Mary tenderly loves all men of good will. At this very moment he is cured. Never before had Our Lady so openly revealed the tenderness of her Immaculate Heart. . Throughout the past centuries it would seem as though the Mexicans could never be satisfied with what they had done to honor their Senora. Then he recounted before his amazed listeners the entire story of what had transpired at Tepeyac: how the Lady had promised a sign; how she directed him to climb the hill, where he would find many flowers growing; how he had gathered them in his tilma; and how she had rearranged them with her own hand, telling him to take them to the Bishop that he might at last believe her message and fulfill her desire. To the highways and byways of Mexico she came, to invite a new people to fill up the vacant seats at her Sons wedding banquet. The question arises, and justly so, did Our Lady actually say Guadalupe when she spoke to Juan Bernardino? The mightiest of all their horrid gods was Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered or Stone Serpent. Our The word itself, with all it stands for, would not only bind the two peoples; it would fuse them forever into one people. She had compassion for their unjust afflictions. She told him that she wanted a church to be built in her honor on this hill, wherein she would receive and compassionately console all her suffering children. One of them tried to snatch one or two, but as he reached for them, the blossoms seemed to melt into the fabric. The pilgrim would never travel alone anymore. Yet when he came to the base of the hill, having there crossed over a certain stream, he instantly vanished from their sight. Then, quickly regaining his presence of mind, Juan spoke more soberly about his uncles sickness and his intention of going to get a priest. Less than thirty years later, as the article on Padre Pro details, the bullet-ridden bodies of one hundred and sixty martyred priests, executed as enemies of the state, were a shockingly graphic result of that satanic conspiracy. They sing his songs and dance his dances. Today when our Christian civilization is allowing hooded priests in white doctors robes to murder one and a half million helpless infants every year in our hospitals for no other reason than a diabolical selfishness that prefers nice cars and fashionable clothes to children, one wonders which society is the more corrupt. God alone knows where they came from or how they got there, but an estimated nine million people lined this poor countrys thorough-fares to greet the Holy Father, waving their bandettas and shouting thunderously, Long live the Pope! I will not cease from striving So, tomorrow afternoon, when the sun is setting, I will come to give you a report concerning the reception of your message With this assurance let me take leave of you, my little Daughter, my Child, and my Lady. She is bringing Jesus, her divine Son, to her people, just as she brought Him to her cousin St. Elizabeth. But why that? However, the anti-apparitionists, as they are called by the loyal Guadalupanos, seem never to weary of falling flat on their faces after being floored by the return fire of their own scientific weaponry. WebTepeyac Hill at the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine. Our Lady of Guadalupe It was quite a sight. Our Lady of Guadalupe They must have a sign, he told Juan; such an expensive and laborious undertaking as the construction of a church requires much more evidence that it is truly the Mother of God who asks for it. But neither with bombs, as was attempted during the Calles persecution in 1921, nor with the invectives of the liberal press, were they able to defeat the Virgin. . No other symbol more befits the qualities of the devil than this deadly reptile. Someone rushed to the Bishops quarters to report the phenomenon. A great many of them had been forcibly separated from their families and condemned to harsh slave labor in the mines. In the crossing of my arms? Not far behind him were the two spies. Surely, it was only natural for the Spanish interpreter to assume that Our Lady really wanted to be known under her revered title of Guadalupe that was so familiar to every Spaniard, and he thought that, had the Indian been able to pronounce all the consonants involved, this is what he would have said. So I ask thee, my son, and I order thee to go back in the morning, and see and speak to the Bishop. our Lady of Guadalupe She asked him to approach the bishop and request that a shrine be built to her there, where she would bless those who called upon her. In the autumn of 1519, couriers arrived in the Aztec capital after a 240 mile journey from the east coast with an urgent message: gigantic sea vessels had been spotted off their shores! Immediately, he felt a profound peace come over his soul, and through his limbs a healing wave seemed to roll, filling him with strength and cooling his burning fever. And some very inspiring ones. WebThe Church will confirm an apparition as worthy of belief, but belief is never required by divine faith. They are right in our backyard. . Miguel Agustin Pro. The year was 1525, just four years after the Conquest. Now thou hast heard, son, my wish. First, Cuba, then Nicaragua, and now El Salvador a little country named after the Savior. Come the day, admitted the skeptic Altimirano, on which the Virgin of Guadalupe is not longer venerated, and you have the sign that the very name of Mexico has disappeared from the catalogue of nations!. That my will may have its effect, thou must go to the city of Mexico and to the palace of the bishop who resides there, to tell him that I have sent thee and that I wish a temple to be raised to me in this place. Are you not under my shadow and protection? Though it is true that wherever he went in his world-wide tours he drew record-breaking crowds of welcomers, nowhere did he receive the overwhelming turnout that he did in Mexico. For we are certain, he said, that as long as you are recognized as Queen and Mother, Mexico and America will be safe., Article reprinted from: http://www.catholicism.org/pages/guadalupe.htm, http://www.catholicism.org/pages/guadalupe.htm. Let the following words of Pope Pius XII be to all Americans a salutary admonition a prophetic counsel, if you will. Against her in this land no man blasphemes. Our Are you not under my shadow and protection? Zumarraga was not the type of man to dismiss such matters lightly. WebWe have all seen her image. The Blessed Virgin receives here three times more pilgrims than she does even at Lourdes. Lopez, the Mexican Jesuit who had introduced him to the miraculous Image, that, if his duties did not prevent him, he would make a pilgrimage to the New World shrine, and approach the Holy Virgin as the other poor pilgrims did, barefoot and on his knees. This enigmatic Pontiff, who refused even the Catholic Queen Mary of England a Mass in honor of the then controverted devotion to the Sacred Heart (1750s) proved incapable of applying his famed over-cautious rigorism to the Mother as he did to her Son. And they should be. She was young, perhaps fourteen, her expression most affable and encouraging. Zumarraga jumped to his feet and stared at the roses, momentarily speechless; his prayer for peace had been answered! But since it was to the Indians that the Virgin appeared, and not to the Spanish, the more likely explanation is that she did not say Guadalupe at all, but rather Coatlaxopeuh. 6 The story of its appearance also fits another historic trope, applicable at Cceres and elsewhere in Europe: a peasant protagonist overcomes the skepticism of authorities to be A poor Indian named Cuauhtlatohuac was baptized and given the name Juan Diego. Advancing a step or two he sank to his knees, overwhelmed by the loveliness of the vision. Finally, look at the grim reality of Communist aggression. Such a mass conversion was an unprecedented phenomenon, the likes of which had never been witnessed in any country of the world. Doing so, he found himself face to face with a woman of incomparable loveliness, whom he described simply as a most beautiful lady. Her garments shone so brilliantly that the entire mountain was transformed by the reflection of her glory. Some priests found themselves physically dragged from their pulpits and imprisoned for daring to criticize the dictators abuses. How? Perhaps too, the prelate was wondering if this were not some trick of the devil, from whose dark reign this land had only recently been expurgated. It was still dusky, not too far from dawn, as he approached Tepeyac hill. Zumarraga was embarrassed at this passionate display, and gently consoling Juan, urged him to gain composure and answer his questions. They were a warlike people who migrated sometime around the fourteenth century from the north into the warmer climate zone. Our Lady of Guadalupe and the black crosses thereon! You dont have to look very far away anymore. She is the very air the Mexicans breathe. This past December 12 [1981] marked the four hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe to the humble Aztec Indian Juan Diego on Tepeyac hill near Mexico City. For this purpose she sent Juan Diego to the Bishop of Mexico, the Friar Minor, Don Juan de Zumarraga, to present to him her request. The poor native was picked up by his sorrowing friends and carried into the chapel, where they placed him at the feet of Our Lady of Guadalupe. of Our Lady of Guadalupe And she is approaching not alone, but with Child, for she wears a tasseled waistband indicating her condition. He was one of their own, one they could trust, and, with his characteristic intensity, he told his people about the Virgin and about her Son who died for them. That is why the secret forces of Masonry, in their efforts to destroy the Catholic principles upon which this nation rose up, have attempted with no success to destroy the Sacred Image. Nothing has caused more confusion to Guadalupan scholars than the word itself, Guadalupe. He listened to me with kindness and attention, but from what I noticed in him and from his questions. Finally, one of the court officials noticed that the Indian was concealing something underneath his cloak. Montezuma studied the drawings (since the Aztecs had no written alphabet, all of their messages were done by the means of hieroglyphics); his eyes were fixed upon the sails of the vessels . In the ages of faith such measures moved mountains. WebThe vision of Our Lady of Guadalupe occurred in the year 1326, the people of Caceres (Guadalupe), Spain, experienced great emotion when a cowherd named Gil Cordero related that a radiant Lady emerged from a nearby forest while he was searching for a lost cow. This hill stands 40 feet tall and features statues of Our Lady of Guadalupe and San Juan Diego. Juan bit his tongue and kept silent. In that language the form of address used by the woman had a significance more singularly intimate than any expression English or Spanish could convey. With supreme gentleness and compassion she replied-and these words should reverberate from the walls of every church, home, and school in Christendom: Listen, and let it penetrate your heart, my dear little son; do not be troubled or weighted down with grief. The Story of the Apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe As Moses of old was taken up into the holy mountain, called alone by God to commune with Him face to face beyond the view of other men, so too Juan Dieguito was taken up alone into the holy hill of Tepeyac to commune face to face with the Holy Mother of God away from the sight of men. When he finished speaking there was a pause. In 1531 a "Lady from Heaven" appeared to a humble Native American at Tepeyac, a hill northwest of what is now Mexico City. So, too, in this crisis it proved effective, and the cruel overlords were pressured by the Church into restoring the basic rights of the natives. Our Lady of Guadalupe A poor Indian named Cuauhtlatohuac was baptized and given the name Juan Diego. There was a pervading atmosphere of impending doom and all the Aztec nobility sensed it. Then, accompanied by a host of attendants from the palace and with his own personal guard of honor, he returned to his uncle. Though the powers that be, ecclesiastical as well as civil, who approved of this construction, may have lost the sense of what is beautiful, the Mexican people have not. My wish and desire has to be accomplished by thy means. Needless to say, if the canvas has been miraculously preserved, so has the image. In the Nahuatl language the expression she who crushes the serpent sounds very much like Guadalupe. The name also refers to the Marian apparition itself. He was there one second, gone the next, and his pursuers were utterly befuddled as they vainly searched for him high and low. Our Lady of Guadalupe Overnight, mourning had turned into joy. It is the sense of Our Ladys presence. As expected, the anticlericals took advantage of the solemnity to criticize the church for such wasted extravagance, reechoing the never-fading complaint of Judas Iscariot, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor? But the fact is that the poor love to honor their Mother and to make sacrifices in her regard. Though his worst fears did not materialize, still he was treated much more harshly than the day before; but with his persistent pleading, he wore down their resistance and was again allowed into the courtyard. Arriving in Tolpetlac, the humble celebrity was overjoyed to see his uncle recuperating on the porch of his cabin taking in the fresh air. The Holy See has officially confirmed the apparitions at Guadalupe, Saint-Etienne-le-Laus, Paris (Rue du Bac, Miraculous Medal), La Salette, Lourdes, Fatima, Portugal, Pontmain, Beauraing, and Banneux. So poor Juan Bernardino, who was in good health when his nephew last saw him, was now at deaths door. WebThis is why Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Patroness of the Americas. There seems to be an omen in the air-as at the time of the conquest-of an impending confrontation. Then he would surely succeed in fulfilling her desire. Before Our Ladys coming the missionaries were able to pour the saving waters upon the heads of only one million natives, and most of these were orphaned children, victims of war, whom the loving padres had adopted and educated. WebThe Silver Rose program demonstrates the unity between Knights of Columbus in Canada, the United States and Mexico, through a series of prayer services promoting the dignity of all human life and honoring Our Lady. In all, fifteen Pontiffs have affixed their signatures to Guadalupan decrees. English would render it: Dear little Juan. That same voice beckons each of us with an identical tone of affection. The woman, upon her release, told the astonished listeners of a mysterious vision she had seen: it seemed a luminous guide (doubtless an angel) led her to the ocean shore, where he pointed out to her through a fading mist, a large number of ships with black crosses painted on their sails. Are you not in the folds of my mantle? Hundreds, sometimes thousands of victims, usually slaves or prisoners of war, were dragged daily up the temple stairs to the altar of sacrifice, where they had their hearts torn out by hooded priests, and offered to some god or goddess. WebThe Silver Rose program demonstrates the unity between Knights of Columbus in Canada, the United States and Mexico, through a series of prayer services promoting the dignity of all human life and honoring Our Lady. Far worse than this perverse concept of regality was the unspeakable cruelty, inspired by Satan, which prompted them to appease their stone divinities with human blood. Having been poor in her mortal life, the Mother of God did not disdain such a canvas, for by it she would confound the laws of science. And Juan Diego became a preacher. He answered: My Lady and my Child, I will not cause you affliction. Far be it from me to incur your indignation, or to displease you by my reply.. And in a certain sense all of Central America belongs to Mexico. Mysteriously, and for His own unfathomable reasons, that is the way it has always been with God Our Father.