 AM

Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, formerly known as Feast of Our Lady of Victory and Feast of the Holy Rosary is celebrated on 7 October in the General Roman Calendar. 7 October is the anniversary of the decisive victory of the combined fleet of the Holy League of 1571 over the Ottoman navy at the Battle of Lepanto. In the Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochian Orthodox Church, the feast is celebrated on 7 October, under the title The Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

According to Dominican tradition, in 1206, Dominic de Guzmán was at the Monastery of Our Lady of Prouille, in France, attempting to convert the Albigensians back to the Catholic faith. The young priest had little success until one day he received a vision of the Blessed Virgin, who gave him the rosary as a tool against heretics. The story of Dominic's vision was recorded by Alanus de Rupe. This traditional origin for the Rosary was generally accepted until the 15th century, when the Bollandists concluded that the account originated with the account recorded by Alanus, two hundred years after Dominic's death.

Mary had been honored in the West under the title "Our Lady of Victory" from at least the thirteenth century. Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester built the first shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Victory in thanks for the Catholic victory over the Albigensians at the Battle of Muret on September 12, 1213. In thanksgiving for victory at the Battle of Bouvines in July 1214, Philip Augustus of France founded the Abbey of Notre Dame de la Victoire, between Senlis and Mont l'Evêque.

In the East, the title "Our Lady of Victory" is even older. The feast of Our Lady of Victory, on February 25, commemorates the deliverance of the city of Constantinople "from the siege of the Saracens by the aid of the Blessed Virgin, A.D. 621."

In 1571, Pope Pius V organized a coalition of forces from Spain and smaller Christian kingdoms, republics and military orders, to rescue Christian outposts in Cyprus, particularly the Venetian outpost at Famagusta which, however, surrendered after a long siege on 1 August before the Christian forces set sail. On 7 October 1571, the Holy League, a coalition of southern European Catholic maritime states, sailed from Messina, Sicily, and met a powerful Ottoman fleet in the Battle of Lepanto. Knowing that the Christian forces were at a distinct material disadvantage, Pope Pius V called for all of Europe to pray the Rosary for victory, and led a rosary procession in Rome. Pius V instituted the feast of Our Lady of Victory in order to commemorate the victory at Lepanto, which he attributed to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

After about five hours of fighting on the northern edge of the Gulf of Corinth, off western Greece, the combined navies of the Papal States, Venice and Spain managed to stop the Ottoman navy, slowing the Ottoman advance to the west and denying them access to the Atlantic Ocean and the Americas. If the Ottomans had won, there was a real possibility that an invasion of Italy could have followed so that the Ottoman sultan, already claiming to be emperor of the Romans, would have been in possession of both New and Old Rome. Combined with the Great Siege of Malta (1565) and the unfolding events in Morocco where the Sa'adids successfully spurned the Ottoman advances, it confined Turkish naval power to the eastern Mediterranean. Although the Ottoman Empire was able to build more ships, it never fully recovered from the loss of trained sailors and marines, and was never again the Mediterranean naval power it had become the century before when Constantinople fell.

In 1573, Pope Gregory XIII changed the name of the feast to Feast of the Holy Rosary, to be celebrated on the first Sunday of October. The Dominican friar Juan Lopez in his 1584 book on the rosary states that the feast of the rosary was offered "in memory and in perpetual gratitude of the miraculous victory that the Lord gave to his Christian people that day against the Turkish armada".

In 1671 the observance of this festival was extended by Clement X to the whole of Spain, and somewhat later Clement XI, after the victory over the Turks gained by Prince Eugene in the Battle of Petrovaradin on 5 August 1716 (the feast of Our Lady of the Snows), commanded the feast of the Rosary to be celebrated by the universal church.

Leo XIII raised the feast to the rank of a double of the second class and added to the Litany of Loreto the invocation "Queen of the Most Holy Rosary". On this feast, in every church in which the Rosary confraternity has been duly erected, a plenary indulgence toties quoties is granted upon certain conditions to all who visit therein the Rosary chapel or statue of Our Lady. This has been called the "Portiuncula" of the Rosary.

Pius X in 1913 changed the date to 7 October, as part of his effort to restore celebration of the liturgy of the Sundays. In 1960 under Pope John XXIII it is listed under the title Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary; and under the 1969 liturgical reforms of Pope Paul VI Our Lady of the Rosary is mentioned as a mandatory memorial. Wikipedia

Behold, Your Mother

Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” 

And from that hour the disciple took her into his home. 

JOHN 19: 27

How has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? (Lk 1:43)

Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved? Beneath the apple tree I awakened you; There your mother was in labor with you, There she was in labor and gave you birth (Sg 8:5). Your mother was like a vine in your vineyard, planted by the waters; it was fruitful and full of branches because of abundant waters (Ez 19:10). 

Listen to me, O islands, and pay attention, you peoples from afar. The LORD called Me from the womb; From the body of My mother He named Me.(Isa 49:1).

The Lord said, "Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father, and you shall keep My sabbaths; I am the LORD your God" (Lev 19:3).

Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the LORD your God gives you (Ex 20:12, Dt 5:16).

A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother (Prv 10:1). Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her rejoice who gave birth to you (Prv 23:25). Observe the commandment of your father and do not forsake the teaching of your mother (Prv 6:20). Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old (Prv 23:22).

He shall not make himself unclean for his father or for his mother, for his brother or for his sister, when they die, because his separation to God is on his head. (Nu 6:7)

My trust is in You, O Lord; I say, “You are my God”. In your hands is my destiny. (Ps 31:15-16) Into Your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, O Lord, O faithful God. (Ps 31:6)

Published:

May 20, 2024, 7:41 AM

September 15, 2023, 7:29 AM

IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

The Immaculate Heart of Mary is a devotional name used to refer to the interior life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love for God the Father, her maternal love for her son Jesus, and her compassionate love for all people.

Traditionally, the heart is depicted pierced with seven wounds or swords, in homage to the seven dolors of Mary. Also, roses or another type of flower may be wrapped around the heart.

St. Luke's gospel, the evangelist twice reports that Mary kept all things in her heart, that there she might ponder over them. It recounts the prophecy of Simeon that her heart would be pierced with a sword. This image (the pierced heart) is the most popular representation of the Immaculate Heart. (Luke 2)

St. John's Gospel further invited attention to Mary's heart with its depiction of Mary at the foot of the cross at Jesus' crucifixion. St. Augustine said of this that Mary was not merely passive at the foot of the cross; "she cooperated through charity in the work of our redemption".

St. Leo said that through faith and love she conceived her son spiritually, even before receiving him into her womb, and St. Augustine tells us that she was more blessed in having borne Christ in her heart than in having conceived him in the flesh. -- Wikipedia

Published:

June 13, 2015, 5:49 AM

Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God

 

The Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God is a feast day of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the aspect of her motherhood of Jesus Christ, whom She had circumcised on the eighth day after His birth according to Levitical Law. Christians see Him as the Lord and Son of God. It is celebrated by the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church on 1 January, the Octave day of Christmas. 

The feast is a celebration of Mary being the mother of Jesus. The English title "Mother of God" is a literal translation of the Latin title Mater Dei, which in turn is a rendering of the Greek title Θεοτόκος (Theotokos), meaning "Bearer of God" dogmatically adopted by the First Council of Ephesus as an assertion of the divinity of Christ.

The Second Vatican Council stated: "Clearly from earliest times the Blessed Virgin is honoured under the title of Mother of God." and at an early stage the Church in Rome celebrated on 1 January a feast that it called the anniversary (Natale) of the Mother of God. When this was overshadowed by the feasts of the Annunciation and the Assumption, adopted from Constantinople at the start of the 7th century, 1 January began to be celebrated simply as the octave day of Christmas, the "eighth day" on which, according to Luke 2:21, the child was circumcised and given the name Jesus.

In the 13th or 14th century, 1 January began to be celebrated in Rome, as already in Spain and Gaul, as the feast of the Circumcision of the Lord and the Octave of the Nativity, while still oriented towards Mary and Christmas, with many prayers, antiphons and responsories glorifying the maternity of Mary. Pope John XXIII's General Roman Calendar of 1960 removed the mention of the circumcision of Jesus and called 1 January simply the Octave of the Nativity.

The 1969 revision of the liturgical year and the calendar in the Roman Rite states: "1 January, the Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord, is the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, and also the commemoration of the conferral of the Most Holy Name of Jesus." It removed the 11 October feast, even for Portugal, stating: "The Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated on 1 January in the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God." 

In his Apostolic Letter Marialis Cultus, Pope Paul VI explained: "This celebration, placed on January 1 ...is meant to commemorate the part played by Mary in this mystery of salvation. It is meant also to exalt the singular dignity which this mystery brings to the 'holy Mother...through whom we were found worthy to receive the Author of life.' It is likewise a fitting occasion for renewing adoration of the newborn Prince of Peace, for listening once more to the glad tidings of the angels (cf. Lk. 2:14), and for imploring from God, through the Queen of Peace, the supreme gift of peace."

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solemnity_of_Mary,_Mother_of_God

Full of Grace

“Hail, full of grace! 

The Lord is with you.” 

LUKE 1:28

She walks with beauty and with grace, a gentle smile upon her face. She spreads her kindness all around and lifts the spirits of the down. She knows the value of each soul and sees the good in young and old. She gives her love without a price and shares her faith in Jesus Christ. She is a blessing to behold, a precious gem, more than gold. She is a child of God above and she is full of grace and love. She is Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:26-38)

You have a gift and a purpose to share, you have a vision and a passion to dare, you have a voice and a message to shine so do whatever you have in mind. Don't let the doubts and fears hold you back, don't let the critics and naysayers attack, don't let the rules and norms confine, just do whatever you have in mind. Life is too short and too precious to waste, life is too rich and too varied to taste, life is too wonderful and amazing to find if you don't do whatever you have in mind.

The Lord is with you in every trial, He knows your pain and every sigh, He holds you close and wipes your tears, He gives you strength and calms your fears. The Lord is with you in every joy, He shares your happiness and your smile, He blesses you with grace and peace, He fills your heart with love and ease. The Lord is with you in every moment, He guides your steps and lights your way, He hears your prayers and speaks to you. He is your friend and loves you true

When King David was settled in his palace, and the Lord had given him rest from his enemies on every side, he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God dwells in a tent!” Nathan answered the king, “Go, do whatever you have in mind, for the Lord is with you.” But that night the Lord spoke to Nathan and said: “Go, tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Should you build me a house to dwell in? “‘It was I who took you from the pasture and from the care of the flock to be commander of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you went, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth. I will fix a place for my people Israel; I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place without further disturbance. Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old, since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you. And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.’” (2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16)

God made a covenant with His people to be their God and they His own. He promised to bless and protect them and never leave them alone. He sealed His covenant with a sign, a rainbow in the sky, a reminder of His faithfulness and His mercy ever nigh. He fulfilled His covenant with David and gave him a royal throne. He established his house and kingdom and promised him a greater Son. He revealed His covenant with the prophets and gave them a vision of grace. He foretold the coming of the Messiah and the salvation of the human race. He completed His covenant with Jesus and gave Him the cross and the crown. He raised Him from the dead and exalted Him and poured out His Spirit all around.

The Lord invites us to join His covenant and gives us the gift of faith. He calls us to love and obey Him and to follow Him all our days. He will keep His covenant forever and gives us the hope of glory. He will come again and receive us and we will reign with Him eternally.

The promises of the Lord I will sing forever; through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness. For you have said, “My kindness is established forever”; in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness. “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant: forever will I confirm your posterity and establish your throne for all generations.” “He shall say of me, ‘You are my father, my God,the rock, my savior. Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him, and my covenant with him stands firm.’” (Psalm 89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 29)

Obedience of faith is a journey, a journey of growth and discovery, a journey of joy and peace, a journey of grace and glory. Obedience is not a burden but a blessing based on His grace and power and His will and purpose. To obey God is to trust Him, to trust Him is to love Him, to love Him is to know Him, to know Him is to have faith, Faith is not a blind leap but a confident step based on His word and promise and His character and goodness.

To him who can strengthen you, according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages but now manifested through the prophetic writings and, according to the command of the eternal God, made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith, to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Romans 16:25-27)

Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your love and grace that You have shown me in Christ Jesus. I thank You for revealing to me the mystery of Your will, which You purposed in Him before the foundation of the world. I thank You for making me a partaker of Your promise and a member of Your body, the church.

Lord, I ask You to open the eyes of my heart, that I may know You more and more. I ask You to enlighten me with the knowledge of Your glory and the riches of Your inheritance. I ask You to grant me wisdom and understanding in the mystery of Christ, which is the gospel of Your grace. I pray that You would help me to walk worthy of Your calling, and to bear fruit in every good work. I pray that You would empower me with Your Spirit, and enable me to speak the mystery of Christ with boldness and clarity. I pray that You would use me as Your instrument, to make known Your manifold wisdom to the world.

Lord, I praise You for Your great and precious promises, which are all Yes and Amen in Christ. I praise You for Your faithfulness and goodness, which endure forever. I praise You for Your marvelous works, which are beyond my comprehension. I praise You for Your glorious plan, which is unfolding before my eyes. I worship You for who You are, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. I worship You for what You have done, the Savior of sinners and the Redeemer of the lost. I worship You for what You will do, the Judge of the living and the dead and the Restorer of all things.

You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power. For You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created. You are worthy, O Lamb, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood. To You be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Pericope:

II: The Infancy Narrative

ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE BIRTH OF JESUS

Luke 1:26-38

IV: The Reign of David

DAVID'S CONCERN FOR THE ARK

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Third Book of Psalms 73-89

A LAMENT OVER GOD'S PROMISE TO DAVID

Psalm 89:1-53

VII: Conclusion

DOXOLOGY

Romans 16:25-27

Reflection Source:

Copilot with Bing Chat

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Catholic Online

"I will hear their weeping, their sorrow, 

and will remedy and alleviate all their 

multiple sufferings, necessities and misfortunes."

An elder Mexican man makes his way to Mass in the early morning twilight of December 9, 1531. He is a peasant, a simple farmer and laborer, and he has no education. Born under Aztec rule, he is a convert to Catholicism, and each step he takes this morning is a step into history.

The morning quiet is broken by a strange music that he will later describe as the beautiful sound of birds. Diverting his path to investigate the sound, Juan Diego comes face to face with a radiant apparition of the Virgin Mary.

Juan Diego is 57 years old. He has just encountered the Virgin Mary on Tepeyac Hill, the site of a former Aztec Temple. His wife has died two years earlier, and he lives with his elder uncle, scratching his living from the earth as a humble peasant farmer. Why should this unlearned, man be chosen by Our Lady to carry a message to the Bishop? Perhaps because she would find none other as humble as Juan Diego.

Juan Diego is dazzled by the incredible beauty and miraculous nature of Our Lady's appearance. She appears as a native princess to him, and her words sound more beautiful than the sweetest music ever made.

Our Lady calms the startled traveler, and assures him of who she is. She instructs Juan Diego to visit his bishop and ask that a temple be built on the site of her appearance, so that she will have a place to hear petitions and to heal the suffering of the Mexican people. "Now go and put forth your best effort," Our Lady instructs.

Visibly shaken, Juan Diego approaches the Bishop who is initially very skeptical of his account. What did this peasant truly want? Does he merely seek attention? Notoriety? Money? Or is he possessed by demons? Has Juan Diego been tricked by the Devil?

The Bishop patiently listens to Juan Diego's accounts and dismisses him. The humble farmer has failed.

Juan Diego begins to doubt himself. He returns to Tepeyac Hill where he hopes for some conformation of what he's experienced. Indeed, Our Lady does not disappoint, for she appears again, as radiant as before. Juan Diego tells Our Lady what she already knows, that the Bishop did not believe him. She instructs him to return the next morning and ask again.

The Bishop is beside himself. Why did this peasant insist on telling this story? How could he know if the peasant was lying or perhaps insane? At their second meeting, the Bishop asks for a sign. Juan Diego makes a promise he won't keep, saying he will return the very next morning with a sign from Our Lady.

But that evening, Juan Diego returns home to find his uncle, Juan Bernadino, who is 68 years old, and suddenly, terribly ill. The illness is known to the people there and it brings a burning fever so hot, it's almost always fatal. Juan Diego cannot leave his uncle's bedside to keep his pledge to the Bishop. He spends two days with his uncle, trying to save him. When it becomes apparent his uncle is about to die, he leaves to find a priest who can prepare him for death.

Frightened and saddened, Juan Diego sets off in a great hurry, time is running out, and Juan Diego is afraid his uncle will die without a last confession. On the road, in his way, Our Lady appears for a third time. Upset and afraid, Juan explains himself. Our Lady replies, "Am I not your mother? ... Are you not in the crossing of my arms?" she asks.

Shamed by the admonishment, but emboldened by Our Lady's presence, Juan Diego asks for the sign he promised to the Bishop. He knows he is wrong to doubt Our Lady. Juan Diego is instructed to climb to the top of Tepeyac Hill where he will find flowers. He is to pick the flowers there, which are unlike any he has seen before, and he is to keep them hidden in his tilma until he reaches the Bishop.
Juan Diego is skeptical again. It's December, what flowers could grow on the summit of the hill in this cold?

Nevertheless, he obeys and atop the hill he finds a great number of flowering roses which he picks and hastily gathers into his cloak.

For the third time, Juan Diego is ushered in to see the Bishop. The skeptical cleric has waited for two days to see what sign Our Lady has for him. Juan opens his tilma, letting the roses cascade to the floor. But more than the roses, both men are astonished to see what is painted on his humble tilma - an exquisite image of Our Lady.

In the image, she stands as she appeared, a native princess with high cheekbones. Her head is bowed and her hands are folded in prayer to God. On her blue cloak, the stars are arranged as they appeared in the morning darkness at the hour of her first apparition.

Under her feet, is a great crescent moon, a symbol of the old Aztec religion. The message is clear, she is more powerful than the Aztec gods, yet she herself is not God.

At the same time Our Lady is appearing to Juan Diego, and directing him to cut the flowers on Tepeyac Hill, she also appears to his uncle, Juan Bernadino who believes he is about to die. As soon as she appears, the fever stops and Juan Bernadino feels well again. She tells Juan Bernadino, she wants to be known as "Santa Maria, de Guadalupe."

Our Lady of Guadalupe did not appear again, for her mission was complete. The temple was built and remains there today, in what is now a suburb of Mexico City. Juan Diego's tilma, woven from cactus fibers, with a shelf-life of just 30 years at best, remains miraculously preserved.

The symbolism of Our Lady's dress is obvious to over eight million Native Mexicans, whom all speak different languages. She is brighter than the sun, more powerful than any Aztec god, yet she is not a god herself, and she prays to one greater than her. Her gown is adorned with stars in the correct position as in the night sky, and the gold fringe of her cloak mirrors the surrounding countryside. Millions of natives will convert at the news of what has happened. Millions more will make pilgrimages over the next five centuries to see the miraculous tilma, and to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe. Great miracles continue to occur, even today.

On October 12, 1945, Pope Pius XII, decreed Our Lady of Guadalupe to be "Patroness of all the Americas." Her feast day is December 12, and it is a Holy Day of Obligation in Mexico.
Our Lady of Guadalupe had this to say to Juan Diego:

"Know for certain, least of my sons, that I am the perfect and perpetual Virgin Mary, Mother of the True God through whom everything lives, the Lord of all things near and far, the Master of heaven and earth. It is my earnest wish that a temple be built here to my honor. Here I will demonstrate, I will exhibit, I will give all my love, my compassion, my help and my protection to the people. I am your merciful mother, the merciful mother of all of you who live united in this land, and of all mankind, of all those who love me, of those who cry to me, of those who seek me, of those who have confidence in me. Here I will hear their weeping, their sorrow, and will remedy and alleviate all their multiple sufferings, necessities and misfortunes."

Published:

December 12, 2016, 7:12 AM