Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet or White (Our Lady of Guadalupe)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this day the Church celebrates the great occasion of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mary, the Holy Mother of God in her Apparition to St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin about five centuries ago in what is the present day Mexico at the great shrine that now stands at the site of Guadalupe. This great shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe is now one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in the world and many millions flock to the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe every year, particularly during the time of her Feast that we celebrate this day. The Blessed Mother of God has made her appearances during times of strife and hardships for the Church, in various moments throughout history, including the time when she appeared at the site of Guadalupe in Mexico, which happened shortly after the arrival of the Spanish and other European explorers to the New World, the American continent.

At that time, it was at the beginning of the evangelisation of the lands of the New World, with missionaries and priests beginning to proclaim the Good News of God to many of the people of the Americas who have not yet heard and known the Lord. It came after years of devastation and destruction caused by the greed of the early European explorers, also commonly known as ‘Conquistadors’ that had brought about the ruin of the great kingdoms of the Aztecs and the Incas. The greed of those early conquerors had brought about great sufferings for the local natives, as well as plenty of destruction and exploitation of the region. During those turbulent years, even back in Christendom there were also a lot of divisions and conflicts, happening at that time in the midst of the Protestant reformation.

Amidst the backdrop of all these challenges and difficulties, our loving Mother, Our Lady of Guadalupe made her appearance to a local native named Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, who would later on be honoured as St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin. According to the tradition and hagiographic story, at that moment, St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin was a Christian convert, among the first of the natives to be baptised by the missionaries upon their arrival in those lands. He regularly travelled between his house and the Franciscan mission station where he had his religious instruction, and this travel passed by the Hill of Tepeyac, the site of the Apparition. On the dawn of the ninth day of December, which date is now celebrated as the Feast of St. John Diego, this man of God encountered the Apparition of Mary, who instructed him to tell of her appearance to the local bishop and to build a shrine at that location in order to provide help and comfort for all those who seek God’s mercy through her.

The bishop was initially skeptical and doubtful of the authenticity of the Apparition, and it was only after Our Lady of Guadalupe again repeated her message to St. John Diego that the latter went again to the bishop who then made a request that Our Lady of Guadalupe provide him with evidence of the authenticity of her Apparition with a miraculous sign. At that same time, St. John Diego’s uncle became very sick and he hurried to his uncle’s place through a different route, not passing through the site of Our Lady’s Apparition, as he was embarrassed that he was unable to fulfil the promise he made to her about the request that she has entrusted to him. But on his way, St. John Diego was intercepted by Our Lady who appeared to him and chastising him for not having faith in her intercession and help, and she reassured him that his uncle has recovered fully and was all well.

She told St. John Diego with the words that would become famous today, ‘¿No estoy yo aquí que soy tu madre?’ which means, ‘Am I not here, I who am your mother?’. St. John Diego then followed the instruction of Our Lady to collect some flowers at the nearby hill into his cloak or tilma, and then bringing them immediately to the bishop. Then as St. John Diego presented the flowers to the bishop, what truly amazed the bishop was not the seemingly unseasonal and uncommon Castilian flowers growing on that hill which St. John Diego had collected, but rather the image and likeness of Our Lady of Guadalupe herself being imprinted on the tilma or cloak worn by St. John Diego. The bishop, who was initially skeptical about the Apparition, immediately believed and venerated the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Ever since that moment, the belief and the devotion in the Apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe grew rapidly, and a shrine was built in that site of the Apparition, at the Hill of Tepeyac, known as Guadalupe, which led to the naming of the Apparition as Our Lady of Guadalupe, the loving Mother of God herself making her appearance to her beloved children, the people of God, at the time of great strife and challenge faced by them, in the New World due to the destruction wrought by wars and conflicts, and in the Christendom as a whole due to the effects of the Protestant reformation and other strife in the Church of God and among the Christian population of the whole Christendom. Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe made her Apparition so as to strengthen our faith and resolve to follow the Lord faithfully, and not to give in to sin and corruption. Many people came back to the Lord and found their way to Him through His mother Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe.

We have heard these through our Scripture readings today, from the account by St. John the Apostle and Evangelist in his Book of Revelations, in which the vision of the great War in Heaven and the end times were told to us. St. John saw in one of those visions a great vision of a Woman bearing a Child, which is in fact a personification of the Church of God, and at the same time is a reminder of Mary as the Mother of God and the Mother of the Church. Through her great obedience and faith in God, Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe had responded positively, with love and commitment to the mission which God has entrusted to her, as we heard in our Gospel passage today from the Gospel of St. Luke. When the Archangel Gabriel revealed the Good News to Mary, while she was hesitant and unsure about what she had heard, but she ultimately trusted in the Lord and believed in Him.

Mary’s great faith in the Lord, her commitment and obedience, and all the virtues and righteousness that she has shown in life, all these are great examples and inspiration for all of us to follow. She is the perfect example and role model, the one who is our beacon to be followed. Her Apparition to St. John Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin and many others who witnessed her appearance served to remind us of God’s great love that has been manifested and made visible, tangible and approachable to us through Mary. And if we follow her examples, inspiration and faith, we will surely find ourselves on the firm path towards God and His salvation. Mary made herself available to us, guiding us patiently towards her Son. Her apparitions in Guadalupe, Lourdes, Fatima and others were all meant to this purpose.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore remind ourselves especially during this time and season of Advent, to refocus our lives and attention once again towards the Lord, our Master and Creator. Let us all no longer be distracted by all sorts of temptations and pleasures in life, all the attachments we have on worldly glory that can lead us astray in our path. May the Lord be with us always, and may He strengthen our faith and resolve, and through His loving Mother Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, bring us ever closer to His Holy Presence, and help us to turn away from and reject all the sins and wickedness of this world. Amen.